One of the world’s most iconic performance brands celebrated its 40th anniversary recently, with Nissan’s NISMO having unlocked new levels of driving excitement since September 17, 1984.<br /><br />Founded in Omori, Tokyo, NISMO — taken from the words ‘Nissan’ and ‘Motorsport’ — was initially charged with leading Nissan’s on-track programs. But it wouldn’t be long before that racing DNA made its way into the first customer-facing product.<br /><br />In 1988, Nissan's first dedicated race car debuted, based around the Saurus roadster, to take part in a single-make series. But it was in 1989 that history was truly made, through the launch of the iconic Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R.<br /><br />Famed in Australia for its dominance in our racing championship, the R32 was christened ‘Godzilla’ by local media, a name that not only stuck here, but that became the GT-R’s global calling card.<br /><br />A Group A homologation version of the R32, badged NISMO, was available for enthusiasts to buy. Its successor, the Skyline GT-R (R33), became the first production car to lap the Nürburgring's famous Nordschleife in less than eight minutes.<br /><br />What would follow was a string of performance-infused road cars, each earning the famed NISMO badge through significant upgrades to enhance their engagement, and excitement.<br /><br />Globally, Nissan’s performance-enhanced range has included the Juke NISMO, Patrol NISMO, Sentra NISMO, and its latest electrifying offering, the Ariya NISMO.<br /><br />In Australia, NISMO first debuted in 2016 with the launch of the GT-R NISMO, which was followed by the 370Z NISMO in 2017, and the JUKE NISMO RS in 2018.
