- Delivered across Sydney
- Bond and fees shown before you pay
- Never swapped to a lesser car
The R35 GT-R is the car a whole generation learned on a games console before any of them saw one in a car park, and the facelift from 2017 onward is the version worth hiring. Nissan rebuilt the cabin, tidied the gearbox at walking pace and left the hand-assembled twin-turbo V6 alone. It is confirmed by request rather than sitting on a lot, so send your dates and you will get a straight answer on whether one can be delivered to you.
Check GT-R dates
Tell us your dates and where in Sydney. We source the car, confirm the total including the bond, and only then take payment.
Specifications
| Model | Nissan GT-R R35 (2017-on facelift) |
|---|---|
| Engine | 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6, hand-assembled |
| Power | 419kW (Nismo 441kW) |
| Torque | 632Nm |
| 0-100km/h | About 3.2 seconds (Nismo quicker) |
| Gearbox | Six-speed dual-clutch |
| Drivetrain | All-wheel drive |
| Seats | 2+2 |
| Tier | Exotic |
The number that matters least on that table is the 0-100 time, because every fast car
quotes one now. The two that matter most are the all-wheel drive and the 2+2 layout, because
together they describe a car that will do its party trick in the rain and then take two
children home from the event afterwards.
What It Is Actually Like in Sydney
The launch is what people book it for, and it delivers every time
Every car in this price bracket is quick. What the GT-R does differently is make its pace
available to anyone, immediately, without the run-up or the technique a rear-drive car needs.
Four driven wheels and a dual-clutch gearbox put the full 632Nm into the road rather than into
wheelspin, and the car simply leaves. On a short on-ramp to the M1 heading north it is the
difference between merging and being in the outside lane before the ramp has ended. Do it
again and the result is identical. There is no weather to wait for and no skill to acquire
first.
That is the honest comparison with the rear-drive exotics. On a dry road, with a driver who
knows what they are doing, they are as fast. On a damp Tuesday with someone who has never
driven anything above 250kW, the Nissan is in a different league, because it does the hard
part on your behalf. It is the most democratic fast car ever built, and that is not a small
thing to say about a car with this many kilowatts.
It feels like a big car, because it is one
The GT-R is wide, long and heavy, and it does not pretend otherwise. Where a Porsche
shrinks around you, the Nissan sits you high in a broad cabin and lets you feel the mass
moving underneath. Through a tight sequence on the Old Pacific Highway it works its brakes
and its front tyres hard, and the steering tells you precisely how hard. You drive it with
your shoulders rather than your fingertips.
The reward for that effort is stability. On a fast, flowing road with real speed on, it
is planted in a way that lighter cars are not. Bells Line of Road, with its long sight lines
and changing cambers, is where the car makes the most sense: the weight settles, the
all-wheel drive tidies the corner exits, and the pace it carries between bends is close to
absurd for something wearing number plates. The Royal National Park is the opposite case,
tighter and lumpier, and there it is a car you manage rather than one you enjoy.
Parking deserves a mention, because the size follows you into the car park. The bonnet
is long, the rear window is a letterbox, and the rear three-quarter view is mostly wing and
pillar. The reversing camera and the sensors carry the load, and a standard shopping centre
bay is achievable with a little care. What is not achievable is the casual, one-motion park
you would do in a hatchback. Allow the extra minute, pick the end bay, and it stops being a
problem after the first day.
The mechanical noises are part of the deal
Nissan never tried to make this car quiet. At walking pace in a multi-storey the gearbox
clacks, the driveline whirrs and passengers expecting a luxury car will ask whether something
has gone wrong. Nothing has. The transaxle sits at the back for weight distribution and every
shaft between it and the engine has a voice. The 2017 update took the edge off the worst of
the low-speed behaviour, but it did not silence it and was never meant to.
Above that the V6 makes a hard, industrial sound rather than the bark of a V8. It is not a
musical car. It is a purposeful one, and the people who love it love it for exactly that. If
what you want is a soundtrack, the AMG GT on this page's cards is the better booking.
The engine has a person's name on it
Each of these V6 engines is assembled by hand by one of a small group of Nissan craftsmen
at the Yokohama plant, and a plaque with that person's name sits on the engine cover. It is a
small detail that changes how people look under the bonnet at a car park meet, and it is a
fair summary of the whole car: built on a production line in one sense, individually made in
another. Australian sales ended in 2021 when new side-impact rules came in, so the pool of
cars is fixed and slowly shrinking, which is part of why they hold their value and part of
why sourcing one takes a phone call rather than a click.
Things You Should Know
The ride is firm and the tyres are loud
Even in the softest of its three damper settings the GT-R rides like a car designed to lap
a circuit, which it was. On the concrete sections of the M1 the tyre roar is constant and the
expansion joints come up through the seat. On a smooth country road it is perfectly
acceptable. On a broken suburban street it is tiring. If the booking is a week of commuting,
be honest with yourself about that before you commit, because it does not soften with
familiarity and neither will you.
The back seats and the boot are real, within limits
The 2+2 layout is genuine in the sense that two children or two short adults can sit
behind a driver of average height for a short trip. Nobody would choose to do a long one
back there. The boot is the pleasant surprise: deep enough for two hard suitcases or a
weekend of soft luggage for two, which puts it ahead of every mid-engined car on this site
and most of the front-engined ones. For a couple going away for a few days it is an entirely
practical car, and that is worth more than it sounds when the alternative is posting your
bags ahead.
