2.9 s to 60 and 11.2 s at 125 mph on Car and Driver's timing gear. 600 horsepower from a V6 that one person builds by hand.
Car and Driver timed a 2015 Nissan GT-R Nismo at 2.9 seconds recorded from 0 to 60 mph and 11.2 s at 125 mph recorded in the quarter mile, with the first foot of rollout subtracted as it does for every car (Car and Driver). Those are the numbers our race uses.
The same magazine got 11.0 s at 128 mph recorded in a 2015 comparison test, and MotorTrend matched 2.9 s recorded in 2015 and 2017 Nismos. Nissan rates the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 at 600 hp claimed and says a Nismo with track options lapped the Nürburgring in 7:08.679 claimed in 2013 (Nissan). Nissan built about 48,000 claimed R35 GT-Rs before the last one left its Tochigi plant on August 26, 2025 (Nissan). A successor is in development but hadn't been shown by October 2026 (The Drive).
Nismo is short for Nissan Motorsports. Its GT-R was revealed in Tokyo and Los Angeles in November 2013 as a 2015 model, with bigger turbochargers from Nissan's FIA GT3 racers, stiffer Bilstein dampers and a 0.5-inch-longer body with a splitter and a raised wing (Car and Driver).
Rather than one big midlife redesign, Nissan updated it in steps: a new face for 2017, carbon panels, carbon-ceramic brakes and quicker-spooling turbos for 2020, and a front limited-slip differential for 2024. Power stayed at 600 hp claimed the whole time.
Photo: a 2015 GT-R Nismo at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed, by Michelin LIVE UK, CC BY 2.0, cropped, background softened.
Every figure carries its label. claimed means Nissan said it. recorded is timed on an actual run: an instrumented test, a certified or verified record run, or a maker's own pass on a drag strip's timing system. reported is press we couldn't trace to a primary source. derived is our math. Here's how we label numbers.
Each bar fills at the real speed of that car's 0-60 time. The GT-R's 2.9 s is Car and Driver's measurement; the Tesla times are Tesla's claims. Both subtract the first foot of rollout. The second GT-R bar is MotorWeek's 2020 Nismo; MotorWeek doesn't say whether it subtracts rollout.
Nissan says Michael Krumm lapped the Nordschleife in 7:08.679 on September 30, 2013, at 4:48 p.m., twelve minutes before the track closed and five minutes before rain began. The car was a GT-R Nismo "with track options": aero tuning, weight reduction and a special suspension tune. It was 10 seconds quicker than the regular GT-R's best (Nissan).
Nissan timed it and announced it; no official body verified it, so we label it claimed. "Most of the cars that lap in the low seven minutes are hand-built, very expensive supercars," said Andy Palmer, then Nissan's product planning chief, in the same release.
The first slide is our own generated illustration, not Nissan photography or design data. The other two are real photos, credited on each slide.
Tap a marker. Figures are Nissan claims unless noted. The view is our own generated illustration of the 2015 to 2016 car.
The raised wing stands clear of the roofline, so its tips show even head-on. Nissan gave the 2024 Nismo a new wing design along with new bumpers.
The 2022 Nismo Special Edition swapped the painted hood for clear-coated carbon fiber, which Nissan says saves 100 grams. The 2024 Special Edition's carbon hood adds NACA ducts.
The 3.8-liter VR38DETT V6 uses turbochargers from the GT-R GT3 race car. For 2020 they got a new turbine shape with fewer blades, for 20% quicker response with no loss of power.
The 2015 car's lip and the grille bar under the badge, marked here, are carbon. From 2020 the bumpers, front fenders, hood, roof, sill covers, trunk and spoiler are too, saving 10.5 kg, plus nearly 20 kg from other changes.
The splitter and wing add 220 lb of downforce at 186 mph while the drag coefficient stays at 0.26, Nissan told Car and Driver. The new bodywork made the car half an inch longer.
The tread just visible under the splitter is a Dunlop tire developed for this car. From 2020, Brembo carbon-ceramic rotors measure 410 mm in front and 390 mm in back, which Nissan calls the biggest fitted to a Japanese performance car.
One person per engine. At Nissan's Yokohama engine plant, a master craftsman called a takumi assembles each VR38DETT by hand and fixes a plate with his name to it. In 2013 there were four, and one of them was named Takumi Kurosawa (Nissan). Over the whole 18-year run, Nissan says, a core team of just nine built the engines for all 48,000 cars claimed.
Nismo engines get extra attention. Nismo Special Editions from 2022 on use high-precision, weight-balanced piston rings, connecting rods and crankshafts for quicker revs and turbo spooling, and their takumi plates come in an exclusive color claimed (Nissan). Car and Driver reported in 2014 that Nissan could have turned the engine up further but held back "for the sake of transmission longevity" reported.
