Unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show after seven years of development, the R35 replaced the Skyline GT-R’s four-wheel steering with a rear-mounted transaxle version of the ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system, aiming for near-even 54:46 front/rear weight distribution.[1] Every VR38DETT engine was hand-built by one of a small number of named “Takumi” craftsmen at Nissan’s Yokohama plant for the car’s entire run. That was a detail Nissan used in marketing throughout, and one of the few things that did not change across seven distinct model updates.
Output rose in five discrete steps over 18 years (480, 485, 530, 550 and finally 570 PS), each tied to a specific facelift and engine revision, with the Nismo variant, introduced in 2014, always sitting above the standard car at 600 PS. Three trims are recorded here: the original 2007 launch car, the final 2016-2025 standard car, and the Nismo, rather than all seven intermediate steps the source documents.
