Nissan cars

2013 Nissan Nismo GT-R GT3-Spec

The 2012 Nissan Nismo GT-R GT3, which Nissan launched at the beginning of the year, scored some amazing results during this year’s racing season. Now Nismo is getting even more powerful for the 2013 racing season with the unveiling of its new 2013 GT-R GT3-Spec - a model that adds improvements to the engine, suspensions and aerodynamics. Orders will be accepted beginning on November 13, 2012. Each unit will be developed on demand.

Under the hood, the 3.8-liter V-6 twin-turbo engine has received new camshaft timing and reinforced moving parts. The engine delivers a total of 550 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and a peak torque of 439 pound-feet at 5,000rpm.

In order to improve the car’s aerodynamics, Nismo adds canards to the front and the front fender louvers are enlarged. The positioning of the rear wing is also optimized. These changes improve aerodynamic balance between front and rear, and increase downforce, which enhances overall aerodynamic performance.

In Europe, the model will be priced at £270,000 - about $430,000 at the current exchange rates.

Click past the jump to read the full press release.

2013 Nissan Altima V8 Supercar Series Race Car

For the first time in 20 years, Nissan is set to compete in Australia’s Supercar V8 Series and they’re doing so with the 2013 Nissan Altima V8 Supercar.

The car was unveiled at a special event in Melbourne and marks one of the first vehicles that aren’t Ford Falcons or Holden Commodores to compete in the V8 Supercar Series.

Together with its partner Kelly Racing, Nissan is planning to bring four of these models to compete in the 2013 season under the Nissan Motorsport banner. As far as modifications are concerned, the Altima V8 Supercar will get a NISMO-developed 5.0-liter VK56DE V8 engine. Incidentally, this Nismo-sourced V8 powertrain is the same engine that powered the Nissan GT-R FIA GT1 to the FIA GT1 World Championship title back in 2011. To comply with the V8 Supercar regulations, the engine’s displacement was actually reduced from 5.6 liter to 5.0 liters.

Talking to Australia’s Herald Sun, Kelly Racing co-owner and overseer of the Nissan Altima project Todd Kelly has high hopes for the Altima V8 Supercar leading up to its run in the 2013 season of the V8 Supercar Series.

"Factory support is the key to teams winning Bathurst and V8 Supercar championships," Kelly said.

"There’s nothing more exciting for a drive than to unveil a car with a brand new chassis that takes it to a new level.’’

UPDATE: 11/05/12: A week after Nissan pulled the covers off of the Altima V8 Supercar Racer, the automaker finished its first run of testing at Calder Park Raceway. At the end of the test session, the team seemed happy with the results, although they also cautioned that there’s more work that needs to be done to make the Altima V8 Supercar racer up to speed. Check out the video of the car’s test run by clicking on the photo above!

UPDATE 02/13/13: A few months after unveiling the Altima V8 Supercar Series Race Car, Nissan took it one step further with the debut of the actual race cars with their liveries in tow to go with the driver announcements for the two teams the Japanese automaker will be fielding in the V8 Supercar Series. Check out the fresh batch of pics in the gallery below!

2012 Nissan Extrem Concept

After releasing a teaser image of a sports car concept that featured subtle hints of the 370Z and the GT-R, Nissan has finally announced the Extrem Concept at the Sao Paulo Motor Show in Brazil. Given the rapid development of the Brazilian economy and to underscore Nissan’s commitment to Brazil, the all-Brazilian Extrem Concept was seen fit to be unveiled there.

The Extrem Concept is roughly based on the Micra hatch and is designed to look like a cross between an SUV and a coupe, or in other words, a crossover. This particular segment has witnessed rapid growth with the likes of the Range Rover Evoque fueling that growth. Designed by Nissan’s design studio in San Diego, the inspiration for this design comes from Brazil itself where the designers spent most of their time designing and developing the clay models. The usual concept elements include the wraparound glass, floating roof rails, and detached C pillars that enhance the feeling of an open, airy cabin. It would be great if these elements made it to the production version too. Though the pictures suggest less cabin space for storage, Nissan claims that there is a dedicated luggage space in the rear. A clever two-tier system provides secure storage, where items can be hidden from prying eyes beneath an exposed and removable cargo bin which is accessed via the rear hatch. The bin is designed for day-to-day items and fits neatly underneath a structural cross brace that adds extra stiffness to the shell and accentuates the sporting nature of the car.

