Nissan GT-R News

Driving enthusiasts will have ample reasons to smile in the new year.

While Holden are set to start a V6 revolution by strapping a six-cylinder turbo into a Commodore when the "Gen 2" era begins, it appears Nissan will resist calls to put a Skyline GT-R on the grid and extend the reign of the Altima.News Corp Australia has been told Nissan, who come off-contract at the end of next year, will soon recommit to the sport and continue its four-car assault beyond 2017 by signing a new multi-year deal with Nissan Motorsport Australia.But despite popular demand and a new set of rules that have made a return possible, Nissan will not unleash the GT-R — the giant-killing car known as "Godzilla" that dominated the early 1990s.The 90-page "Gen 2" document has been sent to Nissan HQNissan will stick with the four-door Altima sedan.The 90-page "Gen 2" document has been sent to Nissan HQ in Japan with NISMO bosses set to examine the document."Nissan has been in discussion with V8 Supercars for some time regarding the technical regulations for 2017 and beyond," Nissan said in a statement."The next major step in our decision-making process is to work with NISMO in Japan on closely examining the Gen2 V8SC Technical Regulations so that we can evaluate our options."

Nissan is considering unleashing a monster, revealing that Godzilla is in line for a V8 Supercars return.

Salmon is a Sydney hotelier and online entrepreneur, while Baumgartner is best known as the crazy Austrian who parachuted from the edge of space.But both of them fit right in at the Bathurst 12-Hour, a race that takes Mount Panorama back to its showroom roots.It's not your everyday showroom, as exotics brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bentley and McLaren dominate the entry list, but these are still cars that are far closer to the real world than any V8Supercar.Best of all, they all look and sound different. And, since they have different strengths and weaknesses, there is constant track action as they swap places around Mount Panorama. And that's without worrying about the tail-end tiddlers in cars such as the 1-Series BMWs who contribute to the healthiest starting grid since the 1980s."Why do I race? I caught the bug and I cannot get it out of my system," Salmon tells CarsGuide."I'm a gentleman driver, not a professional, but I can still compete here with some of the best blokes in the world.The 12-hour includes some of the world's best long-distance racers"I'm 55 next week, so I have a few things to tick off the Bucket List. This is one."Salmon owns his Audi R8 racer but Baumgartner, a world- class and world-renowned thrill seeker, is at Bathurst as a guest of Audi. He's in an R8 to satisfy his need for speed."This is fun. Just great," he says.The driver lineup for the 12-hour includes some of the world's best long-distance racers, and former V8Supercar runners John Bowe, Warren Luff and Greg Crick, but the current stars have been banned from the action by a clashing touring car test at Sydney Motorsport Park.No-one is remotely surprised that Craig Lowndes and Rick Kelly would prefer to be spending the weekend at Bathurst, or that the 12-Hour telecast comprehensively trumps the broadcast numbers for the rival event in Sydney.The 12-Hour is a wacky race, from the drivers to the cars, and the Mercedes-Benz pacecar is called out a record 20 times after some sort of on-track incident.But the cars are fast and spectacular and it's easy to tell them apart. Especially when you see a brutal Benz SLS going head-to-head with an exotic Ferrari 458 and a giant-but-gentlemanly Bentley Continental.There is a respectable crowd at the 12-Hour and the carpark is full of old Bristols and MG sports cars, shiny new McLarens and even a 50-car cavalcade of Mercedes-Benzes, dominated by the brand's hot AMG models.As always, Mount Panorama stars — from the spectacle of a start in darkness through to the final fight to the flag.The 12-Hour is more than just a race and it is growing fastIn the end, it's a Nissan GT-R that gets home first — as Godzilla conquers the Mountain for the first time since Mark Skaife and Jim Richards — with a blanket finish for the minor places.But the 12-Hour is more than just a race and it is growing fast. There are seven factory-backed teams in 2015 and this will grow again for 2016, with Audi, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz already committed to next year's race."This race and this place is something special. It's not only the track, it's the atmosphere and the racing and all the rest," says Romolo Liebchen, head of Audi's giant Customer Racing Division.GT sports car racing is more than a passing fad"Australia has a relatively small car market, but it is very important for performance cars and also as a place to compete with our customers. It is clear this race will continue to grow."A Bentley at Bathurst is so wrong that it’s right.I feel as if I’ve been invited into the sitting room of Le Mans winner Guy Smith’s home in Britain as I slide into his Continental GT3-R for a relatively quiet lap of Mount Panorama.This is the roadgoing version of the car Smith is racing in the 12-hour, with everything I expect from an ultra-luxury Bentley coupe. There are sumptuous leather seats and all the luxury fruit. Then Smith opens the taps on Mountain Straight and we’re aa-www-aaaay.It’s not remotely what I expect from a car that weighs nearly two tonnes and costs more than $600,000.Bentley has done a serious job on this car. It has 427kW and 700Nm in the engine room, which — with special gearing and a bunch of other changes — means it can slingshot to 100km/h in just 3.8 secs. That’s exactly what Smith does, calmly giving his first impression of the circuit. “It’s a tricky place, isn’t it? It takes a bit of learning,” he says.On Sunday afternoon, long after this memorable run down the mountain, he and his team should have been podium finishers. A cruel punt on the final corner drops them to fourth at the flag. Bentley is committed to come back in 2016 and I’m looking forward to another visit to Smith’s sitting room.GT sports car racing is more than a passing fad. A total of 13 car brands now have official programs in the global category, following a decision by Cadillac this year to join the track action with its CTS-V coupe, and they are spending big as bait for buyers.Cadillac will be joining everyone from Aston Martin and Audi to Lamborghini, Ferrari, and even Mercedes-Benz at the sharp end of GT racing.It's a crazy category because the cars look so outrageous. The purchase price, from about $600,000, makes them relatively affordable.In comparison, a homegrown V8Supercar can easily top $500,000 as a turnkey racer.The big difference between Australia and the rest of the world is the scale, with carmakers doing big numbers and making serious dollars from their motorsport divisions.Mercedes-Benz still has 20 cars to build before it switches from its current SLS to the GT3 version of the new coupe. Bentley has built 18 Continental GTs for racing.Audi tops the pile, having built 136 track versions of its R8, with 126 currently still in action including the car that took pole position for the Bathurst 12-Hour.

