The Nissan GT-R is a historic landmark in the brand’s history and has been for over 50 years now. However, as times continue to change and the world turns more toward electric vehicles and renewable energy, things like the GT-R are a dying breed. Unfortunately, banning performance gasoline vehicles is not far away in some countries. Strict regulations are already starting to effectively prohibit them.
The GT-R and its roaring twin-turbo V6 is now forever silenced in Europe.
2021 Nissan GT-R| Nissan
According to Autoevolution, new Nissan GT-Rs will no longer be available for sale in Europe. Nissan’s websites in Europe no longer show the legendary all-wheel drive supercar killer.
This, of course, comes courtesy of stricter noise and, especially, emissions regulations. Europe continues to turn more toward renewable resources and electric vehicles. So, the GT-R’s place in the lineup was making less and less sense. According to Autoblog Netherlands, this isn’t a government decision from what is gatherable via Google Translate. It’s a Nissan decision.
It seems that the rising cost of taxes and fees associated with buying an emissions-heavy car made the GT-R’s price skyrocket. According to Autoblog Netherlands, the starting price was equivalent to about $202,000 with current exchange rates. That puts it over $85,000 above the U.S. starting price. Furthermore, the price of a Nismo GT-R was the equivalent of $336,000. That’s over $120,000 more than the price of a Nismo GT-R in the U.S.
So, with sales dwindling as prices continued to increase due to regulations, it seems Nissan ultimately decided to pull the GT-R from the European market. Likely, the cost of shipping and distributing the cars were not worth the minuscule sales the cars were generating.
— Nissan (@NissanUSA) September 14, 2021
“Nissan Automotive Europe has communicated to its dealer network that its GT-R supercar will cease to be offered for sale in Europe in 2022. The combination of forthcoming new noise regulations and reduced demand for Nissan’s legendary supercar means that its end of sales in Europe will come after 13 years as the icon of accessible automotive performance. No more customer orders can be made,” Nissan told Autoevolution.
Unfortunately, the only option for Europeans now is to buy one used or from dealer inventory. That, or they can purchase the 2023 Nissan Z. Though, it’s not quite the same.
Electrified performance is the only solution in Europe
2021 Nissan GT-R | Nissan
More and more manufacturers are turning toward hybrid and electric vehicles to keep up with demanding government regulations. For example, Lamborghini’s new Aventador replacement features a hybrid version of its iconic V12 engine. Additionally, Aston Martin put out a limited-edition V12 Vantage, stating that it’s the final Vantage model that will ever come with a V12.
It’s certainly sad to see the end of high-performance sports cars with gasoline engines at the end of the tunnel. However, cars like the McLaren Artura keep our hopes high for the future of performance vehicles. Electric motors offer a world of acceleration that internal combustion engines just can’t touch. So, getting to see them work together in harmony is a great thing.
As unfortunate as it is to see the Nissan GT-R come to an end in Europe, we can at least take solace in the fact that we get to hang onto it for a little while longer here in the U.S. Perhaps Nissan will roll out a hybrid or electric version of the GT-R in the near future that tastefully pays homage to its lineage. Knowing the fan base of the GT-R, though, that’s a tall order.
Keyword: Goodbye GT-R: Emissions and Noise Restrictions Kill R35 in Europe