Nissan Supercars Cars

The current Nissan GT-R is one of the oldest cars on sale in the US, but Nissan doesn’t seem to care. In fact, the Japanese carmaker has taken the wraps off a Special Edition version dedicated exclusively to Japan. We also know that a new-generation GT-R is under development, so is this the swan song we’ve all been waiting for?

When we talk about legendary Nissan cars, the first one to come to mind is always the GTR, also known as “Godzilla”. Other significant models of the brand include the Silvia and Fairlady Z models, but there is one more that has largely been forgotten – the R390. Skyline’s heritage and success largely overshadowed anything else the brand came up with. In addition, the 1990s spawned many great supercars, one of which the McLaren F1. Whether that’s the reason for the Nissan R390’s fall into obscurity, these are all the important facts you want to know about Nissan’s mid-engine supercar.

A heavily tuned BMW M5 Competition and Nissan GT-R would make for a tremendous race. Both models are already revered for their performance capabilities, but when you throw in the element of the aftermarket world into the mix, well, let’s just say that fireworks are expected.

We get to see these two heavy hitters in that environment courtesy of Carwow, but this particular race isn’t just between the M5 Competition and the GT-R. A third participant is involved, and it’s one of the most feared two-wheeled killers in the market: the Ducati Panigale V4R. This is a three-vehicle competition, and the stakes just went to the next level. Does the Panigale V4R have a chance against a heavily tuned M5 Competition and a souped-up Godzilla or is it going to fall flat on its face?

To say we love the Italdesign GT-R 50 would be a severe example of an understatement. It takes all the good things the GT-R has to offer (which is like 99.9% of the car) and rearranges them in a futuristic-looking package that’s hard to beat by anything else the supercar world has to offer today.

Italdesign’s work, however, will not have a say in the design of the future GT-R. There will be a new Godzilla at some point, have no doubt, but Nissan is taking its time with it. Well, here’s some motivation: why don’t they make it mid-engined, so it can look like this rendering we stumbled upon.

The Nissan GT-R is a good example of a performance car with so much untapped potential. In standard form, a 2009MY GT-R is powered by a 3.6-liter V-6 engine that produces 480 horsepower and 434 pound-feet of torque. For a 10-year old car, that remains an impressive feat of engineering. But like most GT-Rs in the world today, the 2009MY leaves plenty of power and performance on the table. That explains why Godzilla remains a favorite in the aftermarket world. You put certain modifications in and you can get something close to the GT-R in this video. This particular model packs 1,100 horsepower and 850 pound-feet of torque at the wheels. That’s an incredible amount of power that was showcased at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds where the GT-R was given a clean 2.7-mile runway to perform a standing mile run. The result, as you can expect, is nothing short of spectacular.

The year was 1969. The “Skyline” name had already been introduced 12 years prior, first by Prince Motor Company, and then by Nissan in 1967 after the two companies merged. Two years after the merger, Nissan introduced a sports car based on the Skyline, and, among other things, it carried a three-letter nomenclature that has arguably become one of the most famous names in the entire industry: the GT-R. Fifty years later, the GT-R is still used today as the name of Nissan’s all-conquering supercar. It’s fitting then that the Japanese automaker that created the line of performance cars wearing the GT-R name is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the model with a special edition version, appropriately called the Nissan GT-R 50th Anniversary Edition. In line with its stature, Nissan debuted the GT-R 50th Anniversary Edition at the 2019 New York Auto Show.

Nissan is currently celebrating five decades of the GT-R with the debut of the 2020 GT-R 50th Edition at the 2019 New York Auto Show. While we’re happy to see Nissan paying tribute to one of the greatest Japanese sports cars of all time, you’d be forgiven for saying the automaker is dragging its feet when it comes to introducing a new generation for Godzilla. However, recent comments made by a few folks high in the Nissan corporate food chain seem to suggest that the company is indeed working to pin down exactly what the R36 will bring to the table, including electric power options, handling upgrades, and possibly even self-driving capability.

When you think about supercars and Nismo at that same time, the 2015 Nissan GT-R Nismo is probably what crosses your mind. And, why shouldn’t it? It pumps out 600 horsepower, 481 pound-feet of torque, and can hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. When you really look at the bottom line, Nismo is basically taking an established car from Nissan, and tweaking it to perfection. What if, however, Nismo took a different approach and built its own car from scratch? In a recent interview with TopGear.com Nissan’s chief product specialist, Hiroshi Tamura, said it may be a reality someday.

“Nismo is still a baby brand” said Tamura. “And, that baby needs protection. So not yet, but some day… Yes.” When asked about a Nismo-built supercar, Bob Laishley – Nismo’s program director – has also agreed that it’s a possibility saying, “I would like to aspire to that.”