Nissan has confirmed the driver lineup for their single-car assault on the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour with Nismo Global Athletes Alex Buncombe, Wolfgang Reip and Katsumasa Chiy making their second apperance at the endurance race.Rick Kelly, who drove with the team in the 2014 12 Hour isn't returning for 2015 due a scheduling clash with the V8 Supercars official pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park.The Nissan squad lines up against the likes of Bentley, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz in the GT3 A-class at the front of the field.We never got to show the full potential of the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 in 20142015 marks Buncombe's third trip to Mount Panorama in 12 months, with the Englishman partnering Todd Kelly in the Nissan Altima for the Bathurst 1000 where the pair finished 7th overall.Buncombe says the team has unfinished business after last year's race."We never got to show the full potential of the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 in 2014," he said."I can't wait to get back behind the wheel, especially as the flowing corners and long straights at Mount Panoramaare just what the GT-R loves."Reip, who is only in this third year of professional racing after winning the 2012 Nissan GT Academy Europe, completed the first fully-electric powered lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe in 2014. Reip piloted the innovative Nissan ZEOD RC during warm up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race.I would say it is as hard as the NordschleifeThe 28-year old Belgian likens Australia's famous scenic drive to Germany's Nordschliefe."It’s very difficult mentally; I would say it is as hard as the Nordschleife. I have raced on both and I would say that althoughBathurst is shorter it is just as challenging,” he said.Katsumasa Chiyo returns to Australia having spent the 2014 season in Europe driving a Nissan GT-R as part of the Blancpain Endurance Series as well as both the Nürburgring and Spa 24 hour races.Chiyo says he has learned a lot over the last 12 months and is "really looking forward to racing again at Bathurst for the revenge". The Nissan squad's 2014 race was cut short on lap 59 when Chiyo, blinded by dust, collided heavily with a spun Ferrari at the top of the mountain, near Brock's Skyline.The accident rendered the Nissan GT-R undriveable, however all involved escaped serious injury.The 2015 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour runs February 6-8 at Mount Panorama.

