The Nissan GTR R35 is an old car. Long past its expiration date, this warhorse has been in production since 2007. While it isn’t the widely used platform the former R-models were, it has been a success in at least capturing a new generation of enthusiasts and the desires of the old guard. Regardless of its geriatric issues, I am firmly in the camp of ‘wish I could afford one of those’. To commemorate the soon-to-be ending of its production, they’ve made it more expensive and unattainable with some special colors and badges.
It’s a bit of a lazy marketing scheme to merely add some new colors and badges, but automakers keep doing it, so there must be a financial incentive. I certainly wouldn’t be taking such an easy exit if I were running Nissan. Part one of the final act of the R35 should be something of a celebration unseen by any Skyline fan: fireworks, twenty-one-gun salutes; even a monster truck show at intermission, and a lady getting cut in half or a man putting his head in a lion’s mouth. C’mon Nissan, we can do better!
This is what we’re getting though: the Takumi edition. Japanese for ‘artisan’ this special edition is to celebrate the true masters who’ve been building this amazing machine since before the Great Recession. In Midnight Purple with a “Mori Green” interior and RAYS 20-inch gold forged wheels, it sounds like a blind man picked the pallet, but just look at it… it does work! Midnight Purple being one of the most desirable colors on any Nissan product, the Takumi edition is surely to be a top pick for the anticipated low production run of 2024 models.
If purple, green, and gold aren’t your choice color pallet, you can still get Bayside Blue—a true favorite—and the “Sora Blue” interior, which if you ask me, is a better look for anyone’s nine-to-five routine. Bayside Blue is the color I imagine all Skyline’s wearing. For the R35, it was featured in 2019 as the “50th-anniversary” model and hasn’t been since. That’s enough for me to start exploring which body part I can part with to try and afford one.
‘wish I could afford one of those’