It sort of looks like a high riding 2+2 version of the GT-R, but don’t expect it to be powerful like the GT-R, though we have seen one example of that! Nissan could theoretically fit the 1.6-liter turbocharged direct-injection inline-four that also powers the unusual DeltaWing racecar, driving either the front wheels or all four through a Continuously Variable Transmission, a favorite addition of Nissan.

The production version of this concept will be sold only in the South American market. For now, people outside South America can only expect future crossover models to extract design cues from this concept.

UPDATE 11/13/12: The Nissan Extrem Concept was undoubtedly one of the highlight debuts at the recently concluded Sao Paulo Motor Show. Today, Nissan gives us the lowdown on what it took to build and create this fantastic concept crossover. Go past the jump and check out the video!

2012 Nissan DeltaWing

The rising gas prices have been impacting all of us for many years, but the world of racing seemed almost immune to these price hikes for many years. Well, with the price of fuel teetering in the $4-per-gallon range, even racing circuits are feeling the pinch at the pump. With this pinch and racing series also wanting to become more eco-friendly, they have almost all been looking into ways to modify their cars to fit this mold.

IndyCar and F1 have been at the forefront of these changes, and these changes spawned the birth of the DeltaWing in an attempt to infiltrate IndyCar in 2003. The DeltaWing was ultimately rejected by IndyCar, but its developers didn’t stop there, as they slowly worked toward getting it a spot in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which it finally achieved in 2012. The Nissan DeltaWing, unfortunately, did not finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but its strong start did show that it had definite potential.

Now with the DeltaWing scheduled to run in the 2013 American Le Mans Series and taking home fifth place in the 2012 Petite Le Mans, the DeltaWing and its builders are well on their way of realizing their dreams. So what makes the DeltaWing so great?

Click past the jump to read our full review and learn what makes this odd-looking racecar so special.

Video: Jay Leno drives the Nissan GT-R in Japan

The best place to test a car is in its natural habitat, at least that is what Jay Leno must think since he recently took the Nissan GT-R for a late night stroll in Tokyo, Japan.

In an "of course it wasn’t planned" moment, Leno found himself amidst a number of GT-R owners, along with Sam Mitani from Road & Track. Mitani was there to offer a few details about the meetings GT-R owners have. Tuned or not, old or new generation, these owners get together to have a little fun with their own Godzillas.

The future generation Nissan GT-R will also be included in these meetings soon enough as it is planned to debut in 2015. We expect big changes to occur for that generation, a little like what Chevrolet has planned for the Corvette C7.

DeltaWing Repaired and Ready for Petit LeMans after Road Atlanta Crash

The Nissan DeltaWing will race as a classified car in the 2013 ALMS, but a hiccup at the Petit Le Mans endurance race at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga, almost nipped those plans in the bud.

Despite scoring a very impressive time - it was only 4/10ths of a second slower than the fastest P2 car in sixth place on the time-sheet - the DeltaWing was struck violently in the left rear wheel by a Porsche GTC class car. The car scraped down the road on its side and then rolled over before suffering a heavy impact with the wall and landing back on its wheels. The impact was measured at 7Gs on the team’s telemetry system, but luckily, driver Gunnar Jeannette was not injured thanks to the car’s carbon-fiber survival-cell.

The DeltaWing suffered serious damages first from the Porsche’s hit, then from the rollover and wall hit. The good news is that, in less than 24 hours, the Nissan DeltaWing team managed to repair the car and it is now ready for Saturday’s Petit Le Mans event - the final round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series..

2013 Nissan Juke-R #001

When the Juke-R hit the show circuit as a concept car, Nissan pretty much laid out that it wasn’t going to be a reality. Well, after a few tours around the world and on a few of the toughest tracks that the world has to offer, Nissan finally let us know that the Juke-R would indeed be a production model, but only in very limited quantities. Here we are getting ready to put the wraps on 2012 and Nissan has just completed Nissan Juke-R #001 – the first ever of its kind.