The 2016 Nissan GT-R hybrid supercar will be as distinctive as its ancestor. Just as the latest Godzilla film epic has hit the screens, testing has begun in Europe on the first prototypes of its automotive namesake, the Nissan GT-R.When the next GT-R premeieres in 2016, expect a hybrid supercar capable of catapulting to 100km/h in less than 2.5 seconds.Insiders predict a car with a twin-turbocharged V6 making 440kW abetted by a 115kW electric motor, feeding through a hi-tech all-wheel-drive system.The car will continue as a coupe but with much smoother styling to improve its aerodynamic performance. It is also on a major weight-reduction regime - including use of lightweight carbon-fibre - to trim about 180kg."Of course we have a program to renew the GT-R. But we still have a little more to go. Then we renew it," says Nissan chief creative officer Shiro Nakamura."GT-R is a very important asset for the company." He says design work is well under way on a reinvention of a car that has become a global icon, promising a body that is just as distinctive as the current one.He rules out a continuation of the "gundam" theme - taken from Japanese animated robot series - but promises it will be another landmark car."It's the heritage of GT-R. When we design a new-generation GT-R we will design it as a GT-R. It must be an evolution." Nakamura designed the current GT-R and has taken personal control of the new one, partly because he understands the history of a performance car with its roots in the 1960s."My generation is the sports car generation. I'm designing it for myself. Most of the customers for the car are quite old, like me," he says. Surprisingly, Nakamura also reveals the next GT-R is likely to be repackaged as an Infiniti. Nissan's upscale brand is making good ground in the US but struggling in countries including Australia, where it has yet to achieve recognition among luxury buyers."Because of its price, performance and package, it would work well," he says.

Nissan showrooms are about to be transformed with everything from a cool small car to a handy ute and a hybrid supercar. Nissan global boss Andy Palmer says the new Navara pick-up will be unveiled next month and is set to arrive in showrooms either late this year or early next.Palmer gives little away about the Navara, which remains the most popular model in Nissan's local line-up. However, the new models is expected to be uprated to five safety stars.Carsguide also has been told that the current Navara's high-powered 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6, sourced from parent company Renault, will be dropped because the new 2.0-litre engine will get close to the Renault's 550Nm. Other areas of improvement are payload and towing capacity, where the current model falls behind the newer competition.Palmer indicates Nissan will develop a seven-seat wagon using the Navara's underpinnings, similar to the SUV and ute pairings such as the Holden Colorado and Colorado 7, Mitsubishi Triton and Challenger, and Ford Ranger and the coming Everest.The current Navara spawned the Pathfinder but Nissan Australia has used that name on a Toyota Kluger-style, car-derived SUV. It means Nissan will need to find a new name for its seven-seater based on the next-generation Navara, but it will also prepare a much-needed diesel-powered seven-seat SUV.Palmer confirms development of the modern-day Datsun 1600 is well progressed. The IDx two-door coupe was confirmed late last year as going into production, just months after it was unveiled as a concept car at the Tokyo motor show. But it's still at least two years from showrooms. A budget-priced rival to the Toyota 86, it is expected to be powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that drives the rear wheels.The IDx is expected to be a global brand-building model for Nissan, which means it's a strong chance for sale in Australia. The next-generation 370Z sports car will be more affordable and the next iteration of the giant-killing GT-R will adopt a hybrid powertrain to reduce its fuel consumption and give it an electric boost off the line. Both models are at least three years away.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling

