R35 GT-R

When the R34 Skyline GT-R went out of production in 2002, Nissan didn't build a direct replacement — it built something new. Launched in 2007 under chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno, the R35 dropped the Skyline name entirely and became its own model: simply GT-R. The brief was blunt — build a car engineered from scratch to out-perform Porsche's 911 Turbo at the Nurburgring, and do it as a production car a dealer could sell.

The result was the VR38DETT, a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 hand-assembled by a single named technician per engine — Nissan's “Takumi” craftsmen — paired with a rear-mounted twin-clutch transaxle and the ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system for near 50:50 weight balance. It was a jump from the analog, mechanically-tuned RB26 era into digital, computer-managed all-wheel-drive performance, and it worked: R35 lap times embarrassed cars costing three times as much.

Nicknamed “Godzilla” — a title inherited from the R32 that first terrorized Australian touring car racing — the R35 is still in production today, essentially unmatched as the car every JDM fan wants at least one photo standing next to. Few cars this fast are still this attainable to actually drive.