We found five instrumented quarter-mile runs by major testers, from 2014 to 2020, and they agree to within 0.4 s. The race uses Car and Driver's first test, a car it ran in its August 2014 issue: 11.2 s at 125 mph, exactly what the 2014 Track Edition did. "Maybe the tires and drivetrain are just about maxed out in the launch department," the magazine wrote. In a 2015 comparison test, a Nismo with the same $151,880 sticker ran 11.0 s at 128 mph.
Launching it is a ritual, per Car and Driver's test notes: toggle three dash switches up, up, down, hold the brake with your left foot, floor the throttle, then release. MotorWeek found the 2020 car lets you do that only a couple of times before it asks you to let it cool down (MotorWeek).
The big steps across the model years. U.S. prices are Nissan's MSRP before destination.
GT3 turbos, Bilstein dampers, splitter and wing.
Times recorded by Car and Driver; price from Nissan.
Debuted at the Nürburgring on May 27, 2016, with the facelift's larger grille.
Times and weight recorded by MotorTrend.
Carbon panels, carbon-ceramic brakes and quicker-spooling turbos.
Times recorded by MotorWeek; price from Nissan; The Drive called it a $35,000 jump.
New bumpers and wing, refreshed Recaro seats and a mechanical front limited-slip differential.
Lap claimed by Nissan; prices from Nissan's 2024 press kit and 2025 Japan release (with tax).
Thirteen years of the Nismo, from its first lap to the race for a successor. Scroll sideways.
The R35 GT-R launches with 480 PS claimed, the start of an 18-year run.
Krumm laps the Nordschleife in a Nismo with track options, Nissan says claimed.
Revealed the same day at the Tokyo and Los Angeles auto shows.
Car and Driver's instrumented test, the source of our race figures.
2:49.4 at Virginia International Raceway, then the fourth-fastest lap in the event's history recorded.
The 2017 Nismo debuts at the Nürburgring.
The 2020 Nismo bows in New York; it goes on sale at $210,740.
Tsugio Matsuda sets a production-car record at Tsukuba, Nissan says claimed.
The 2024 car adds a front limited-slip differential.
Matsuda beats his own record in a 2024 Nismo claimed.
Production for North America ends; 2024 is the last U.S. model year reported.
A Midnight Purple T-spec leaves Tochigi after about 48,000 cars.
Nissan's CEO says work on a new GT-R has begun; a hybrid is planned reported.
A 17,000-mile 2018 Nismo sells for $208,000 on Bring a Trailer reported.
Testers agreed on the speed and argued about everything else. These are opinions, quoted with links.
"Understeer is the NISMO's yeti: Hunt for it all you want, you'll never find it."Car and Driver, 2014, road test
The same test compared its ride to a Porsche 911 GT3 RS "or a chunk of granite."
"These are not gains that justify a $50,000 price hike, unless the car will live at the track."Car and Driver, 2015, comparison test
The Nismo finished third, behind a Corvette Z06 and a Porsche 911 Turbo S.
"…come in like a wrecking ball, bludgeoning the track, and you at times, to get the job done."MotorWeek, 2020, road test
MotorWeek meant it kindly: it called the 2020 car an analog dinosaur and "one special vehicle."
"…this isn't a goodbye to the GT-R forever, it's our goal for the GT-R nameplate to one day make a return."Ivan Espinosa, Nissan CEO, August 26, 2025
In April 2026 he told The Drive: "Yes, we are actually working already on the GT-R."
The consensus: nobody argues with the numbers. Every test of the 2015 to 2017 cars put a stock Nismo at 2.9 s to 60 and an 11-second quarter, and Nissan's lap claims at the Nürburgring and Tsukuba made it the quickest R35. The complaints are a harsh ride, an aging cabin and a price that climbed by nearly half while the power stayed at 600 hp. Now that it's out of production, low-mileage cars sell for more than they cost new.
Nissan (Japan) · Nov 19, 2013 · 8:47
GTChannel · Nov 19, 2013 · 26:47
Nissan (Japan) · Jul 24, 2013 · 6:55
Doug DeMuro · Nov 21, 2018 · 20:25
Carfection · Jul 29, 2019 · 12:10
Nissan · Jan 25, 2020 · 2:00
MotorWeek · Nov 23, 2020 · 5:14
carwow · Mar 6, 2021 · 9:54
carwow · Mar 24, 2021 · 16:04
Throttle House · Jan 18, 2023 · 8:26
Nissan · Aug 26, 2025 · 1:44
Over 18 years and about 48,000 cars, Nissan says a core team of nine takumi hand-assembled every R35 engine. Their names are on plaques on the engines.
One of the four engine builders Nissan named in 2013 was Takumi Kurosawa, a master craftsman whose first name is the title.