Nissan and Sony will bring their GT Academy racing driver talent search program to Australia this year, with 28 local drivers in the running for a chance to compete with Nissan at the Dubai 24 Hour.The unique virtual-to-reality program has included several other countries since 2008, but 2014 will be the first year that Australia has been included in the program’s talent pool.GT Academy gives drivers with proven talent in Sony’s Gran Turismo Playstation game the chance to prove their ability in actual racing cars, with the most successful given the chance to compete in real life.Spanish driver Lucas Ordonez was the first GT Academy winner in 2008, and has gone onto finish on the LMP2 class podium at Le Mans in 2011 and 2013, be crowned the Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am champion in 2013, and tested a Nissan Altima V8 Supercar last year as part of the ongoing program.The Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 that entered the recent Bathurst 12 Hour also had GT Academy graduate Wolfgang Reip compete alongside other Nissan factory drivers and Nissan V8 Supercar driver Rick Kelly.Perhaps the most successful GT Academy graduate to date though is Jann Mardenborough. Along with competing in the GP3 series with Arden International in 2014, Mardenborough has been selected to join dominant F1 team Infiniti Red Bull Racing for a driver development program.Australian contestants will be selected from the top 14 placings on the Gran Turismo 6 online leaderboard, and a further 14 from live events including V8 Supercar rounds. These 28 finalists will compete in a National Final event, comprised of Gran Turismo 6 challenges, real-life driving challenges, and a media test.Six of these finalists will then compete at an International final among 24 international entries at Silverstone in the UK, with the winner to participate in a driver development program ahead of competing with Nissan in the Dubai 24 Hour race.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn 

It's a stinking hot Bathurst day at Mount Panorama, the ferocious sounds of race cars engulf all we can hear as qualifying takes place for the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour."I have to pinch myself quite a lot to realise what's happening," says Wolfgang Reip, one of the drivers in this year's Nissan GT-R entry. "I never thought in my life I would be in Australia, let alone be racing here," the 26-year-old Belgian said.Reip didn't start his career the typical way, coming up though the ranks of amateur Formula Ford races or race sport sedans. In fact, the most racing experience he had came from the indoor go-karting he did when he was a kid.Although he always dreamt of pursuing a career as a professional race driver, the high costs of the sport stopped that dream from becoming a reality. That was until he heard about the GT Academy.The international competition  gives Gran Turismo players the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a real-life professional driver. Any player who can prove their driving skills in the virtual world can compete on a real track in a real car to win a spot on the Nissan racing team. That was the path that led Reip from Belgium to Bathurst.GT Academy is looking good for Aussie hopefuls too, with both Nissan Australia's Chris Jordan and Bob Neville confirming there was a lot of interest in bringing the program here at some point in the near future.Who knows, maybe it could be you racing with Nissan at next year's Bathurst 12 Hour?Read full story at www.news.com.au 

Hungarian design master X-Tomi has released an impression of what the next Nissan GT-R could look like, and has shown how the styling of the Japanese carmaker's Sports Sedan could translate onto the performance hero.The Sport Sedan Concept unveiled at Detroit motor show is believed to be pointing to the development of the next Maxima sedan, which is due for a refresh. However X-Tomi has adapted its cues to the GT-R and the sleek nose with its sweptback headlights look to be a good fit.A new generation of the GT-R is rumoured to be just a couple of years away, but in the meantime Nissan gave the current car a dose of steroids to develop a Nismo version at November's Tokyo motor show.The GT-R Nismo's twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V6 engine has been tweaked to deliver 441kW of power and 650Nm of torque -- 37kW and 22Nm more than the current GT-R's 404kW and 628Nm -- with revised intake and exhaust systems, upgraded fuel pump, bigger and harder-breathing turbos drawing on the GT3 race car, and improved individual ignition timing for each cylinder.We’ve already test-driven the 2015 GT-R NISMO on the track at Japan’s Sodegauro Forest Raceway and found it to be even easier to drive at very fast speeds than the previous modelWatch the Nissan GT-R Nismo video reviewThe suspension -- with three modes: Comfort, Normal and (track) R -- has also been revised, with specially-tuned springs and custom-developed Bilstein DampTronic dampers front and rear, and specifically-developed links for the double-wishbone front.The GT-R has already clocked a lap at Germany's Nurburgring with a time of 7:08.679 -- yes, nearly 12 seconds behind the Porsche 918 Spyder's Ring record of 6:57. However, Nissan is stressing that the GT-R's time is a record for a 'volume production car', while the 918 is a small production run -- and much more expensive than the GT-R.Watch the Nissan GT-R Nismo Nurburgring lap video hereThis reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott