Nissan GT-R discontinued in Europe due to noise regulations

UPDATE, March 17: It's official: the GT-R is set to be killed off in Europe.

Just days after reports suggested Nissan's supercar-killer was transitioning out of the European market, Nissan UK confirmed to Carscoops that the GT-R would be going off-sale after a 13-year run.

Its demise can be attributed to new noise regulations across the UK and Europe, with a spokesperson for the brand saying: "Thirteen years after its European introduction as the icon of accessible automotive high performance, we can confirm that European GT-R production will end in March, 2022 due to the new EU and UK drive by noise regulations starting July 1, 2021 (No. 540.2014)."

The news is a major hit to performance Nissan enthusiasts in Europe, with the upcoming Z car not going on sale across the continent, leaving no dedicated vehicle for driving enthusiasts from the Japanese marque.

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The story to here

March 15: Nissan's revolutionary R35 GT-R is slowly fading away across the globe thanks to ever-changing regulations, with Europe becoming the next region to say goodbye to Godzilla.

First launched in 2007, the Nissan GT-R R35's 15-year lifespan has outlasted nearly every other model which was on sale at the same time – Porsche has had three generations of 911 in the years since the Nissan supercar-killer was revealed.

However, the end is nigh for GT-R as we know it as reports from Europe claim it is going off-sale in more and more countries, in part due to a tightening emissions net across the continent.

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According to Dutch publication Autoblog, the GT-R has disappeared from Nissan's websites in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, although it is still on sale in Germany and Belgium.

The report claims Nissan's Van Mossel dealership chain in the Netherlands has confirmed the GT-R will disappear from Europe, while Dutch prices starting at roughly €183,000 (AU$279,000) made it far more expensive than examples delivered to Australia, having last been on sale for $193,800 before on-road costs.

Nissan Australia announced the end of GT-R imports last year due to the Australian Design Rules side impact regulations coming into effect, ending the R35's local run since it made its debut in 2009.

Rumours of an R36 GT-R suggest it will be powered by the same 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V6 as the current model but with hybrid assistance, not only boosting power but also improving its efficiency, allowing the VR38DETT to survive for another decade.