Nissan’s GT-R hero car has come in for its annual checkup, and again it’s left the doctor’s room feeling fitter than ever. For 2012, Godzilla hangs onto its recent styling updates, but adds more power and a number of mechanical tweaks.
The Story of the Nissan GT-R continues to amaze us, just when you thought “that’s as good as it’s going to get for a while” there’s a better one. It’s like Apple and its iPhone, you need to buy a new GT-R every year just to keep up with all the changes. The 2012 Nissan GT-R sees power output increase to 404 kW with 632 Nm of torque – we’ll remind you that the first version of the R35 we tested a little over two years ago, produced 357 kW.
Not that we’re complaining because it’s only through consistent and relentless evolution that the Nissan GT-R has remained at the forefront of modern Japanese performance cars. It has become the dream car of many and the benchmark of what a car can do. It’s an almost daily occurrence where we find ourselves comparing it to a performance car that costs more, but falls short on performance. We imagine the Nissan GT-R must be more than a thorn in the side for supercar companies.
For 2012, Nissan have retained but retuned the 3.8-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder engine, which not only produces more power and torque, but also uses less fuel (11.8 L/100km). The almighty Porsche-destroying Nissan GT-R has gained an additional 14 kW and 20 Nm of torque. Nissan haven’t released official performance figures yet, but with the 2011, 390 kW, model capable of a 3.0 second 0-100 km/h time, we expect this new car will break into the two second bracket.
Being the technological tour-de-force that it is, Nissan haven’t simply added more muscle to the 2012 GT-R. Nissan says engine response and torque at mid and low-speeds has also been improved. This has been achieved through better intake efficiency and lower air flow resistance. The Japanese company has also improved exhaust emissions efficiency and enhanced control. It has changed the catalytic converter to be smaller and weigh less, whilst a newly designed metallic sodium-filled valve has helped improve exhaust valve cooling and ignition timing.
Not much has changed in the exterior styling department, but on closer inspection you’ll find reinforcements to the engine compartment and dash panel for even better handling. Right-hand drive GT-R’s have had their suspension set asymmetrically to take into account the weight of the driver and the propeller shaft (both on the right side). Nissan’s engineers have enabled a harder spring rate on the left side while at the rear the suspension arm has been installed upwards on the left side and downwards on the right. Sounds complicated but the idea is to provide better balance. What the changes result in is an imbalanced wheel load when the GT-R is stationary, but an equalized load during driving. Nissan says the changes further improve cornering stability and ride comfort for RHD models.
From the inside you’ll be able to tell a 2012 Nissan GT-R apart thanks to the addition of blue lighting inside the tachometer ring (matching the shift position indicator light) and standard reversing camera. The sound system has been upgraded from Bose® sound system woofers to Bose® Precision Sound System woofers for extra ‘doof’.
Nissan South Africa hasn’t advised when the new car will reach local dealers, but we expect it’ll be in the second quarter or third quarter of 2012.