Of course, at this point, the idea of a supercar designed from the ground up by Nismo is nothing more than an idea. There sure is hope, though. Plus, given the responses from the powers that be within Nismo, it’s probably safe to say it will happen eventually. The biggest question is whether or not Nismo’s customer base will actually be receptive to the idea. Nismo is a performance and motorsport division of Nissan, so building its own vehicle might fall too far out of the norm for some people to handle.

The GT-R hasn’t changed much since its introduction in 2009. It still utilizes the 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 and powers all four wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. Nissan has boosted engine output, revised details on the exterior’s design, and changed a handful of other talking points over the years, helping to keep Japan’s halo car in the forefront of “affordable supercar” list, but car has yet to get a major update.

Rumors have circled suggesting the next-generation GT-R is still on the drawing board. Nissan even confirmed this, saying it’s “more than two years away.” That puts the current GT-R on the spot to uphold its iconic name.

As you can imagine, it does that job just fine. The GT-R continues to impress with its performance characteristics and outright force of acceleration. Sixty mph is reached in three seconds flat and its top speed is eight mph short of 200. The quarter mile happens 11.2 seconds at 125 mph, while braking from 70 mph happens in 151 feet. Impressive indeed

But is the current car enough to keep buyers interested?

Sure, Nissan offers the GT-R NISMO, but even the NISMO is showing its age. It is, after all, just a higher-spec trim that offers more performance capabilities out of the same vehicle.

Regardless, I had the chance to sample a 2016 Nissan GT-R. Decked out in its Premium trim, the car came well equipped. Let’s take a look.

Since the Nissan GT-R’s introduction for the 2009 model year, the car has received much attention and praise for its ridiculous abilities to outperform nearly every other supercar on the market, let alone at its price point. Thanks to a twin-turbocharged V-6 engine, a quick-shifting, dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive, the GT-R proves itself to be a worthy successor to the previous generations of Nissan sports cars.

The GT-R has steadily undergone improvements over its six-year lifespan. Increased power, transmission tuning, and a slight exterior redesign all play roles in keeping Godzilla roaring. Things continue in that direction for 2015, as engineers have tweaked the suspension tuning and anti-roll bars to make it a more manageable daily driver without sacrificing its at-the-limit handling.

I recently got the chance to spend a week behind the leather-wrapped wheel of a GT-R. My tester showed up wearing the Premium trim package – which, ironically is the entry trim level – and the upgraded interior package. This meant I had the 545-horsepower version of the force-fed, 3.8-liter V-6 rather than the even more ridiculous GT-R NISMO.

So how do the changes affect the car? Keep reading to find out.

Click ‘Continue Reading’ for the full review

Santa is making his trip around the world, and many excited children are fixated on NORAD’s Santa Tracker to see just how far he is from their house. However, there were apparently some rather slick folks in London who happened to catch Santa sans his typical sleigh and eight reindeer — or nine if you count the red-nosed one — and put together the above video. In the place of his sleigh was a mighty Nissan GT-R, in a shiny coat of red paint that matched his suit perfectly.

Given the limited time Santa has to spread his holiday cheer, it’s not surprising to see him in the 2015 Nissan GT-R. With 545 horsepower and 463 pound-feet of torque hailing from the depths of its twin-turbo, 3.8-liter V-6, it’ll get him through the streets of London far quicker than his traditional sleigh.

We’ll continue keeping an eye on the news wire throughout the night and post if Santa is caught delivering toys in any other awesome cars.

Until then, all of us here at TopSpeed.com wish you and yours a Happy Holiday (whichever one you choose to celebrate)!

2014 has been quite the eventful year in the auto industry, and the best part is we still have December left before the calendar flips to 2015. But since we’re celebrating Thanksgiving today, we wanted to take this opportunity to give thanks to some of the highlights of 2014. It was a long and exhaustive list that we somehow managed to whittle down to five things we’re thankful for.

All items on the list were newsworthy at one point or another during the year, but the things on this list didn’t make it simply because they made news in 2014. Rather, the items on this list have long-term impacts on the evolution of the auto industry moving forward. Whether it was the development of a new engine or the arrival and imminent departure of two supercars, 2014 really had them all.

Read through the things we’re thankful for in 2014 and let us know what you’re thankful for in the comments section.

Click past the jump to read about the five things I am thankful for in 2014.

