Nissan's GT-R might be gone for now, but new-gen Godzilla is just around the corner to rattle Porsche 911 and Mercedes-AMG GT

Nissan Australia has been forced to pull the GT-R supercar from sale due to the ageing model running afoul of new crash-safety standards to be introduced in November 2021, but don’t expect Godzilla to lie dormant for long. 

Australian Design Rules (ADR) 85 now states that cars that received approval before November 2017 will need to be side-impact crash tested, something Nissan Australia is likely unwilling to pour time and resources into for an outgoing, low-volume model like the GT-R. 

“Due to the implementation of Australia’s unique pole side impact design rules (ADR 85), the Nissan GT-R will not be imported into the Australian market after October 31, 2021,” a Nissan spokesperson said. 

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“Note that this regulation does not apply to existing models in other markets.” 

As such, the just-revealed GT-R T-Spec is expected to be the last lot of R35-series GT-Rs to be made available in Australia, but fans might not have to wait long before Godzilla rises again. 

Euro NCAP will also adopt a similar test, from January 2022, meaning the often-talked about new-generation GT-R due around 2023 will also have to meet a new stringent side-impact standard to be sold in Europe. 

As such, the new-gen GT-R will be clear to launch in Australia to take on the likes of the Porsche 911 Turbo, Mercedes-AMG GT and Audi R8 as Japan’s only mass-market supercar. 

But what will the new GT-R pack under its considerable bonnet bulge? 

According to the latest rumours, the GT-R will follow along the Nissan Z’s tracks and recycle the existing engine and platform with an all-new body. 

This means the a 3.8-litre twin-turbo petrol V6, which outputs as much as 447kW/652Nm when slotted under the flagship Nismo grade. 

Plans to adopt an electrified powertrain seem to have vanished, which could blow out development costs, but with the buzz surrounding the 2022 Nissan Z, would a heavily updated R35 be such a bad thing? 

Nissan senior vice-president of global product planning Ivan Espinosa told media last year at the reveal of the Z Proto that the aim of the new GT-R is still to be a “credible performance machine”. 

“What will be the goal of the next GT-R is to again be a very credible performance machine, the way the current GT-R is even after some years on the market, it’s still very credible, super-fast, super great car to drive and we will remain true to that,” he said. 

“The GT-R, together with the Z and Patrol, are perhaps the three most iconic and brand representative nameplates that we have as a company, that have a deep history within the company.” 

“These are the nameplates that we are consistently looking at how, when, what we should do with them.”