I have some bad news for those of you who think that the 2019 Nissan GT-R NISMO’s $175,000 starting price is already steep. Pricing for the new 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO has been announced, and, as expected, it’s more expensive than its predecessor. Actually, it’s not just more expensive by a fraction; it’s more expensive by a lot. And by “a lot,” I mean $210,740. That’s $35,000 more expensive than the 2019 GT-R NISMO It's ridiculous on every level. Or is it?

Take a deep dive on what the 2020 GT-R NISMO has to offer, and by the time you’re ready to go back up the surface, you’ll realize that Nissan’s asking price for the new and improved Japanese supercar is worth every penny. Say what you will about the GT-R’s classification as a performance model. One thing rings true above all of it. It’s a supercar now, and it’s certainly priced like one.

2020 Nissan GT-R Nismo Pricing

Before you come to grips with the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO’s pricing, you need to come to grips with a few aspects about Godzilla that you might not have had a chance to before. See, there’s more to the 2020 GT-R NISMO than a supposedly steep price spike. It’s the third iteration of the current GT-R that wears a NISMO badge. More importantly than that, the 2020 GT-R NISMO is the latest example of Nissan’s continued pursuit to one-up its game every opportunity it gets. The 2020 GT-R NISMO bears the fruit of Nissan’s labor, and it does so in more ways than one.

Let’s start with the 2020 GT-R NISMO’s body. Most of the weight savings are found in the carbon fiber bumpers and front fenders where Nissan managed to shave off 10 pounds through the use of carbon fiber. The hood, with its integrated NACA ducts, is now made from carbon fiber as well. That’s an extra 4.4 pounds in weight savings. Up top, the roof panel is also made from, you guessed it, carbon fiber. That’s another 8.8 pounds out of the way. Even the louvered front fenders are now able to increase downforce in the front section by over 15 seconds, doing so without creating extra drag in the process.

Overall, the 2020 GT-R NISMO is lighter by 66 pounds compared to its predecessor. Don’t sleep on that figure, folks. That’s a big deal for a car that relies on its performance capabilities, among other things, to stand out from its competition. The new carbon fiber body panels contribute significantly in the car’s lighter weight, but the biggest contributor is the new brake package that Nissan installed. The package is made up of carbon-ceramic rotors, which now come standard on the 2020 GT-R NISMO. The rotor is clamped by six- and four-piston calipers from Brembo, respectively, and not only do they provide improved braking characteristics, but, just as important, they save 36 pounds in total unsprung weight compared to the previous model. The Bilstein DampTronic shocks, for example, have compression that’s five percent softer and a rebound rate that’s 20 percent softer. You don’t often see these details in brochures and catalogs, but it’s improvements like this that often result in higher price tags for models as technologically sophisticated as the GT-R NISMO.

Nissan took the weight-savings a step further by installing a new set of 20-inch, nine-spoke Rays forged alloy wheels that are each 0.2 pounds lighter than Godzilla’s old wheels. They’re wrapped in new Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT600 tires that have been specially designed to provide more stability and cornering grip than the old tires, proving that the improvements in and around the 2020 GT-R NISMO come in many forms.

Pop it open, and you’ll see the same VR38DETT V-6 engine that has supplied power for a number of GT-R models in the past. Visually, everything looks to be in place, but only upon closer inspection do you notice the significant changes Nissan made for this specific engine. The pair of turbochargers, for example, are completely new. Ok, so they’re not “brand-new,” but they are new in the sense that they were lifted straight from the GT3 GT-R race car. Instead of the 11-vane turbines that were present in the previous turbochargers, the new ones feature 10-vane turbines with each vane measuring 0.3 mm (0.13 inches) thinner than the old setup. Not only does this result in a drop in physical mass of each turbine by 14.5 percent, but, equally important, it also reduces inertia by 24 percent, which, in turn, wrestles in a 20-percent improvement in engine response from zero to wide-open throttle.

So if the numbers are the same, where do you find all the changes? That comes in the form of the engine’s outright performance. It’s hard to explain it through words, but it just feels a lot livelier and far more responsive than the “old” version of the VR38DETT V-6 unit. Nissan even took it a step further by rewriting the shift control algorithm of the six-speed dual-clutch transmission in order to capitalize and leverage the improvements made to the engine’s throttle response. As a result, you’ll notice how faster and smoother the downshifts are in the 2020 GT-R NISMO. Faster and smoother downshifts, of course, result in improved handling, particularly in corners.

2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO specifications

Changes like these — the indistinguishable but important ones — validate the spike in price of the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO. Some of you might think it’s a bit excessive while some of you might even think it’s unnecessary. Believe me; there are a lot more of you in this world than you think. You’re justified in your gripe if that’s your entire M.O. when it comes to the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO because you don’t need the upgrades. You just need to car to look right and carry the proper badges, NISMO included.

But if you’re a GT-R OG and you care about how it performs, not just on its own, but also against the competition, then these changes are significant, maybe even warranting a surge in pricing. This is all part of Hiroshi Tamura-san’s goal of continuing to improve his child at every turn and opportunity. For those who don’t know, Tamura-san is often called “Mr. GT-R,” a nickname he earned in large part because he’s been in charge of the R35 GT-R since it was nothing more than the GT-R Proto Concept that Nissan unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show 14 years ago.

If there’s anyone who knows anything and everything about the R35 GT-R, it’s Tamura-San. He is Dr. Frankenstein, and the GT-R is his monster. It’s taken on an entirely different nickname of the monster variety, but to Tamura-San, the R35 GT-R was, is, and will always be his baby. Naturally, there’s no one person in this world who’s as invested in seeing the GT-R’s continued evolution as a certified supercar that Tamura-San. He was there when his pride and joy was born. He was there when it captured the world’s attention. He was there when it evolved into a full-blown performance car that could compete against the European elite. And he’s still here and will remain here for as long as the current-generation of the GT-R is still around.

Top Gear recently had a chance to speak to Tamura-san about the 2020 GT-R NISMO and you can tell just how proud he is of the latest iteration of the NISMO-enhanced supercar and how much he is looking forward to seeing Godzilla’s next evolution. “In my heart, we’re already kicking off options for the next step,” he said when asked about future plans for the current GT-R. “We already have the feedback.”

As exciting as that future looks like, it’s also important to remain in the here and now. And right now, the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO is here. It’s probably more expensive than what most people expected, but there are reasons for that price hike that true fans and purists of the GT-R will understand. And for those who can’t justify the $210,000 price tag of the GT-R NISMO? You don’t have to buy the 2020 GT-R NISMO if you think it’s too expensive.

2020 Nissan GT-R prices

But don’t say that the increased price tag isn’t justified. You might not see it, but there’s more to the 2020 GT-R NISMO than meets the eye. A lot more.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2017 Nissan GT-R Nismo.

Read our full speculative review on the next-generation Nissan GT-R.

Read our full review on the 2018 Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign.

Read our full review on the 2017 Nissan GT-R.