The UK's Rarest Nissan GTR
The Mine's Edition Nissan GTR
There are modified GT-Rs, there are famous GT-Rs, and then there are cars like this...
This is a 2007 Mine's Nissan R35 GT-R one of the earliest R35s ever built, sitting within the first 500 R35 GTRs to leave the production line in Japan with the original chassis number reading 000483. And yet somehow, all these years later, this genuine piece of Japanese tuning history is now living and being driven on UK roads?!
That alone makes it special.
The R35 wasn't officially introduced to the UK until later, with UK-market cars arriving in 2009, so seeing 2007 on the paperwork of an R35 over here immediately tells you you're looking at something from the very beginning of the story.
MINE'S
For anyone into Japanese car culture, Mine's needs very little introduction.
The Japanese tuning house built its reputation by doing things differently. Rather than chasing ridiculous dyno figures at the expense of everything else, Mine's became famous for creating incredibly responsive, balanced and brutally effective road and circuit cars.
Their Skylines and GT-Rs became legends in Japanese tuning culture, and when the R35 arrived, Mine's was one of the names at the forefront of finding out what Nissan's new monster was capable of.
For an entire generation outside Japan, Mine's cars became almost mythical through Japanese tuning videos, magazines and of course Gran Turismo.
And that's part of what makes standing next to this car so surreal.
FULLY CUSTOM BUILT PARTS
You could spend a silly amount of time walking around this thing just finding carbon fibre.
The grilles, vents, wing mirrors, roof, interior pieces, undertrays, rear diffusers and countless other details have all been given the carbon treatment.
And it's not carbon added simply because somebody wanted the car to look modified. There's a proper period Japanese tuning philosophy behind it! Remove weight, improve airflow and refine what Nissan had already created and mines are some of the best to ever work with carbon, period.
Underneath is a custom straight through titanium exhaust system, you can practically lift the thing with one finger.
That's the level of engineering that runs throughout the car.
WHAT ELSE MAKES THIS CAR SPECIAL
A set of RAYS G12 Special Edition Double machined wheels are not something you simply walk into a shop and pick off the shelf. These were special order wheels with a a long waiting list, and on this car they look absolutely at home.
Behind them sit enormous 400 mm brakes all round.
And then you open the door.
As we all know the Japanese aren't exactly award winners in interior luxury. Mines also knew this.
The interior was completely transformed with black leather and red diamond stitching, accompanied by a Mine's steering wheel and further carbon details throughout.
Its perfect.
Today, much of the specialist work and maintenance that keeps the car where it should be is carried out by AC Speedtech.
It's still here. It's still maintained. And it's still being driven.
WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM A GT-R?
That's what makes this car difficult to beat. Its 27,000 GENUINE MILES FROM NEW!
The looks.
You've got the power... 800 of those horses...
You've got one of the earliest examples of one of Nissan's most important performance cars. The genuine Mine's history. And then you've got the nostalgia.
We discovered it through a PlayStation.
This is the real thing.
SO WHAT WOULD THIS LEGEND COST YOU TODAY IF SHE WAS EVER TO BE SOLD
Based on similar collector grade Japanese cars we've seen sell at auction over the past 3 years and believe us when we say we keep a very close eye on things, we estimate the cars value to sit somewhere between: £184,000 – £277,000.
We're lucky to have this living legend in the UK.