First Nismo Performance Centre opens in Australia

Australia’s first Nismo Performance Centre (NPC) has opened in Ferntree Gully, Melbourne, with more planned across capital cities in Australia as well as Auckland, New Zealand.

The centre, announced by Nissan Australia earlier this year, is the first to be opened outside Japan, given what the automaker says is the significant local enthusiast base for performance models, such as the Skyline GT-R, R35 GT-R and generations of Nissan Z models.

“The opening of the first Nismo Performance Centre outside Japan is an important milestone in our global expansion,” said Yutaka Sanada, president and CEO of Nissan Motorsports and Customizing (NMC) and global head of the Nismo brand, in a statement.

“Our focus is on bringing the brand closer to customers in the right markets, with the right products, services and experiences.”

Nismo (‘Nissan Motorsport’) is the brand’s performance and motor racing division. It was formed in 1984, and combined with Nissan’s Autech division to form Nissan Motorsports & Customizing in 2022.

Nissan also uses the name on its halo versions of its performance and sports models, with the Nissan Z Nismo the most recent offering here, though the Nissan Patrol Nismo (Y63) has been ruled out for Australia.

The centre, located at 1000 Burwood Highway, Ferntree Gully, establishes a direct connection for Australian enthusiasts to the Nismo Omori Factory in Japan.

“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,” said Sanada-san.

The centre follows Nissan’s 2025 commitment to expand its vehicle restoration programs globally, with an initial focus on R32, R33 and R34 generations of the Nissan Skyline 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 at a media event announcing the news earlier this year.

The R32 GT-R, which became legendary in Australia when it dominated touring car racing here in the early 1990s, winning the 1991 and 1992 Bathurst 1000s, was produced between 1989 and 1994.

Only 100 were imported by Nissan Australia when new, but the R32’s on-track success has seen private imports boom, extending to the follow-up R33 Skyline GT-R and the R34 successor, which followed in 1999 – neither of which were sold here by Nissan.

The Nismo Performance Centre will help source parts and tap into Nismo’s expertise on such models, with plans to cater beyond these in future.

“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.”

“We’re excited to bring the knowledge and expertise of Nismo closer to Australian customers and to strengthen the connection between Nismo’s Japanese heritage and Australia’s passionate performance community.”

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