UK Nissan GT-R sales stronger than expected

Offering supercar performance for high-end sports car prices is a winning formula for obvious reasons. The GT-R's recipe for success has been so well-received around the world that the car's limited supply is being snatched up almost as soon as it's available. UK buyers placed orders for nearly 700 of the cars within the first 48 hours the car was available to them.

Nissan's UK arm is now working to find extra supply to meet the huge demand. Even for those with a spot on the reserved list, however, the cars won't be arriving in the UK until March 2009 at the earliest. Still, buyers are placing their orders at record pace.

“The dealer order line lit-up on the 2 April with an unprecedented amount of orders being placed. This clearly demonstrates the UK’s passion for performance cars and the enthusiastic following that the GT-R has established," said Paul Willcox, Managing Director of Nissan Motor Great Britain.

Production of the GT-R is limited by the rate at which the motors can be built. Because the GT-R's 480hp (353kW) 3.8L twin-turbo mills are assembled by hand, only 1,000 units per month can be built to the proper standards. That 1,000 car per month supply has to meet worldwide demand, and the GT-R's capital success means supplies are limited everywhere.

Because every market is working to get a larger slice of the available supply, it will be late May before the UK will know if their efforts to secure more GT-Rs were successful.

Nissan R35 GT-R