5 Of The Best Nissan Sports Cars Ever Made

Nissan has been one of the most successful Japanese carmakers in the world, and their sports cars have played a pivotal role in the brand's decades-old history. Initially a domestic automobile maker for the Japanese market, Nissan expanded into the West with its Datsun lineup. Datsun's initial lineup in the U.S. included notable models like the Datsun 1600 and 2000 Roadsters. Later, the brand went on to solidify its presence in the U.S. market with the Datsun 240Z, marking the beginning of its performance-driven and affordable Z lineup.

Nissan's GT-R lineup was introduced around the same time, when the company launched the first generation Skyline GT-R in 1969 after merging with the Prince Motor Company (the original makers of the Skyline). Nissan later produced some of its best sports cars under both the Z and the GT-R lineup, including the iconic "Godzilla" and 370Z. Here are some of the best Nissan Sports Cars ever made.

While the R390 GT1 might not be the most important Nissan of all time, it had some of the most impressive specifications back when it debuted in the late '90s. Back in the day, manufacturers had to design at least a few road-legal cars to participate in the 24 hours of Le Mans. The R390 was originally built as a road-legal car (only to qualify for Le Mans), with racing versions developed later to comply with the Le Mans regulations.

The racing R390 had an impressive six-speed, 3.5-liter V8 engine that produced 650 hp of power at 6,800 rpm. The road-legal version was capped at a lower power rating of 350 hp at 5,200 rpm. Before racing with the R390, Nissan suffered a string of poor performances at the Le Mans. 

After competing with the R90CP cars in 1990, Nissan saw a somewhat mixed season, with multiple R90CPs not finishing the race. They came back in '95 with the Skyline GT-R R33 LM (a heavily modified version of the R-33), which managed to secure the 10th spot. It was only after shifting to the R390 in 1997, Nissan saw some of its best Le Mans results and even came third in 1998. While Nissan developed its road-legal version, the R390 was never launched for the general public.

The Skyline GT-R sported some of Nissan's most popular sports cars, like the R32 and R34. However, when the Skyline GT-R run-up finally ended in 2002 after the R34, Nissan resurrected it in 2007 (launching in the U.S. in 2008) with the Nissan GT-R, dropping the iconic "Skyline" tag from its name. Right after its launch, the GT-R started getting attention for its impressive price-to-performance ratio.

The first-generation GT-R boasted a powerful twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 engine paired with the six speed DCT that could produce 480 PS of power at 6,400 rpm. The performance-centered design could accelerate it from 0-to-62 mph in just 3.5 seconds. Moreover, the top speed of 197 mph and an impressive torque of 588 NM made it stand in line with the best supercars of the time.

Nissan has now officially shut the gates on the GT-R, with the GT-R 2024 being the last in line. That said, the 2024 GT-R is still a powerful car with a 3.8-liter V6 twin-turbocharged engine, just like its predecessors, but with an increased power of 565 hp.

While the Skyline GT-R lineup was making great cars right after its inception in 1969, it was the GT-R R32 that gave this lineup its unique identity and made it known to car enthusiasts around the globe. The impressive specs on the R32 earned it the iconic "Godzilla" title from the Australian media for being the monster performer from Japan.

The R32 debuted in 1989 in Japan with the legendary RB26DETT, an inline-six twin-turbocharged 2.6-liter engine that could theoretically produce 280 hp of power at 6,800 rpm. If the power sounds too low for a car they called a "monster," you probably only know the boring half of the story. The car was capped to below 280 hp of power to comply with Japan's "Gentleman's Agreement." 

However, the engine could be tweaked to reach much higher power outputs with bigger turbos and extra cooling. The GT-R R32 opened the floodgates of titles for Nissan by winning all 29 races in the Japanese Touring Car series from 1990 to 1993.

You might recognize the Skyline GT-R R34 for being Paul Walker's car in the initial "Fast and Furious" movies, or for being one of the best cars in "Need for Speed: Most Wanted," and there are plenty of reasons for its pop culture popularity. First up, this car had the soul of its legendary predecessor, the R32, and sported the same RB26DETT engine with the same advertised power of 280 PS. However, unofficial dyno tests confirmed the actual power was close to 330 hp straight out of the box. Additionally, the tuning capabilities were as seamless as its predecessor, making it even more popular among car enthusiasts.

Apart from the capable engine and pop-culture acknowledgments, the GT-R R34 was special because it improved on some of the most popular features from the R32, such as the Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All Terrain or simply ATTESA. ATTESA used electronic torque shifting technology to dynamically distribute torque to all fours on the GT-Rs, making them a class apart in their all-wheel drive capabilities. Moreover, the R34 was the first Skyline to introduce quality of life improvements, such as the first multi-function display on a Skyline, back in 1999.

The Datsun 240Z was a legendary car, and for a variety of reasons. Back in the late '60s, Nissan was trying to establish its roots in the America with its Datsun lineup. The former president of Nissan, Yutaka Katayama (a.k.a. Mr. "K") saw a gap in the U.S. market for sports cars like the Jaguar E-type and the Ferrari 250 GTO. This led Nissan to launch the 240Z, but at an extremely competitive pricing of just $3,526 in 1969.

The affordable pricing and strikingly similarities to the Jaguar E-type made some people mockingly refer it to as "the poor man's Jaguar". That said, the affordable pricing shouldn't take away from the fact that the 240Z was an extremely capable car. It launched with a 2.4-liter inline six-cylinder engine paired with twin SU carburetors and a five speed gearbox that could produce 150 PS of power.

The 240Z, a.k.a. the "Fairlady Z" in Japan didn't only do numbers but also won Nissan some of its prized titles. Back in 1971, Nissan entered the East-African Safari Rally with three 240Zs that went on to claim both the first and the second places. In retrospect, the 240Z not only gave birth to the iconic Z lineup that includes cars like the 370Z and the Nissan Z but also solidified Nissan (or Datsun) into the U.S. market.