It’s easy to forget just how important the R35 Nissan GT-R was. Here was a car brimming with computers, tyres plump with nitrogen and, with gentleman’s agreement on power outputs between Japanese carmakers now dropped, a thermonuclear twin-turbo V6 under the bonnet capable of truly ballistic power with some light fettling. Supercar-like performance ensued, in even standard form, with an original asking price of £56,000 in 2009 making it the bargain of the century.

Of course, what made the R35 so mesmerising is that it could leave all but the most focused of track cars in its dust, despite lugging around 1,750kg of computing power. A string of limited-edition models brought more performance, notably the ultra-rare Track Edition that stripped out the rear bench, while virtually every tuner under the sun played a part in extracting silly horsepower numbers. But we all knew that when Nismo got its hands on the R35 platform would we see what the GT-R was truly capable of.

That day arrived in 2013 and, honestly, it looked a tad underwhelming in light of the mad creations coming out of the aftermarket. New Recaro seats, deletion of the stereo’s active noise control system and various carbon fibre bits could only shave off 17kg. And while Nismo stuffed in the turbochargers from its GT500 racer, power crept up from 550hp to 600hp. A decent jump, but not nearly as colossal as the £120,000 price tag – nearly double that of the base car. As is the case with the standard model, however, the GT-R Nismo is all about marginal gains. Factor in bespoke Bilstein dampers and an aero kit that generates up to 100kg downforce, and the ten-second lap time improvement around the Norschliefe starts to make sense.

Then, in 2019, it released the car you see here. This isn’t just the old car with new bumpers and a refreshed interior, with Nismo following the same principles as the original by running over every component with a fine tooth comb in the hunt for performance. New turbos were fitted, this time from the GT3 racer, while the old steel brakes were ditched for carbon ceramics. Crucially, though, it was a fair bit lighter than the old car, with a carbon roof, revised carbon bumpers and wings plus new lightweight components shed 30kg. This had a drastic effect on the suspension set-up, leading to a considerably better ride over its predecessor. 

Nissan has since revealed yet another update to the GT-R Nismo, but just like the 400Z and various other Japanese new performance cars, it’s probably not coming to the UK. Darn. So that means the car we have here is the most extreme GT-R you can buy in Britain – and your only chance to pick up a facelifted Nismo at the time of writing.

It won’t come as a huge surprise that Nissan didn’t shift many in the UK, with HowManyLeft putting the number somewhere in the 40s. That obviously wasn’t helped by the giant premiums over the standard GT-R, which was hardly a slouch in the first place.  The good news is that this car at £169,995 is cheaper than it was when new. Okay, so only by £10k or so, but that just goes to show that it looks to be a safe place to put your money. Not that you’ll want to part ways with it after leaving the dealer, mind.

Engine: 3,799cc V6, twin turbocharged
Transmission: six-speed dual-clutch, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 600@6,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 481@3,600rpm-5,800rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Year registered: 2019
Recorded mileage: 11,000
Price new: £180,000
Yours for: £169,995