Nissan will open the first dedicated showroom for its high-performance arm in Australia, with the Nismo Performance Centre Melbourne scheduled to open in the second half of 2026.
One of the first Nismo sites outside Japan, the Nissan Ferntree Gully dealership – located a short distance from Nissan Australia headquarters – will be the first in the country to showcase the company’s storied go-fast arm.
“Nismo’s global expansion is about bringing the brand closer to customers in the right markets, with the right products, services and experiences,” said Yutaka Sanada, president and CEO of Nissan Motorsports and Customisation (NMC) and global head of the Nismo brand.
“Australia is a natural priority because of its mature performance culture, strong GT-R community and clear appetite for authentic Nismo heritage, performance parts, technical expertise and motorsport-driven experiences.”
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Sanada-san, a 30-year veteran of Nissan including work on the previous R35 Nissan GT-R and special Nismo road models, was in Australia for the official announcement ahead of this weekend’s GT-R Festival at Sydney Motorsport Park.
While it offers five models overseas, Nissan Australia currently offers only a single Nismo model here, the Z Nismo sports car, which in 2023 saw its initial 100-vehicle allocation sold out in 56 minutes, with a manual transmission version now set for local dealers, too.
As well as a new-vehicle showroom, the Nismo Performance Centre Melbourne will offer local enthusiasts a “gateway” to the Omori factory in Yokohama, Japan, famed for its ‘Meisters’ – master technicians with expertise in the brand’s legendary performance models such as the Nissan GT-R.
“It’s a shop-within-a-shop concept, so it’s facilitating all the parts you can see that will be displayed, there’ll be news, models on display,” said Nissan Australia aftersales director Michael Hill.
It will also be able to facilitate full restorations, with its initial focus on the R32/R33/R34 Skyline GT-R models – the R32 famous in Australia for its success in touring car racing, including two Bathurst 1000 wins.
“We’ll have what we call our Nismo Meisters installed that can help the customer with that journey on how they get their car from what it is today to a restored model,” Mr Hill explained.
“[This will include] performance engine build menus, heritage parts, which will be exclusively through the performance centres, Nismo performance parts, and obviously Nismo merchandise.”
The Nismo Performance Centre Melbourne will lead a “multi-phase expansion” of the Nismo brand, which was created in 1984. The growth will be built on three pillars: motorsport, local partner collaborations, and the vehicle restoration business.
“We do plan to expand it past the one in Melbourne, but our first stop is to start it in Melbourne and then expand, probably Sydney next, and then other markets,” Mr Hill said.
This includes other cities in Australia, including Adelaide and Brisbane, as well as plans for a Nismo Performance Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.
It follows news Toyota Australia is looking into opening local showrooms dedicated to its Gazoo Racing performance arm, bringing a dedicated area for the hot versions of its Yaris and Corolla, as well as the GR86 coupe and potentially its GR GT V8 hybrid supercar.
Toyota, too, is rumoured to be bringing back its famed MR2 and Celica sports cars, just as Honda has launched the first new Prelude coupe in more than two decades.
Honda Australia has also said it’s looking into bringing road models with performance upgrades from its Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) to local showrooms.
The move to expand Nismo comes after the Japanese automaker all but confirmed the next version of the GT-R (codenamed R36) will be hybrid-powered, while it has also previewed a new generation of its Skyline sports sedan which is only offered in Japan.
Nissan has also hinted at the return of the Silvia. This was sold here as the 200SX from 1994 to 2002, and was an affordable, highly capable rear-wheel drive two-door offering similar performance to rivals including the Subaru WRX, Honda Integra Type R and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.