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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Globally, Nissan’s performance-enhanced range has included the Juke NISMO, Patrol NISMO, Sentra NISMO, and its latest electrifying offering, the Ariya NISMO.

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.