Rumors have been flying around ever since a few subtly disguised Nissan GT-R’s had been spotted lapping the Nurburgring. Not that seeing a car like the GT-R lapping the ‘Ring is uncommon. The thing is that these weren’t stock GT-R’s, and they were being tested by Nissan officials. Only one idea could come to the mind of die-hard GT-R enthusiasts. Could this be the new track-focused SpecV model GT-R?
Well, my friends, your wishes have been answered. Nissan has officially released the GT-R SpecV in Japan. The new SpecV differentiates itself from a regular GT-R not by having more power, but by being more dynamic. A healthy loss of weight has helped the new GT-R tremendously. The front seats have been replaced with carbon buckets while the rear bench has been discarded altogether! Various carbon and aluminum body panels help pare down weight even more.
This was intended to be a focused car from the beginning, and very few considerations have been made for long distance comfort. On the chassis side, Nissan performance division NISMO has worked its magic by fitting new re-tuned springs and dampers to the chassis and recalibrating the suspension to suit. Lightweight wheels and ceramic brake discs help shed even more weight and maintain that dynamic edge that Nissan’s engineers were shooting for.
New, more aggressive front and rear bumpers help exude that bad-ass look while also maintaining perfect aerodynamic stability at speed. Though the engine remains basically stock (480-hp is pretty good), there is a new high-gear boost controller to increase boost momentarily for more torque in medium to high-speed situations. This allows the car to feel more livelier at the bottom of the rev range, giving the driver more immediate throttle response.
So far, only the Japanese market will be getting the SpecV version of the mighty GT-R. Nissan will only be making 10 copies a month to keep them a rare sight and keep exclusivity up. You can have it in any color as long as it’s black, or ultimate black opal, as it’s officially called. No word yet on whether we will see the SpecV here in the U.S. any time soon. If we do see it here, don’t expect it to come with a five-figure price though. If it’s ever brought here, this could possibly be the first $100,000 Nissan sold in the states.
Source: Autoweek
Photos: Nissan Motor Co.
