Nissan is one of the world’s biggest automotive manufacturers. It has a significant presence in North America and its native Japan and produces vehicles ranging from sports cars to pickup trucks.

Over the years, some of its products have become exceptionally rare. This is either thanks to few surviving or Nissan only producing a small number of units.

This list will go through the 24 rarest Nissans using rare survivors and low-volume cars. Yes, this will include some exceptional versions of the Skyline GT-R.

Nissan Skyline Silhouette GTS

The Skyline Silhouette GTS was the product of Nissan’s short-lived Special Vehicles Division, created for the Australian market. Its main rival was the Holden Commodore VL, and both had a single-cam 3.0-liter inline-six engine. The GTS was a simplified version of the Japanese market model, including swapping independent rear suspension for a live axle.

Datsun Pulsar

The Datsun Pulsar was part of the transition period of Datsun’s small car range in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Pulsar would take over from the popular 120Y, and it would become equally popular and even see transformation into a van in Australia.

Nissan Trail Runner

One of the most bizarre Nissans is the 1997 Trail Runner concept. This was an early effort by Nissan to mix a crossover SUV with a coupe, creating a jacked-up-looking car with a large rear wing and bulging proportions. A 1.8-liter engine with 185 hp was under the hood, and unsurprisingly, the Trail Runner did not enter production.

Nissan Delta Wing

The Delta Wing was a sports car designed to race at Le Mans, and initially, it was the brainchild of an American designer. Nissan would soon get behind the project, and it would compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans plus the 12 Hours of Sebring. It even led the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2017, but sadly, changing rules forced it out of competition. The Delta Wing would never win a race or take a pole position.

Nissan R390

In the late 1990s, Nissan sought to homologize its R390 GT1 sports car to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Each racer had to have a production car as a basis. So, to get around this, Nissan produced just one road-legal R390 supercar. Nissan never officially tested the R390 and estimates it to have a top speed of over 200 mph. The Le Mans racer had a massive 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8 under the hood with 641 horsepower, tuned down to 550 horsepower for the road version.

Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R LM

This incredible R33 GT-R is a very special one-of-one. It is a car that became famous thanks to its role in the intro of the original Gran Turismo PlayStation game. It currently resides at Nissan’s Zama DNA garage, and its development was thanks to the changing rulesets in endurance racing at the time. The weight was also stripped, and the RB26DETT engine was then tuned to 400 hp, up to Group N racing specs. Plus, it gained wild and bloated bodywork.

1989 Nissan Chapeau Concept

This very unusual concept looks more like a telephone box than a car. But a vehicle it is, one with a crazy interior big enough to stand in, plus it does have a phone in it. Information on the Chapeau is hard to find, but it did have a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood. To no one’s surprise, the Chapeau did not enter production.

Nissan Figaro

Nissan would create another retro-styled car in the early 1990s, in the form of the two-door Figaro. The Figaro took inspiration from the original Nissan March/Micra, and the company produced 20,073 units. The Figaro was only in production in 1991, and while domestic to Japan only, several have found their way into countries such as Great Britain and Ireland.

Nissan Pao

Another retro and rare Nissan from the 1990s was the Pao. Like the Be-1, this was initially marketed solely in Japan at Nissan Cherry Stores. It was another of the cars produced at the Pike Factory, which earned the cars the nickname “Pike Cars.” Under the hood was a small 1.0-liter inline-four engine from the Nissan Micra, and the Pao was a compact three-door hatchback with over 31,000 sold.

Nissan Rasheen

The 1990s was the peak of weird for Nissan, including the compact Rasheen. This small SUV made its debut in 1994, and it was in production until 2000. Initially, a 1.5-liter engine sat under the hood, but Nissan amazingly created a sportier Rasheen Forza with a 2.0-liter SR20DE powering it. Eventually, Nissan replaced the Rasheen with the X-Trail.

Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo

A new Gran Turismo game often leads to wild concepts for it from manufacturers. In 2016, Nissan presented the Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo for that year’s Gran Turismo Sport. The Concept 2020 came from the minds of young Nissan designers who had free rein to create a supercar of their dreams before Nissan Design Europe added to their original idea.

1987 Nissan MID 4 Type II

Nissan took the covers off the MID 4 Type II at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, combining both a show car and a production car. It followed the 1985 MID4, and the later model had a twin-turbo inter-cooled VG30DETT engine under the hood with roughly 330 hp. Costs prevented Nissan from producing the MID 4 Type II, but the engine would debut in the 1989 Nissan 300 ZX.

1985 Nissan MID 4

The previous version of the MID 4 concept made its debut at the 1985 Frankfurt Auto Show. Nissan attempted to create a sports car similar to contemporary mid-engine sports cars like the Ferrari Testarossa and Lotus Esprit. It was also the first car to debut Nissan’s new HICAS four-wheel steering system, but it would not enter production like the Type II.

Nissan Serenity Concept

One of Nissan’s weirdest concepts was the Serenity. The manufacturer has described the 2003 concept as a mixture of sports sedan and MPV to create a “next-generation multipurpose saloon.” The design aimed to reflect the tranquility of Japanese culture, such as the windows, which are in the shape of a folding fan, and the front design, which takes inspiration from Kabuki facial makeup.

Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign

Legendary design house Italdesign collaborated with Nissan in 2018 to create the GT-R50 by Italdesign. This unique sports car edition commemorated 50 years of the GT-R and Italdesign, with various exterior and interior changes helping differentiate the vehicle from regular production versions.

Nissan Nails

Nissan is no stranger to pickup trucks, but the Nails is unlike any other it has ever produced. The concept was Nissan’s way of re-exploring the compact pickup truck segment, with innovations such as a low cargo bed designed to help load heavy items. According to Nissan, the body panels were also reportedly scratch and dent-resistant. Its small size, however, would have made the Nails useless to many buyers.

Nissan Judo

Nissan put on a massive display at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, and one of the cars on display was the Judo. The car, a combination of a sports car and SUV with an off-road chassis similar to the Jeep Wrangler, flew under the radar. Yet it had a size and dimensions identical to the Mazda Miata. In a world of huge SUVs, something like the Judo would be most welcome in 2024.

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet

The rather ugly Murano CrossCabriolet was an attempt by Nissan to create a convertible SUV. Manufacturers have largely failed to make this segment work, and the Murano was no exception. Amazingly, it went on sale in 2011 and even had a refresh in 2014, selling surprisingly well and generating a cult following. Sadly, that interest hid that the Murano CrossCabriolet was average at best.

Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V Spec II Nur

The V Spec II Nur GT-R came at the height of the sports car’s powers in the 2000s. Nissan produced this remarkable car from 1999 to 2002, with a 2.6-liter RB26 producing 276 hp and 289 lb-ft of torque. Nissan only produced 1,000 vehicle units, making it one of the rarest GT-R variants.

Nissan GT-R Nismo 400R

Arguably the holy grail of the GT-R, the 400R is a Nismo product built to celebrate Nissan’s Le Mans racers from the late 1990s. Originally, Nismo wanted to produce 100 units, yet they only made 44, making it exceedingly rare. Many improvements differentiated the 400R from regular GT-Rs, including the 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged engine with 400 hp and 346 lb-ft of torque.