in 1960 when it brought the Datsun car stateside. It was a rough start but the brand grew in popularity through the oil crisis of the ‘70s when car buyers needed a more economical vehicle. Today, the company has successfully established itself as performance-oriented with several fast Nissan cars available.

Now these models compete with the likes of Ferrari and the Ford Mustang, often at a fraction of the price. Nissan vehicles also tend to be more fuel-efficient, practical, and technologically advanced than its rivals.

Fast Nissan cars of recent years

R390 GT1

This is the fastest car Nissan ever made. It was quick enough to race in the renowned Le Mans in 1998 with a top speed of 220 mph. The 3.5-liter V8 had dual overhead camshafts and an output of 340 hp.

Destination Nissan

reports that only two of them were ever made.

GT-R NISMO

Released in 2007, this supercar was available for $70,000. At 205 mph, it’s not as luxurious as a Ferrari, but it’s certainly just as fast. The twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 used to make 480 hp. Today’s all-wheel drive NISMO variant has 600 hp and is worth $210,000.

Juke-R 2.0

Nissan threw the same GT-R NISMO engine into its 2015 crossover model. Although not particularly aesthetically pleasing, the Juke-R could move as fast as 200 mph. It was outfitted with fancy exhaust ports in the rear bumper, a lowered suspension, and winglets that point straight past the rear window.

370z NISMO

It’s no surprise that yet another NISMO model makes the list of fast Nissan cars. It’s the company’s performance division, after all. It tuned the 370z to 350 hp. The 3.7-liter V6 is paired to better aerodynamics for additional downforce, massive brakes and race suspension. Even with the $15,000 worth of extras, this car is still affordable priced at $45,790.

R34 GT-R

This all-wheel drive sports car made 330 hp on the dyno. It had a twin-turbocharged inline-six engine that topped out at 155 mph. It’s expensive and difficult to import this model due to stateside emissions standards, according to

HotCars

MORE: 7 Best Nissan Sports Cars

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Old school fast Nissan cars

Datsun 240Z

This 1970 gem was ahead of its time with a modern overhead camshaft engine producing 153 hp. The 2.4-liter inline-six rivaled the American competition with their pushrod mechanisms. It took 8.0 seconds to accelerate to 60 mph and went as fast as 126 mph.

Datsun 280ZX

This two-seater performance coupe sold for $9,899 back in 1979. It came standard with rear-wheel drive and a five-speed manual transmission. Top speed was limited to 124 mph, but the 2.8-liter inline-six engine produced 135 hp.

300 ZX

A whole decade later, Nissan released another performance car in 1989. The 3.0-liter V6 engine made 225 hp and was still paired to a five-speed manual gearbox. It reached 60 mph in 6.5 seconds and maxed out at 155 mph.

Skyline GT-R

This car had superior agility and performance, as per

CARHP

. It was produced from 1992 to 2002 and cost about $45,000 at the time. The 2.6-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six engine produced 280 hp. It had a six-speed manual transmission and all-wheel drive. The Skyline could do 155 mph and did 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds.

MORE: Nissan Hints at the Death of Historic Datsun Brand

Insurance for fast Nissan cars

Nissan has certainly come a long way from its economical family vehicle roots. The brand is capable of competing with the world’s fastest sports cars and has secured itself a large fan base.

Whether you choose to invest in a fast Nissan car, or one of their more practical offerings,

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