When the Juke-R was touring the world, it boasted a 3.8-liter V-6 with a pair of turbochargers strapped to it – AKA a Nissan GT-R engine. Unlike the 2011 GT-R version of the V-6, which pumped out 530 horsepower, the original Juke-R’s V-6 engine was detuned to “only” pump out 480 horsepower. This still made the Juke-R a screamer, getting it to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds.

With Nissan knowing that its butt was on the line with this release, it actually gave the Juke-R a healthy bump in power and even changed up its styling a little bit, giving us all a little shock in the process.

Click past the jump to read all about the changed made to the production-model Juke-R #001.

The Nissan DeltaWing will Race as a Classified Car in the 2013 ALMS

We all witnessed history, as the eco-friendly, 300-horsepower Nissan DeltaWing competed in the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans, and actually competed well until it was disabled following an accident. In that race, the DeltaWing was more of an honorary entry, running as “unclassified” and not really eligible to win even if it had crossed the finish line with the best lap time.

That is all about to change come the 2013 American Le Mans Series, as the DeltaWing will be a part of this series as a classified contender. This means that it can earn points and can theoretically win the championship title. In addition to that big news, we get another glimpse of the DeltaWing in action as it runs the 2012 Petit Le Mans race as an unclassified entrant at Road Atlanta on October 21st.

IMSA will use the DeltaWing’s performance in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans to setup rules for this unusual craft and also to classify it properly. We’ll keep a close eye on how the DeltaWing does in Atlanta and what rules ALMS places on the Nissan-sponsored racecar.

Nissan teases new sports car concept ahead of Sao Paulo debut

By all accounts, the Sao Paulo International Motor Show doesn’t carry the same prestige as its counterparts in Geneva or Frankfurt, but every so often, less heralded auto shows play host to some pretty interesting concepts. This year’s show in Brazil is no different.

Straight from the fine folks of Nissan comes this pair of teaser photos of what looks to be a sports car. We don’t really know what it is and the Japanese automaker is doing a pretty good job keeping the lid closed, but speculation around the industry seems to suggest that it could be a lite version of the GT-R.

Shiro Nakamura, Nissan’s Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer did a fairly good job with the tease of the concept, saying very little while providing plenty of room for speculation. "The showcar will dazzle on two counts," he said.

“It is a genuinely new and exciting concept, and it will explode with energetic design and impressive color that fully express our impression toward the country."

Looking at the teaser photos - or what very little we can actually distinguish - it looks like there are some elements that have been lifted off of Godzilla himself. The headlights, for one, look pretty similar to the GT-R, as does the front grille. On the flip side, the taillights are completely different from the GT-R, which could very well suggest that this concept could be a completely new sports car that Nissan is looking to build to compete with the plethora of new Japanese sports cars being released these days.

Heck, we wouldn’t even be surprised if this model ends up becoming a Datsun.

We’ll dig into the new Nissan concept and pass along any new information as soon as we get it.

2013 Nissan GT-R "Year of the Dragon" by Vilner

When Vilner promotes itself as one of the finest interior tuners in the industry, there’s not a shred of exaggeration in their voices.

Their latest program for the Nissan GT-R certainly validates all those claims. See, it’s not enough to dress up Godzilla’s interior but for this particular model, they went the Asian route and upgraded the interior with an homage to the Year of the Dragon.

The first order of business, apart from giving the exterior a matte white body finish, was drawing an actual dragon on the interior, which was then embroidered on both the roof and the trunk of the GT-R. The meticulous detail by which the dragon was embroidered owes itself to the kind of intricate details the Bulgarian is known for. As for the trunk, Vilner also dressed it up in Alcantara. Fanciness all around.

The dragon inside the cabin is pretty much drawn all over the interior. It winds around the seats, passes through the center console, and enhanced by the use of leather, black Alcantara, and black carbon leather.

The black and red combination on the dashboard, door panels, and the black console also adds an emphatic edginess to the overall look of the interior, while the use of carbon on the steering wheel and gear shifter and corresponding red chrome paint completes the rather intricate interior dress up.