The Nissan GT-R Nismo might have stolen the headlines, but Nissan hasn’t neglected its regime of continuous evolution of the standard GT-R.
The GT-R 2014 model goes on sale in its home market of Japan on December 2, with other markets added later. Nissan hasn’t confirmed if the cost will rise from today’s starting price of £76,610.
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This time around, Nissan claims the latest GT-R “offers smoother ride comfort, more refinement and benchmark fit and finish, in the spirit of a great ‘GT’, while delivering breathtaking performance and road-holding.”
And to do this, the company has improved the electronic control of the shock absorber valves and changed the front suspension spring rates to help ensure that the tyres always stay in contact with the road, even on rough surfaces.
The upgraded GT-R also gets Dunlop SP sport Maxx GT 600 DSST CTT tyres as standard, which have stiffer sidewalls to help improve steering response when cornering hard. Nissan claims that the brakes have also been calibrated for a more linear response at slower speeds, while the steering has been retuned to help make low-speed manoeuvring easier.
Nissan now offers an optional carbon-fibre rear wing and boot lid, which the firm claims cut weight by half when compared to the standard items. All cars also benefit from adaptive LED headlights, which Nissan claims improves low-light visibility when compared with the current units.
The headlights also feature S-shaped low-beam lights, which Nissan claims look like lightning bolts, while the circular tail-lights get more distinctive LED rings around their outer edges.
The final tweaks are a new exterior colour – Gold Flake Red Pearl – that features microscopic gold-tinted glass flakes infused into red paint, and a new pale ivory interior trim colour option.