Looks familiar, but this is the most substantial change the R35 GT-R has gone through.
For the 2016 New York Auto Show Nissan brought along – as it previously teased – a quite significantly updated GT-R that has some new looks and a much needed interior touching up. Oh yes, and more power from its twin-turbo V6.
An all-new Nissan GT-R (R36) is still a few years out in the distance, and this 2017 model (which should reach Australia in September) isn’t a new car, more like a mid-life refresh, or facelift. But even since the car first entered the scene in 2007, the Nissan has kept it on-pace with much more recent competitor offerings with the same basic ingredients.
Let’s address that big and quite orange car (a finish called Blaze Metallic), specifically the front, which has a new hood and slightly altered pair of vents, the front V-motion grille is larger as well as more angular, and the new new front lip improves downforce while adding to that air of aggression.
Wheels are forged aluminium and have a new Y-spoke design. Around the back, there’s less to notice at first glance, but there are now air vents next to each exhaust pair on each side.
That’s all great, but the real reason Nissan is especially giddy for this model year revision is that it addresses some of the most prevalent criticisms of the car since its launch, namely, that the cabin refinement wasn’t up to scratch compared to some other players in the field.
While the mechanical sounds emanating throughout the car are quite novel and can definitely be appreciated by the average gear head, it often caused owners often grow wearisome over longer journeys and the ‘GT’ or Grand Tourer appeal of the car was diminished.
A more effective sound dampening material has been added, and there’s just more of it now. There are also lighter materials used within the cabin as well as more comfortable seats, and as you can see, there’s a lot more tan leather.
The GT-R’s touchscreen display is now larger, allowing many of the buttons that were previously on the dashboard to be omitted for a cleaner dashboard overall. The graphics within that display are newer too, but remain crafted by Gran Turismo game developer Polyphony Digital.
The 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine has been tuned to produce another 15kW of power over last year’s model to 419kW, while torque is now 633Nm. There’s no official sprint times, but since the 2015 car could dispatch 100km/h in 2.8 seconds, the extra power and extra year of engineering wizardly at Nissan could potentially bump that insane time even lower.
Nissan has made the GT-R an even more potent speed monster, while at the same time giving it a more civilised personality. It’s Godzilla in loafers.
