Free Printable Nissan GT-R Coloring Page with PDF Sheet

Nissan GT-R: History & Fun Facts

The GT-R reads as a supercar from the back before anything else registers: four round taillights stacked in a tight two-by-two block, wide rear haunches flaring out over the tires, and a low spoiler lip instead of a tall wing. That taillight layout has stayed on every generation of GT-R and Skyline GT-R since the 1970s, making it one of the most recognizable rear-end signatures in the entire sports car world.

Earning the Godzilla Nickname

Australian magazine Wheels first nicknamed the R32 Skyline GT-R "Godzilla" in 1989 after it dominated Group A touring car racing so thoroughly that officials eventually pushed the class toward retirement partly because of it. The nickname stuck through every generation since, including the modern R35 GT-R that carries the name worldwide today.

The R35: A Clean Break From Skyline

Nissan dropped the Skyline name entirely for the 2007 R35 generation, launching it simply as the Nissan GT-R and building it as a standalone model rather than a trim of the Skyline sedan lineup. That change let engineers design a dedicated platform and body specifically around the GT-R's performance mission instead of adapting a sedan chassis.

Twin-Turbo V6 Power and AWD Grip

Every R35 GT-R uses a hand-built 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V6 called the VR38DETT, paired with Nissan's ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system that can send power almost entirely to the rear wheels or split it toward the front when extra grip is needed. That combination lets the GT-R launch from a stop with minimal wheelspin despite producing well over 500 horsepower in later trims.

Each Engine Built by One Named Technician

Nissan assembles every GT-R engine by hand in a dedicated clean room at its Yokohama plant, and each engine carries a small nameplate identifying the single technician, called a Takumi, who built it. Only a handful of technicians have ever earned the certification required to build a GT-R engine alone.

A Transaxle Layout for Better Balance

The GT-R mounts its transmission at the rear axle instead of directly behind the engine, a layout called a transaxle that shifts weight distribution closer to 50/50 front-to-rear for sharper handling. That rear-mounted gearbox is part of why the rear half of the car, shown prominently in this outline, carries so much of the GT-R's mechanical complexity.

Nurburgring Lap Times as a Development Tool

Nissan engineers used Germany's Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit as a primary testing ground throughout GT-R development, chasing faster lap times with each model-year update to prove the car's real-world performance. Those Nurburgring runs became a recurring marketing point, with Nissan publishing updated lap times almost every time it revised the car.

A Nearly 20-Year Production Run

The R35 generation launched in 2007 and continued in production into the mid-2020s with only detail updates and periodic power increases, an unusually long run for a performance flagship in an era when most rivals redesign every seven to ten years. That longevity let Nissan continuously refine the same basic platform rather than starting over from scratch.