.jpg)
.jpg)
It will be called the Egoist.
No-one knows yet if the name will survive the trip to Australia, but Nissan believes it has more punch than the SpecM tag originally proposed for the car.
A Nissan insider says the name comes from a group of marketing buffs who latched onto the Chanel perfume called Egoist, and apparel maker Egoist, and believes that GT-R Egoist also sounds pretty cool.
"Yes, there’s a bit of tongue in cheek in the name, and yes, the word does mean self-conceited, but we just wanted to have some fun with the name," says the Nissan source.
Even though Skyhooks had a 1980s hit with the song 'Ego is not a dirty word' in Australia, there are worries that the Egoist tag is only reinforcing the reputation of many owners.
Or it could be referring to the GT-R's outspoken chief engineer, Kazutoshi Mizuno. But only Nissan knows and is pressing ahead with the GT-R update for Japanese showrooms on October 7, with a pricetag of $166,000.
The Egoist will incorporate a newly-designed grille and bumper combination, with a revised front intake duct. Rumoured LED daylights will also appear on the front and rear bumpers to make the GT-R easier to see at high speeds. At the outer edges of the rear bumper, stylists have also fitted new heat dissipating vents, designed to extract more heat from the transmission and exhaust system Inside, the
Egoist gets new specially-designed switches and Recaro seats Based on the two current luxury versions, the Black Edition and the Premium Edition, the Egoist gets larger brake discs - up from 360 to 390mm - and lighter 10-spoke wheels.
In addition to the wheels, other weight savings in the body mean that the GT-R is now 30 kilograms lighter than the current model.
Thanks to the modified turbochargers, oil cooler and exhaust system on the car's V6 engine, the GT-R now pumps out 382 kiloWatts at 6400 revs and 608 Newton-metres of torque at 3200-5200.
So the combination of the new 1710kg curb weight and the revised twin turbo V6 generates a healthier power-to-weight ratio, a factor important to any GT-R buyer. But what will mostly impress potential customers are the tweaks made to the gear ratios, spring rates and rear suspension geometry which, Carsguide is told, deliver a more compliant ride with sharper handling.
Meanwhile, another new addition is coming to the GT-R line-up. This one is the Club Track Edition, costing $124,000 in Japan. In addition to the regular GT-R stuff it comes with a four-point rollcage and racing seats as well as competition slick tires for racetrack work.