If you thought the GT-R-powered Nissan Juke and its 545 horsepower was a crazy idea, then you’re in for a big surprise. Nismo’s crazy limited-edition crossover is far from being the fastest Juke ever built and it’s quite slow compared to the monster a Russian company managed to create. How’s that possible, you may ask? Well, the folks over at Shpilli Villi Engineering squeezed no less than 800 ponies out of Godzilla’s twin-turbo, 3.8-liter, V-6 engine, while adding a shot of nitrous for an extra 200 horses. That’s right, this Juke has no less than 1,000 horsepower traveling through its drivetrain, albeit only for a few seconds.

So what do you do when you have at least 800 horses to spare besides winning a dozen drag races against the world’s most powerful supercars? You take it to the Nurburgring track, of course, the place where all production cars go to have their engines and chassis refined. Not that this Juke needs further tweaks or any race-course time given its purpose, but at least the Juke R isn’t one of those massive SUVs BMW and Mercedes-Benz keeps bringing at the ’Ring.

Naturally, the overly powerful crossover isn’t the kind of vehicle you’d expect to set a new Nurburgring record, especially on a wet track, but owner and race car driver Vladimir Ulanov manages to put the Juke R through its paces and clock a few fast laps. Thankfully, the Russians captured it all on tape and you can watch the madness in the video above.

Our recent crowning of Nissan as the most enthusiast-focused brand continues to hold true as the automaker just released this teaser image of what’s likely to be the Vision Gran Turismo concept — a vehicle that is slated to bridge the gap between the virtual world of Gran Turismo and reality. Nissan says it will “reveal the next chapter in its story” in the press release below, and we can’t think of a better place than the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Backing up that notion is a Tweet from Nissan Vice President Andy Palmer saying, “Think it’s worth coming to Goodwood????” with a link directing followers to a cloth-covered vehicle perched atop a date that reads June 10, 2014. Well, today is that day and Nissan has released the impressive image above accompanied by a press release giving yet another date, this time June 16th.

Also included in the press release is a statement about Nissan revealing the car to “an audience that has always shared our passion for performance.” Perhaps the lucky group of performance-minded folks will include pro gamers from the Nissan GT Academy.

As for the car itself, we could be looking at an early version of the next generation GT-R. Its mean looks and angular design, along with a large rear wing means this car is ready for business. But it looks like we’ll have to wait till the 16th to get the full run-down on the twice-teased car.

Click past the jump for more info on the next generation GT-R

***We will start this party at approximately 0945 US EASTERN TIME***

Ladies and Gentleman, you are invited to join us for a special early-week TopSpeed Podcast. The best part? It is totally live. Feel free to click the play button on the YouTube video to hang out with us; you can even chat and comment live to give us feedback and ask us questions.

I know the show is a few days early, but I have a special announcement to make. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it involves lots of horsepower and an epic road trip. You have to watch to see what the announcement is.

Beyond the special announcement, we are going to talk about Justin’s drive of the new 4-Series, the new McLaren P13 GT and the future of solar powered roads.

Mark is also going to regale us with tales of his time with the Chrysler Town & Country, and then we plan on discussing the changed coming to the 2015 Nissan Frontier and then we plan on covering the crazy Hyundai Veloster Midship Concept.

We may have another piece of news or two, and of course we will have viewer questions, and a round of Own, Drive, Burn.

Click that play button and hang out!

The 2014 Nissan GT-R is the flagship of the Nissan brand and represents one of the greatest price-to-performance bargains of all time. Thanks to a 545 horsepower engine, a quick-shifting dual-clutch transmission and an advanced all-wheel drive system, the GT-R has set multiple track records for production cars around the world.

Despite its ability to blitz most Ferraris and Lamborghinis around a track, the GT-R carries a price that is less than half those competitors.

Nissan has even tried to infuse a large dose of day-to day livability by giving the GT-R four seats and a large trunk.

But where did Nissan sacrifice to keep the price down? Can it match the more expensive competitors in refinement, comfort or technology? I spent 10 days and more than 1,600 miles behind the wheel to figure out if the newest version of Nissan’s ultimate sports car is everything it seems to be.

Just when you thought that the Nissan GT-R couldn’t be more awesome, British tuner Garage D built a program that really turns Godzilla into a full-blown mega monster.

It’s arguably one of the most impressive programs for the GT-R and that might even be a safe assessment. Don’t be fooled by the seeming absence of aero upgrades because Garage D’s work is solely devoted to turning the Nissan supercar’s engine into a mind-blowing piece of performance engineering.

It was a comprehensive program and its numbers really do back it up. After Garage D was done with it, this GT-R was capable of hitting 1,200 horsepower, which allowed it to cross the quarter-mile mark in an astonishing 9.450 seconds while blasting along at speeds in excess of 164 mph.

