No other word in modern automotive culture evokes a more tenacious response from car-enthusiasts than the star of the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.
Nissan has proactively improved its craft while igniting the imaginations of JDM folk for the last five decades with the GT-R name plate. To celebrate its 50th birthday, Nissan is bringing to the fore a range update for MY20 including the 50th Anniversary Edition pictured here in brilliant Bayside Blue.
Nissan hasn’t just thrown a splash of paint over it with a new body kit. The R35 has grown and matured with the times like a fine casked brandy would.
“The overall changes to the GT-R are significant from a driving performance standpoint; while the 50th anniversary edition stylishly pays homage to its past” said Stephen Lester, the managing director Nissan AU.
Power output of the MY20 model matches that of the 2017 model, while offering drivers even more daily usability. The computer controlled suspension setup has been tuned for a more graceful ride while still feeling planted and precise in the corners.
The steering rack has been tweaked for a shaper and quicker response. The Brembo stoppers too have been given new brake boosters, increasing initial response feel with less pedal interaction. The culmination of these, alongside other changes make for a GT-R with all the daily usability of its arch rival, the Porsche 911 Turbo.
Under the hood lives the infamous 3.8-litre V6 nuclear reactor that catapults Godzilla to the century sprint in under 3 seconds. Keep your right foot mashed to the loud pedal and you’ll see excesses of 300 km/h on the speedo.
The twin-turbochargers have adopted aircraft-grade abradable seals on their vanes just as those found on the latest turbofan jet engines. This means less air leakage and low inertia turbines that spool faster, resulting in improved low-rpm response. Perfect for getting out of corners quickly. The aftermath is 419kW at 6,800rpm and 632Nm of twist at 3,300 revs.
The 2020 GT-R NISMO on the other hand, features the enlarged turbo’s taken straight off the GT3 racer, thus raising the power output of its hand-built engine to 441kW. In charge of stopping the carbon fibre-adorned lightened bullet, are a pair 410mm carbon ceramic rotors upfront with 390’s at the rear developed in collaboration with Brembo.
However, the MY20 GT-R isn’t all comic book fire and fury like that of the early models or the NISMO. Nissan has added the same measure of refinement that’s applied to the oily bits as to the interior as well. The $199,800 Premium Luxury Trim variant for instance, cossets the occupants in a Nappa leather-wrapped cabin available in three flavours - Tan, Red and the newly introduced Urban Grey.
For the 50th Anniversary Edition, the 1765kg street weapon is offered in the abovementioned shade that’s taken off its predecessors Wangan Blue alongside Super Silver and Ivory Pearl. Based on the Premium Luxury variant, it’ll set you back some $209,300.
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