Farewelling Nissan’s legendary GT-R

The iridescent blue titanium exhaust of Australia’s last Nissan GT-R ticks and crackles in pit lane after a final assault at Sandown Raceway.

I take a moment to soak in the surroundings – the smell of hot brakes and tyres and the shimmering heat haze pouring from arrow-shaped bonnet vents.

My lap data is displayed on digital gauges that were created by the development team for the best-selling PlayStation video game, Gran Turismo.

There are close ties between PlayStation and Nissan’s supercar. Video games introduced a generation of enthusiasts to the world of performance cars, and Nissan gave gamers a chance to make the leap from competing online to contesting top-class races in the real world.

Gamers beat the odds – along with supercars built by Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and Aston Martin – to help the GT-R win the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2015.

Victory at the 12 Hour capped off an amazing run in Australian motorsport for the GT-R, fondly referred to as Godzilla. It’s the only car to secure both the 12 Hour and the Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama, the latter made possible by a small production run of Australian-specific “R32” models required for racing homologation in 1991.

It feels right, then, that the final GT-R is finished in green and gold. The modern “R35” variant first captured the imagination of car lovers in 2007, promising superior performance to Porsche’s 911 Turbo for about half the money.

Millions watched as Jeremy Clarkson’s Top Gear test finished in an ambulance when the GT-R’s otherworldly grip did a number on his neck. Then “The Stig” laid down a lap besting many mid-engine exotics and reinforcing Nissan’s claims.

Though it represents the oldest supercar on sale today, this is still a desirable and valuable machine.

It’s officially listed for $256,700 plus on-road costs, but owners lucky enough to secure the rare and sold-out Nissan GT-R T-Spec are asking for seven-figure sums in the classifieds.

That’s because sales of the GT-R were cut short by government red tape, robbing collectors of the chance to order one of the final examples.

Painted in “millennium jade” with bronze rims over a green leather interior with gold stitching, this GT-R T-Spec looks like something an Aussie Olympian might wear at an opening ceremony.

Peer closer and you’ll find those 20-inch alloys – forged by Japanese motorsport specialists Rays – house oversized Brembo carbon ceramic brakes and are wrapped in super-sticky Dunlop track tyres.

The rear spoiler is handmade from carbon fibre, the Bilstein suspension carefully retuned.

It grunts to life with a purposeful growl at the prod of a starter button, and there’s a distant clunk like a superbike going into gear when you pop the automatic transmission selector into drive.

Clunky around town, the big rear-mounted gearbox comes into its own on track as the GT-R snaps through the gears with a pronounced crack from the exhaust.

It’s just as good on the way into corners, dispatching downshifts with a triumphant flare of revs before you tip in and get on the gas.

Nissan’s 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 isn’t the most tuneful motor on a lottery-winners’ list, but there’s no arguing against the effectiveness of its 419kW and 632Nm.

The GT-R sends torque to the rear wheels by default, shunting drive forward for all-wheel traction when deemed necessary by its computer. The combination makes light work of the big coupe’s weight, shortening straights like a true exotic.

It’s a unique experience combining software-powered drive and shock absorber systems with meaty, analog-feeling steering, imperious brakes and surprisingly soft springs.

Pitching and rolling to demand maximum purchase from its tyres, the Nissan’s soft and high-mounted seat isolates you from the physics experiment happening at the road surface.

It doesn’t always feel ludicrously fast, but the stopwatch doesn’t lie – in lap times, or at the drag strip.

Driving the GT-R at speed is always a thrill, though there was a sombre finality to this experience.

Verdict: This Nissan GT-R deserves its place as an Australian motoring legend.

Four stars.

Nissan GT-R T-Spec

Price: $256,700 plus on-roads

Engine: 3.8-litre V6 twin turbo, 419kW/632Nm

Warranty/Service: 5-year/unlimited km, no capped price servicing

Safety: 6 airbags, stability control

Thirst: 11.7L/100km

Cargo: 315 litres

Spare: Inflator kit

Originally published as Farewelling Nissan’s legendary GT-R