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Nissan's Godzilla gets spruced up

Nissan’s GT-R sees sweeping improvements to its engine, chassis and transmission for 2012. Place your orders now, the cars will be in showrooms from February.

Building on the icon’s superlative performance and handling, the revised GT-R remains a potent supercar but marries its increased performance with better efficiency and lower emissions.

So the savings in fuel consumption are minimal (down from 12 to 11.8 litres/100km), but the output from its 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 is definitely more tasty. Power is up from 390 to 397kW at 6400rpm and peak torque now is 628Nm from 3200 to 5800rpm.

Thanks to improved intakes, better air flow and improved exhaust valve cooling by the use of a new metallic sodium-filled valve, low to mid-range engine response and torque, and power at high revs, is improved, Nissan says.

FANCY METALWORK


Shifts through the transmission are more refined thanks to strengthening of the shift fork arm while a special differential R35 Competition oil, developed for racing, is now used in all GT-Rs.

Along with its greater engine power, certain areas around the engine compartment and dash panel have been reinforced to create a rigid and more responsive vehicle body.  

2012 Nissan GT-R

SIBLING RIVALRY: Two versions of the iconic GT-R will be sold in South Africa.

Another cool new feature is the new asymmetric suspension which offsets the greater weight on the driver’s side of the car in right-hand drive models. The front suspension uses a harder spring rate on the left side while the rear, the suspension arm points up on the left, but down on the right. The imbalanced wheel load is equalised during driving to apparently improve steering feel as well as better cornering stability and ride comfort.  

Inside the cabin, the driver’s instruments have blue lighting and an upgraded Bose audio system.

A rear view camera is standard on all models.

PRICES:
2012 GT-R Premium Edition - R1 347 000
2012 GT-R Black Edition - R1 397 000

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