R35 Nissan GT-R goes retro, gets 1000 horsepower

Are we just getting older or are resto-mods getting younger? For now it’s the turn of the 2007-onwards R35 Nissan GT-R—although arguably it’s more of a backdate than an update.

Britain’s Artisan Vehicle Design takes the R35 and rebodies it in a carbon (fiber)-copy of the R33 from the mid-Nineties. It’s front and rear where the retro look is most apparent, with rectangular headlamps, a straight front splitter, and a scooped hood. Move to the back and you get twin circular lamps in a bluff tail, together with a suitably large bi-plane wing. In profile you’ll note extended side skirts and JDM six-spoke alloy wheels.

Move inside, though, and the past is banished. Instead, there are swathes of Alcantara fabric and a huge central infotainment screen that wouldn’t look out of place in a Tesla. Carbon Recaro sports seats are fitted and there’s a surprisingly simple, deep-dished steering wheel, thickly wrapped in Alcantara. Exposed carbon fiber is generously applied throughout.

There’s nothing retro about the car’s drivetrain, with the 3.8-liter, twin-turbo V-6 being offered in two tunes. First up is an 800-hp Track specification, but if that’s not enough then Ultimate delivers 1000-hp on the nose. Understandably, cars with the Ultimate pack also get upgraded suspension, brakes, gearbox and exhaust systems. Although the London-based company hasn’t revealed any performance stats, it says that the carbon body panels “lower the kerb weight dramatically whilst increasing stiffness to deliver a totally new, enhanced experience.”

It will be summer 2024 before the first car is ready but orders are being taken now, with prices from around $470,000.