Using it hard costs more than the daily rate
It takes premium unleaded and gets through it at a rate that surprises people who have
only driven turbocharged four-cylinders. The tyres are wide, expensive and wear fast under
launch-control starts, and the brakes tell the same story. Normal wear is included in the
hire. A car returned with the rear tyres visibly used up is not normal wear, and a kerbed
wheel on rims this wide is a real bill. Drive it hard on a good road by all means; treat
launch control as something you do once so you know, not something you do at every set of
lights.
Choosing the Trim
Premium
The standard 419kW car and the one most requests will be for. It has everything that
makes the GT-R what it is, the more comfortable of the seat options and the cabin the 2017
facelift rebuilt. On a public road it is not slower than the Nismo in any way you could
measure with the equipment you are allowed to use.
Nismo
441kW, carbon bodywork, a fixed rear wing and suspension set up for a circuit rather than
the Sea Cliff Bridge. It is the collector's car and it is priced like one, so it is far rarer
and far harder to source. If the Nismo specifically is what you want, say so when you send
your dates and you will get a plain answer about whether it is possible for those dates. It
will not be a quick answer, and it is more likely to be no than yes.
Who Books This Car
Drivers who grew up with the GT-R on a screen and want to find out whether the real one
matches the memory. It does. Enthusiasts who have hired the rear-drive V8s and want the other
kind of fast, the kind that works on any road in any weather. Couples going away for a
weekend who want a seriously quick car with a boot that takes their bags, which rules out
nearly all of the exotics.
It is proposed from $950 a day, which puts it above the M3 Competition xDrive and well
under the mid-engined cars, and on outright pace it sits between those two rather than closer
to the cheaper one. It is confirmed by request: tell us your dates, we source the car, and
you hear a clear yes or no before anything is charged. If the answer is no, you will hear
that too, together with the nearest car that can be put in your driveway on those dates.
One last honest note on expectations. The GT-R is a car that rewards a plan: a drive with
a destination, a road chosen for the car rather than the other way round, and a return leg
timed before the driver is tired. Booked as a taxi for a week of meetings it will feel loud,
firm and wasted, and the money would be better spent on something softer. Booked for a
weekend built around the driving, it is one of the few cars at this price that leaves people
wanting the same car again rather than the next one up.
If the Nissan GT-R R35 is booked
We never move you down a tier. If your dates are taken, these are the exotic cars we will offer instead, and we will tell you plainly if none of them is free rather than substituting something lesser on the day.
BMW M3 Competition xDrive
- 390kW
- 3.5s
- AWD
- 5 seats
- $850/day
Quicker than most of the exotics with four doors and a boot. The one that asks you to give up nothing.
Mercedes-AMG GT
- 350kW
- 4.0s
- RWD
- 2 seats
- $1500/day
The long-bonnet twin-turbo V8 coupe. Front-mid engine, rear drive, and a noise that turns heads before the badge does.
Want four doors with the same kind of all-weather pace?
The BMW M3 Competition xDrive launches almost as hard, seats five and is on the road today. Tell us what the weekend involves and we will say which one fits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which GT-R is this page about?
The 2017-on facelift of the R35, which is the car with the redesigned dashboard, the larger touchscreen, the revised front bumper and the recalibrated dual-clutch gearbox. It makes 419kW from the same 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 as earlier cars. The Nismo version with 441kW is a different, far rarer proposition and is covered separately on this page. Ask for it by name if that is the car you want.
How old do I need to be to hire the GT-R?
Twenty-five, with a full unrestricted licence checked in person at handover. The GT-R sits in the Exotic tier and the minimum driver age for that tier is 25, with no exceptions for driving history. Every additional driver has to be named on the booking and meet the same requirements, because an unnamed driver is not covered at all.
Can it be delivered to me?
Yes, across the Sydney metro. Delivery to the airport, to Parramatta and the Hills, or out to the Northern Beaches and Palm Beach is priced by distance and shown as its own line before you pay. Give us the address with your dates and the quote comes back with delivery already in it, so there is nothing to negotiate on the day.
How does the bond work on an exotic like this?
A bond is held on the named driver's card as a pre-authorisation and released after the car is returned and checked. It is not a charge. The bond amount and the damage excess for the Exotic tier are both put in writing before you pay anything, alongside the option to reduce the excess, and neither figure changes at handover.
Is the GT-R actually available right now?
It is confirmed by request. This is a car sourced for your dates rather than one parked and waiting, so when your dates arrive we check, come back with a clear yes or no, and only take payment once it is confirmed. If it cannot be done for your dates we will say so and offer the closest car that can be.
Is it hard to drive in traffic?
No, but it is not refined. The dual-clutch gearbox clacks and the driveline hums at car-park speeds, the ride is firm in every setting and the tyres are loud on concrete motorway. None of that is a fault. It steers, stops and parks like a large coupe, and the all-wheel drive makes it far more forgiving in rain than any rear-drive car this fast.
Can I take it to a track day or a drag strip?
No. Circuit, drag strip and any other competitive or timed use is not permitted on any vehicle, under any circumstances, and doing so voids the cover entirely. Launch control on a public road is also not something to make a habit of, because it uses tyres and clutches at a rate that shows up at return.
Does it really have back seats and a boot?
It does, and they are more useful than the mid-engined alternatives. The two rear seats suit children or short adults on a short trip. The boot takes two hard suitcases or a weekend of soft bags for two people. For a couple going away for a few days it is a genuinely practical car, which is rare at this level of performance.