Vettel's Nissan GT-R on sale with just 93 miles

Seb Vettel may have retired from F1 but his legacy lives on through this, er, immaculate GT-R...

Isn’t it remarkable how Sebastian Vettel has gone from one of Formula 1’s more annoying figures to one of its most respected. After years of dominance and that infuriating finger-wagging, many if not most will have been sorry to see him leave the series once the chequered flag fell at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, bowing out on a high(ish) after bagging four world championships and 53 race wins.

Perhaps the public opinion towards Seb changed when he became more vocal about equality, or candidly admitting he was a “hypocrite” on BBC Question Time for speaking up about environmental issues while tearing about in the world’s fastest racing cars. But, for any PHers who’ve softened their stance towards Seb, it will likely helped to have discovered that he’s a proper car guy. Last year he put a chunk of his collection up for sale, including a Ferrari Enzo and Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series, likely freeing up some cash that he’d use to buy Nigel Mansell’s 1992 championship-winning Williams FW14B. The same car he paraded around Silverstone earlier this year, running on synthetic fuel to show that screaming V10s can still survive in an environmentally conscious era.

If you’re a recently converted Vettel fan and you missed out on last year’s mega sale, then you’re in luck. This R35 Nissan GT-R is up for sale and, according to the ad, it was originally bought by the world champ. And for a guy who’s paid to drive cars, it’s mad that this GT-R has only covered 93 miles since it was registered in Switzerland – the home of many F1 drivers, for some reason – back in 2012. How anyone could resist piling a few miles onto a brand-new GT-R is unfathomable to us, but those are the sort of first-world problems multi-millionaire F1 drivers run into on a daily basis. Lucky gits.

This is no ordinary R35 GT-R, either. It’s the desirable Black Edition, featuring a carbon fibre spoiler and a set of 20-inch Rays alloy wheels that help make it look like it’s come straight from the JDM. The interior was spruced up as well, courtesy of a set of red-on-black Recaro seats that are exclusive to the Black Edition.

Mechanically, though, the model is identical to the standard R35 GT-R. Under the bonnet is a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V6 developing 545hp and 463lb ft of torque. Of course, it’s capable of far higher outputs than that, but this ultra-low mileage example is one of the few remaining examples that hasn’t been tuned to high heaven. Not that it’s in need of a power boost, though, with the Black Edition comfortable completing a 0-62mph dash in 2.7 seconds. Highly laudable even by today’s silly standards, but downright otherworldly in its day. And it was a capable track car, too, despite weighing nearly 1.8 tonnes. Which qualifies it as 'lightweight' in 2022.

Although standard R35s have yet to reach the sky-high values of its Skyline predecessors, limited-run examples like the Black Edition carry a premium. Add the Vettel tax on top and you’re looking at a cool €250,000 (or £215,200). Of course, you’ll be paying a fair chunk more if you decide to import it from Germany, and you’ll need to get accustomed to driving on the left-hand side of the car. But it’ll always share a link to one of F1’s all-time greats, so you should be able to put on a few miles without worrying too much about resale values. Who says we don’t do proper consumer advice?

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BFleming

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