Verdict
The MY25 T-Spec is the best R35 Nissan GT-R we’ve ever driven on account of its fine balance. But any R35 GT-R is a mind-blowing experience.
We’re in Japan to drive the final Nissan GT-R as we know it, a genre-bashing super-sports car that throughout its lifetime constantly proved the European ultra-high- performance establishment wrong.
Technically, the GT-R stopped being sold in the UK in 2023, but it continued in other markets for another couple of years, culminating in the final MY25 T-Spec edition you see here. Finished in an iconic shade of Millennium Jade, offset with gold magnesium wheels, carbon-ceramic brakes and some subtle styling changes that came along with the 2025 update, it’s very desirable.
But first some history. The GT-R started life as a high-spec version of the Skyline family car, running through various generations in the late sixties and early seventies. But it wasn’t until 1989 that a version based on the R32 set the template for the giant-killer’s technical make-up, generating its ‘Godzilla’ nickname in the process.
This was a time when Japanese brands had agreed on a power limit of 276bhp, but the 2.6-litre straight-six petrol engine with two turbos produced significantly more. This was sent to a rear-biased all-wheel drive system, and did so in a two-door body with space for four people, plus luggage in the boot. Just as the Honda NSX proved that supercars could be reliable and driveable every day, the GT-R was a warning sign to cars like the Porsche 911 Turbo that supercar-beating all-weather performance wasn’t just the preserve of the German premium brands.
