Rumormill: Nissan GT-R-based sedan and SUV in the works, LF-A on track, Supra planning comeback

InsideLine's correspondent in Japan says that despite the global economic crisis that has caused the demise of the Acura NSX, there are plenty of good things on the way from Japan's top automakers.

Adding fuel to the rumormill fire, Peter Lyon reports that Nissan is hard at work developing two models based off the Nissan GT-R: the oft-rumored four-door Infiniti and a Porsche Cayenne-fighting SUV, a vehicle that has already been denied by Nissan. Naturally, he doesn't disclose his sources, nor does he go into detail about the automakers efforts, but both models are expected to be released sometime in 2011.

The rumored demise of the Lexus LF-A is also open to debate – yet again – and according to Lyon's logic, after Toyota made the decision to continue its Formula One campaign, the automaker "still wants to bring its first true supercar to market." The V10-powered luxo-coupe is supposedly 12 to 18 months off and pricing is expected to retail for close to $340,000.

Two other vehicles on the chopping block that Lyon says have been spared are the Honda S2000 replacement, which could debut in late 2011 or early 2012, as well as Toyota's plans to bring back the Supra with V6 power in 2011. The all-new Subaru Legacy which debuted in Detroit is also slated to arrive in production form this May, with sales beginning sometime in the fall.

We are not entirely convinced that any of these projects are sure things, so until we get confirmation from the individual automakers, we'll remain comfortably numb to the news.

[Source: InsideLine]

South Side Performance introduces 820 hp turbo upgrade for Nissan GT-R

Most of this week's Nissan GT-R tuning news has been coming out of the Tokyo Auto Salon, but South Side Performance is making its own headlines. The tuning firm based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is offering a set of upgraded stock turbochargers for the GT-R that have the potential to boost output to 820 hp when used in conjunction with other (undisclosed) performance modifications.

The upgrade consists of swapping out the stock turbos' center section with remachined compressor and turbine housings, sized 68mm and 53.8mm, respectively. The aluminum compressor wheel is good for up to 32 psi of boost, and since the basic hardware remains, the swap appears to be a simple bolt-on affair. According to South Side, the turbos make more power at stock boost levels and provide a linear power band throughout the rev range.

GT-RR.com is distributing the GTR820RR kit for South Side, and owners can send their stock turbos and $6,499 for the upgrade, with an approximate turnaround time of one week. Of course, the next question is: how will the stock clutches and transmission hold up to the additional power? Check out the images of the setup in the gallery below and hit the jump for the press release.

Nissan Brings GT-R NISMO Club Sports and 370Z NISMO S-Tune to Tokyo Salon

The NISMO-prepped GT-R and 370Z will be two of fifteen Nissan models to make their way to the Tokyo Auto Salon, which runs January 12-14. While not as exclusive as the GT-R SpecV that was officially revealed on Wednesday -see details here, the GT-R NISMO Club Sports features several improvements over the standard car. Developed collaboratively with the GT-R product development team and Nismo engineers, the GT-R Club Sports most prominent aspect is the Chassis Package.

The pack includes a set of race-spec Bilstein Damptronic adjustable dampers, stiffer front (18.5kg/mm) and rear springs(9.6 kg/mm) and new 20-inch Rays forged aluminum wheels wrapped in Bridgestone RE070R run-flat tires, sized 225/40 and 285/35, front and rear.

Nismo also added a new lightweight titanium exhaust system that removes 11 pounds from the GT-R's overall weight and a set of the carbon fiber backed and leather trimmed manually adjusted bucket seats that save an extra 13 pounds. Nissan supports that at the Sendai Hi-land Raceway, the GT-R NISMO Club Sports outrun the standard GT-R model by a full second

As for the 370Z or as it's called in Japan, Fairlady Z, the NISMO S-tune package features a more rigid body brace, sports suspension and the "Aero Package" body kit.

Nissan GT-R SpecV: Details, live and images

Nissan's press release on the GT-R SpecV left a lot of unanswered questions, particularly the geeky tidbits that we thrive on. So with the help of our friends at GTRBlog who were on hand for the unveiling in Japan, and a few of our super-secret sources abroad, we were able to scrounge up some of the more salient details on Nissan's upgraded Godzilla. Follow the jump to find out the inside scoop on Nissan's most super of supercars.
To begin with, Nissan maintains that the GT-R SpecV is aimed at the discerning enthusiast, the same kind of buyer that would pass up the Porsche 911 GT3 for the RS variant. For $170,000, that's a very select group of consumers, but we doubt Nissan will have much difficulty moving the 20 to 30 SpecVs it'll be producing each month when sales begin February 8th.



