2025 will go down in history as Nissan bids farewell to the GTRR 35, but now fans have a reason to look forward to the future. While the timing of Godzilla’s return is uncertain, there is good news about the company’s performance car lineup. A renewed and somewhat surprising interest in NISMO will see the portfolio grow from five to ten models in the coming years.
Doubling the lineup is part of a broader drive to grow the NISMO sub-brand, increasing annual sales from 100,000 to 150,000 units. If all goes according to plan, Nissan expects to hit that target by the end of 2028. To get there, it is considering working with “external partners”. In other words, there may come a day when a NISMO-branded vehicle is co-produced with another automaker.
The Z is the top of Nissan’s current Nismo lineup, but there are plenty of regional models you’ve already forgotten about. A new patrol Nismo was launched in the Middle East earlier this year, packing more punch than America’s Armada Nismo. For obvious reasons, we’re counting both as a single model.
There’s also an Aria Nismo, a high-performance take on an electric SUV that’s already dead in the U.S. This badass is sold as the X-Trail in some markets, and it got the NISMO treatment a few months ago. In Japan, Nissan sold the Note Aura Nismo hot hatchback.
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Source: Nissan
According to Nissan’s global design director, Alfonso Albisa, the four-door Skyline will be positioned somewhere between the Z and GT-R. It’s worth noting that the outgoing model sold in Japan received a glow-up as a limited-run special edition a few years ago, making a follow-up model a logical assumption.
Nissan has promised to bring back the Xtra, but it’s too early to say whether a NISMO version is in the works. Speaking of promises, the GT-R will return one day, as Nissan claims it is “committed to reimagining the next generation of the GT-R.” Doubling down, CEO Ivan Espinosa says “the goal is one day for the GTR nameplate.” Here’s hoping the R36 is among the five planned models.
Meanwhile, Nissan aims to debut Nismo-branded race car prototypes starting in fiscal year 2026, starting next April. Lessons learned from these test vehicles will be applied to future street legal models.