Even more impressive, the GT-R can cover one mile in 22.528 seconds at a top speed of 230 mph. Totally bonkers, we tell ya.

But here’s the most impressive part: this 1,200-horsepower GT-R is completely street legal, which means that you can run around the roads, flex your muscles, and blast off leaving everyone eating your dust.

That’s what a 1,200-horsepower GT-R is capable of doing. And we should all thank Garage D for making it possible.

Click past the jump to read about the 2014 Nissan GT-R

Supercar parades are always fun to be a part of and we’ve had our share of them over the years. But recently, Singapore hosted what could very well be one of the largest gatherings of Nissan GT-Rs you’ll ever come across.

Over 30 Godzillas were seen rampaging through the streets of the Asian country and if you couldn’t tell the difference between the fictitious Japanese monster and the all-too-real Japanese supercar, you probably wouldn’t think that Singapore is a nice place to be in at the moment.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Singapore is a beautiful country that was made more appealing recently with the cavalcade of GT-Rs driving in convoy from the Marina Mandarin Hotel all the way to Aviation Park Road, a good-sized distance that would have filled your desire of seeing more GT-Rs in one place than you would in your lifetime.

Here’s the best part, though. Considering how expensive cars are in Singapore (the cast of Fast & Furious 6 will attest to this), the people riding these GT-Rs know just how special of a supercar Godzilla really is.

Click past the jump to read more about the Nissan GT-R

The Nissan GT-R is my hero. I was so amazed by the performance of the R35 generation of GT-R when launched that I modified the back of my Legacy 2.5GT to read “2.5GT-R” with an expensive and genuine GT-R emblem from Japan.

To put a badge from another car onto your own, as a grown man, is pretty pathetic in retrospect. But for the year or so that my Subaru was a 2.5GT-R, every time I saw the beveled red letters of that logo, I could not help but smile.

My car, I told myself, was sort of like a GT-R for people with dogs and cargo flexibility needs. I eventually grew up and mounted the GT-R emblem in prime position on my refrigerator, where it delights me even today.

Do not meet your heroes, they say. A lifetime spent worshiping a professional baseball pitcher, only to find out he is meaner than a rattlesnake and twice as deadly. Seeing the underbelly of any icon could ruin baseball altogether - if that was your life’s passion until seeing the bad parts up close.

I got to meet my hero last week via the 2014 Nissan GT-R Track Pack. While the car defined my day, and has consumed my thoughts ever since, I am unable to form an opinion even a full week later.

This is rare for me. Love it or hate it, I generally get a good sense of a car’s merits and issues within a few minutes behind the wheel.

But the GT-R is very different. Our time together was more of a fling than going steady, but if I thought I loved the GT-R more than anything else in the world before I drove it, what do I think now?

Still hard to say. I do know that sitting down in the GT-R for the first time was very intense on a number of levels. The hoon before me had every setting in race mode, and, frankly, I was not prepared for the performance the GT-R offers its drivers every second it is on the roads.

So while I try to stop shaking with cold sweats after only a few full-throttle sessions, the GT-R is better than a hero to me. It was better than everything I had previously read or knew about the vehicle.

We are putting together the full Driven review for next week, but until then, please enjoy these TopSpeed First-Drive Video reviews of the 2014 Nissan GT-R.

Click past the jump to see me sweat it out while hitting 60-mph in a claimed 2.8 seconds.

The Nurburgring is typically used by automakers to test their new vehicles in an attempt to gauge how fast it can go around the track relative to the competition.

Now, it appears that Nissan is setting up shop at the ’Ring this week in an attempt to set a new lap record for the Nissan GT-R.

The car that’s poised to challenge that mark?

The soon-to-be-unveiled 2015 Nissan GT-R Nismo.

According to Autocar, the Japanese automaker has booked exclusive use of the ’Ring, which it will use to put the GT-R Nismo through the paces. The objective, as far as Nissan is concerned, is to shatter the record lap time of the GT-R around the Nurbugring. Currently, that record sits at 7 minutes and 18.6 seconds, which was set by Toshio Suzuki last year. Incidentally, that lap time is the ninth fastest time by a road-legal car at the circuit.

Former Formula 1 driver Sébastien Buemi will be behind the wheel of the NIssan GT-R Nismo when it attempts its laps at the Nurburgring. With Nissan promising to get the GT-R Nismo to hit 0-60 mph in just two seconds, it opens up a world of possibilities on how fast the supercar can tackle the Nurburgring.

Whether it can beat the record GT-R time remains to be seen, but from the looks of things, it’s certainly in play.

Click past the 2015 Nissan GT-R Nismo after the jump