Carrying a price tag of $212,735 including a $1,895 freight charge, The Nismo trim lists for almost $100,000 more than the GT-R Premium, so you’d have to be properly GT-R obsessed to buy it. Sure, turbochargers from the GT3 car, 600 horsepower, and carbon ceramic brakes are cool, but so is not eating ramen. In contrast, the GT-R Premium carries an MSRP of $115,435 including freight and includes forged wheels, Apple CarPlay, a Bose stereo, and Nappa leather, along with 565 horsepower of turbocharged V6 thrust. While $115,435 before an unspecified freight charge may seem like a lot for an aging sports coupe, it’s actually an alright deal.
While the GT-R initially carried a headline-grabbing MSRP under $70,000 when it launched in 2008, there are some asterisks involved. The first is that the relatively cheap price tag was for the now-discontinued base model, while the second was that Nissan quickly hiked prices in September 2008 to $77,840 for the GT-R and $80,090 for the GT-R Premium, both including a $1,000 freight charge. If we take that second figure and adjust it for inflation, we end up with $110,408.83 in 2022 dollars. Paying an extra $5,026.17 for an extra 85 horsepower and nicer interior appointments doesn’t seem outlandish, so the GT-R might be a value player once again.
For context, a Jaguar F-Type R coupe also has two doors, a fixed roof, all-wheel-drive, and more than 550 horsepower. It starts at $109,775 including a $1,275 freight charge but gives up two seats to the GT-R and still can’t touch the Nissan’s blazing zero-to-sixty time. A Corvette with the Z51 package can roughly match the GT-R’s 2.9-second zero-to-sixty time, but good luck getting your hands on one should you place an order now. Then again, if we’ve learned anything about the car market over the past few years, it’s that manufacturer suggested retail prices are purely theoretical. Some dealers can and will mark up everything they can get their hands on, so the $115,435 GT-R could very well be a myth, even if the GT-R is a slow seller. [Editor’s Note: In my eyes, the Chevy Camaro ZL1 with 1LE Extreme Track Performance Package seems like a better deal. It’s known to beat the GT-R around the track, and it costs over $30,000 less. Of course, it doesn’t get all-wheel drive, but for cars like this, I’m a numbers man. And a manual transmission man. -DT].
If anything, the GT-R shows just how much has changed in the performance car world over the past 15 years or so. Upon launch, Nissan’s halo car was vilified for its computer gadgetry and dual-clutch gearbox, with many enthusiasts claiming that the car basically drove fast for you, taking a great deal of skill out of the equation. Roughly a decade and a half later, and even the Shelby GT500 uses a dual-clutch gearbox, while all sorts of performance cars from manufacturers like Mercedes-AMG and Ferrari have made the jump to all-wheel-drive. Launch control and multi-mode traction control are now de rigeur, and despite the GT-R’s hefty curb weight, everything else has grown heavy too. For better or worse, the R35 GT-R was a new yardstick for what might be the last era of all-combustion performance cars. The 2023 model year might just be its victory lap.
All photos courtesy of Nissan
The Nismo is into literal insane pricing territory, competing with stuff like the GT3, AMG GT, R8, etc and is within shouting distance of base McLaren and Ferrari models.
It’s quite possibly the worst value of these cars, not even close to the best.
I also don’t think “Japanese” is a fair criteria for judging reliability; in my experience there is Toyota and then everyone else. Nissan hasn’t earned any benefit of the doubt with me over any other mainstream automaker.
In any case, my Viper, despite being both American and sold by “unreliable” FCA, has been the most reliable car I’ve ever owned. So I would simply say your closed-mindedness is depriving you of the opportunity to experience some awesome cars.
Its not like I just buy only Japanese; I have an early Hellcat and its been reliable too, but that’s about as much as I could stomach for a car that can potentially cost a ton of money to fix.
https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/amv-prod-cad-assets/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2018-Mercedes-AMG-GT-R-103.jpg
It’s remarkable that the R35 has been around literally more than half of my life. How often can cars last that long and still age gracefully?
For me, the GT-R works and I’m glad it’s back like Beetlejuice.
Yeah, hard pass.
Not that the 400Z is an improvement, as it’s similarly hefty. Nothing Nissan sells in the USA interests me at this moment.
Maybe if they built an electric Z-car that weighed under 2,500 lbs had at least 250 electric horses and had a targeted sub-$30k price point, and was designed to get a 200+ mile range on a 35 kWh or smaller battery, which should be relatively easy to do if you start with a clean slate and emphasize drag reduction over the fad-du-jour regarding aesthetics and company brand identity. The looks can come into their own, by ditching the current fad of angry, angular designs, and go with sexy, provocative curves reminiscent of the original 240Z, a diminutive or even NO grille, while keeping the width down(and therefore frontal area) by deciding there’s no need to accommodate people who are 300+ lbs, and cutting back on unnecessary luxury crap(no heated seats, no heated steering wheel, no power-anything, use ROLL UP windows, ect).
Now I did get a V8 RWD sports van out of the deal. I’ve been happy with it.
But a 6 figure car is not a $40k commercial van.
Crack pipe.
I suppose compared to the V6 it’s a sports van.
Real vans deserve RWD.
As for the GT-R… you’re going to miss it when it’s gone. Claims of it being a “digital supercar” are laughable today. Compared to today’s choices, this car is practically analog. Hydraulic power steering, physical handbrake, clutch-pack rear LSD, physical gauge cluster and tiny/irrelevant “infotainment”. Hell, even the “digital” parts of its drivetrain are simple and straightforward, with an ECU for the engagement of the center diff, and an ECU for the on-the-fly damper adjustments of the suspension.
In my experience, the R35 and its extensive aftermarket make it the most capable jack-of-all trades supercar. pure track performance, drift car, snow machine, comfortable GT, family cruiser, backroad bomber- it really does it all, very well. Add on that it’s very reliable and low maintenance, and doesn’t even stand out from the garish styling of modern traffic- you can really use this every day.
Having said all that, I will note that they ruined the interior with the 2017MY refresh (in several ways, but the biggest unforgiveable sin was to ditch the incredible column-mounted magnesium paddle shifters), so uh, yeah. Buy a used one. Whoops.
In case these links to the old site’s comments still work/are allowed, here’s what I said back then: https://jalopnik.com/1828516357#replies
I do have a shot of one as it made the dealer rounds.
Not to mention they dropped their legendary straight-six RB platform in the process, giving us a V6. Nissan owners are not nearly as outraged about that as they should be, because I’m pretty sure Toyota owners would riot if a V6 Supra was made. V platforms are also a lot more difficult to work on and for someone that does their own repairs/maintenance (AKA a real car enthusiast), that’s a real problem.
There’s also the fact that the GTR is only made using a fun-sucking automatic gearbox with flappy paddles, and way too many handholding driver assistance features. That’s a system designed for car lovers that can’t drive, and is practically dummy proof. Automotive purists and enthusiasts drive stick, and the less DSC assistance the better. We went insane when Toyota released the Supra without a manual trim option initially.
Why have Nissan owners fallen out of love with driving?
But dropping in a BMW motor is OK?
Personally, I’d rather have a Porsche Cayman or similar. Yes it doesn’t compete on a horsepower level, but it looks a hell of a lot better and people don’t throw up in their mouth a little while envisioning the convertible Murano.
I am kinda sad for people who consider what to buy, based upon what people would think.