Peak output remains the same, at 478 horsepower, but a switch on the right of the steering wheel (shared with the cruise control) activates an electronic circuit to boost mid-range torque by 15 lb-ft (up to 449 lb-ft). A green light illuminates on the dash when the overboost function is enabled, giving drivers 80 seconds to perform any overtaking maneuvers, and then defaulting back to the standard setting.



The SpecV's carbon ceramic brakes were developed in conjunction with Brembo and are painted silver to differentiate the upgraded stoppers from the standard GT-R. Although the six-piston (front) caliper size remains the same, the discs have been upgraded to 390mm (15.35 inches) and fitted with SpecV specific brake pads. Nissan claims a weight savings of 11 pounds per corner and –2.0 Gs worth of stopping power, but the system comes at a cost: $45,000.




The 20-inch RAYS forged aluminum wheels – the same units offered on the NISMO Clubsports GT-R -- also contribute to the overall weight savings, which comes in 132 pounds lighter than the standard model at 3,704 pounds. As mentioned in our previous post, Nissan replaced several components with lightweight carbon fiber, including the seats, interior trim (even the seat-back adjuster), grille and brake ducts, along with the trick dry carbon fiber rear wing (coated in clear matte paint) that increases downforce. The Bilsteins have been retuned to be more responsive on the racetrack and the engine cover has been replaced with a SpecV-only piece. The standard GT-R hues are available, but if you want to stand out, the Ultimate Opal Black paint job will set you back an additional $6,100.



Nissan hasn't released 0-60, 0-100 or quarter mile times yet, but we expect some official figures in the coming weeks. And as for a Nurburgring time... just you wait.

Nissan GT-R named Car of the Year by Automobile Mag

Nissan has hit a major home run with its latest Skyline, known as the GT-R here in the States. In fact, the car was knocked so far out of the park that it seems an obvious choice for anyone's Car of the Year. Nissan's latest supercar boasts enough performance to take on the best from the rest of the world regardless of price, making it an amazing value despite costing upwards of $80,000. As such, the new GT-R has been awarded the Car of the Year trophy from Automobile Mag. Who are we to argue?

Other winners of Automobile's year-end awards include Audi's stunning A5 coupe, which takes the award for Design of the Year, though it seems it feels like the A5's already been around for more than a year. Man of the Year goes to Honda's CEO, Takeo Fuki, who's company is now reaping the rewards for staying true to its initial vision of rational, fuel efficient designs after all these years. It's pretty hard to take exception with these choices, though 2009, which is right around the corner, is shaping up to be the year of fuel efficiency. Follow the jump for Automobile Mag's official press release, which has a few extra award winners we didn't mention.

2009 Nissan GT-R Introduced with More Power, Better Handling and New Colors

Only a year after the GT-R's market launch in Japan and less than six months after its U.S. introduction and Nissan has proceeded to the sportscar's first major round of changes which include a power increase, suspension upgrades and a new exterior color. The most significant improvement concerns the GT-R's hand-built 3.8-litre V6 twin-turbo engine which has gained 5PS thanks to some fine tuning of its electronics, taking power output to 485PS, while torque remains unchanged at 588Nm.

The engine upgrades have also led to slightly better fuel economy figures with Nissan announcing an average fuel consumption in the Japanese driving cycle of 8.3 km/l (19.5 mpg U.S.) instead of 8.2 km/l (19.3 mpg US). In addition, Nissan has increased the GT-R's fuel tank capacity from 71 liters to to 74 liters.

Another update sees the improvement of the sportscar's ride performance with modifications to the suspension spring rate settings while the 2009 model will also benefit from a set of Dunlop SP Sport 600 DSST tires. Nissan claims that the tire was developed specifically for the GT-R and it "combines grip and durability, as demonstrated during its 'time-attack' lap of the Nurburgring", which yielded a time of 7 minutes 29 seconds.

Less significant improvements for the 2009 GT-R concern the introduction of the Gun Metal grey colored Rays seven-spoke alloy wheel design for the standard and Premium Edition GT-Rs, while the Black Edition will be fitted with the same design but, appropriately, in black. Additionally, customers can now choose a new deep white pearl color called 'Storm' which replaces the original pearl white which had a slightly darker shade.

Last but not least Nissan has also hiked the prices for its subtly updated GT-R. In the U.K. for example, customers ordering now will have to pay £56,795 on the road for the basic version with an increase of £1300 for the Premium Edition (£58,095) and another £1300 for the Black Edition (£59,395). This represents an increase of 3.8 percent.

In Europe, the first GT-Rs are scheduled to hit dealerships in April 2009. To date, Nissan has taken in excess of 2500 customer orders in Europe with 1200 coming from the UK. Any new customer orders should expect delivery in mid 2010.

Nissan GT-R

Nissan GT-R