Nissan GT-R returns to Australia – in paint form
Nissan has added a colour from its legendary GT-R – which was discontinued this year – to the options list of its Z sports car, one of three new paint choices in Australian showrooms for the 2025 model year.
The Nissan Z is produced in the same factory in Kaminokawa, Tochigi, Japan where every Nissan Skyline GT-R plus the most recent R35 GT-R, which dropped the Skyline name, has been made since 1969.
Bayside Blue is a colour first used on the wild-looking 1995 R33 Skyline GT-R LM, which was a road-going homologation special designed to compete at the famous Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race.
The colour was named after the Bayshore Highway in Tokyo, Japan – a prominent road in the city’s underground car culture, made famous in countless racing video games.
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It was also used on the next-generation R34 Skyline GT-R, introduced in 1999, and made a comeback on the R35 GT-R in 2019 for a 50th anniversary of the GT-R nameplate.
For the 2025 model year, the blue GT-R paintwork is available on the standard Z coupe – but not the high-performance Nismo version – at no extra cost.
It’s one of three new colour choices for the 2025 Z, with a Super Black roof option added for the existing Ivory Pearl and Plasma Red exteriors, offered on both Z and Z Nismo coupes.
A Super Black roof was already offered with Brilliant Silver across the lineup, and with the Nismo-exclusive Slate Grey.
Other exterior finishes include Black Diamond on both the standard and Nismo coupes, with the standard coupe also offered in Gun and Rosewood metallic finishes.
Pricing for the Z is unchanged, with the standard Z ringing up at $76,140 before on-road costs and the Nismo priced at $94,605 before on-roads.
The Z is now Nissan’s only sports car, and is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine producing 298kW of power and 475Nm of torque, with the Nismo upping those outputs to 309kW and 520Nm.
The standard coupe is offered with either a six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic transmission, both available for the same price, but the Nismo is auto-only.
The flagship Z continues to offer various mechanical and aesthetic enhancements, in addition to the bump in power and torque.
The R35 GT-R bowed out of Australian showrooms in October 2021 – one of a number of sports cars axed due to tougher safety regulations – with 993 sold here since its introduction in April 2009.
Orders for the R35 closed in Japan in March 2025 ahead of the last examples set to be delivered to customers there by October.
Despite widely publicised financial challenges – which forced a change of global CEO – Nissan says it remains committed to sports cars, and has previously indicated it plans on a new-generation ‘R36’ GT-R which may be an electric vehicle (EV).
The GT-R made a huge impact in Australia when the R32 Skyline GT-R dominated Group A touring car racing from its arrival in 1990, winning the Australian Touring Car Championship three times and two Bathurst 1000 races.
It was the first Japanese car to win the Bathurst race and remains so to this day, but that position is under threat as Toyota will enter Supercars with its Supra sports car in 2026.
The R32 was the first road-going GT-R offered in Australia, despite the GT-R being made in Japan since 1969, with Nissan offering only 100 units here.
The follow-up R33 and R34 Skyline GT-R models weren’t sold here but have a cult following on our roads as grey (private) imports.
Pricing
| Model | Price before on-road costs |
|---|---|
| 2025 Nissan Z (manual or auto) | $76,160 |
| 2025 Nissan Z Nismo auto | $94,605 |
MORE: Everything Nissan Z
MORE: Everything Nissan GT-R
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