Krumm's 7:08.679 was the last lap of the last of four drivers, set five minutes before rain fell. Sébastien Buemi was on a sub-7:10 lap when his car ran low on fuel; he had taken some out to save weight.
Car and Driver's 2015 Nismo and 2014 Track Edition matched on 0-60, quarter-mile time, braking and skidpad grip. The Nismo's extra 55 hp showed up only on the run to 130 mph, 0.3 s quicker.
In Car and Driver's test, stops from 70 mph shrank from 160 feet to 145 on the final two runs. "The brakes love heat," its notes say.
The 2022 Nismo Special Edition's unpainted carbon hood saves 100 grams, Nissan says. The same release announced a toy Nismo for McDonald's Happy Set meals in Japan.
The final car off the Tochigi line, on August 26, 2025, was a Premium edition T-spec in Midnight Purple for a customer in Japan, Japan being the last market selling it.
The U.S. Nismo went from $149,990 in 2015 to $221,090 in 2024, 47% more derived, with the same 600 hp rating throughout.
In August 2026 a 59-mile 2016 Nismo sold for $268,000 on Bring a Trailer, about $118,000 over the 2015 car's base price derived.
In our quarter-mile model the GT-R Nismo finishes 20th of 21, using Car and Driver's 11.2 s. The car just quicker and the car just slower:
Car and Driver recorded 2.9 seconds in a 2015 GT-R Nismo, with the first foot of rollout subtracted, as it does for every car. MotorTrend also recorded 2.9 seconds in 2015 and 2017 Nismos, and MotorWeek recorded 3.3 seconds in a 2020 Nismo. We found no official Nissan 0-60 claim for the U.S. car.
Car and Driver recorded 11.2 seconds at 125 mph in its 2014 test of a 2015 Nismo, and 11.0 seconds at 128 mph in a 2015 comparison test. MotorTrend recorded 11.0 seconds in a 2015 and a 2017 Nismo. MotorWeek's 2020 Nismo ran 11.4 seconds at 125 mph.
Nissan rates it at 600 hp (441 kW) at 6,800 rpm, with 481 lb-ft of torque, from a hand-assembled 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 with turbochargers from the GT-R GT3 race car. The regular GT-R made 545 to 565 hp in the U.S. over the same years.
The last R35 left Nissan's Tochigi plant in Japan on August 26, 2025, after about 48,000 cars in 18 years. It was a Midnight Purple Premium edition T-spec for a Japanese customer, not a Nismo. Production for North America ended in October 2024, so 2024 was the last U.S. model year.
Nissan's U.S. sticker rose from $149,990 for the 2015 Nismo to $221,090 for the 2024, before destination. Low-mileage cars now sell above sticker: on Bring a Trailer in 2026, a 2016 Nismo with 59 miles sold for $268,000 and a 2023 Nismo for $320,999, while a 2018 with 17,000 miles sold for $208,000.
Nissan says yes but hasn't shown one. CEO Ivan Espinosa told The Drive in April 2026 that Nissan is "actually working already on the GT-R." Nissan North America's planning chief says it will be a hybrid that probably keeps the VR38 engine block, with concrete announcements by 2028 and the car hopefully before 2030.
Labels. Claimed: Nissan said it. Recorded: timed on an actual run: an instrumented test, a certified or verified record run, or a maker's own pass on a drag strip's timing system, with the tester, place and conditions named. Verified: an official body; nothing on this page qualifies, because no official body timed the lap records. Reported: press reporting we couldn't trace to a primary source; we also use it for auction sale results such as Bring a Trailer's, as on our other car pages. Derived: our math, explained in the methodology guide. Race figures come from the lineup in our quarter-mile simulator, which uses Car and Driver's 2014 test for this car. Car and Driver subtracts the first foot of rollout from its 0-60 times, about 0.3 s for most cars. See every car in our car profiles.
Where sources disagree. Car and Driver's two tests of 2015 Nismos, possibly the same car (both $151,880 as tested), produced 11.2 s at 125 mph and 11.0 s at 128 mph, at 3,883 and 3,894 lb; we race the first. Nissan's 2013 release dates the record lap September 30, 2013, while its 2025 farewell release says November 2013, which is when the lap was announced. Car and Driver's spec box gives 481 lb-ft at 3,200 rpm; Nissan's 2023 Japan release gives 652 Nm (481 lb-ft) at 3,600 to 5,600 rpm.
Images. Goodwood photo: Michelin LIVE UK, CC BY 2.0, cropped, with distant spectators blurred. Geneva photo: Norbert Aepli, CC BY 3.0, cropped. Rear photo: Falcon® Photography, CC BY-SA 2.0, resized; our edit is shared under the same license. The hero and the front view are our own generated illustrations, not Nissan photography or design data. None of the images are Nissan photos.
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