As if we needed further evidence that Jay Leno is among the luckiest car guys in the world, along comes a video showing the chinned-one spending a little time with the Nissan GT-R. In addition to being sheer drool material; the video does a good job covering some of the finer points of Godzilla. Enjoy.
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A good example of such is this gray market 1994 R32 Skyline GTR for sale on eBay Motors. The JDM Skyline has found its way all the way to Diberville, Mississippi, while staying in more or less stock condition (seller claims that an aftermarket exhaust is the biggest modification). The owner says that the meaty 2.6-liter twin-turbo inline-six is in fine working condition, and has never been over-boosted, which makes us both happy and sad.
Certainly a head-turner for the Gran Turismo set, the winner of this auction will most likely have the coolest Japanese muscle car on the block, unless their block happens to be on the Ginza line. Nice license plate too.
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Chrysler and Nissan have announced a product-sharing deal that would ostensibly help to bolster each automaker where it is weakest in its North American product range.
Chrysler will be getting a Nissan Versa-based small car, built to Chrysler’s design in Nissan’s Japanese factory, and aimed at competing in North America, Europe, and other global markets. In return Chrysler will begin to build pickup trucks for the Japanese partner, allowing Nissan to discontinue its Titan full-size truck. The Chrysler compact cars will likely be available around 2010, while the Nissan-badged trucks will start to arrive in 2011.
The deal follows an announcement last January that Chrysler would get a Versa-based car to sell in South America. Chrysler co-President Tom LaSorda called the product-sharing arrangement, “critical to the long-term success of Chrysler.” Both companies said in a statement that a dialogue will be kept open for future product-sharing opportunities as well.
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Nissan’s Peter Bedrosian of GT-R development recently spoke with G4 about the development of the new sports car’s unique navigation and information interface, which was developed with the help of the minds behind Gran Turismo 5. A nice chance to compare Godzilla in real life versus the GT5 version as well. Oh, don’t forget GT5 Prologue hits stores in a scant four days.
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One of the many safety features on the very fast Nissan GT-R is a speed limiter that would only switch off when a GPS link messaged back to the home office saying that the car was within the safe bounds of a race track. On normal roads the sophisticatedly encrypted ECU would only allow GT-R owners to play at speeds up to 112 mph.
All that is said to be changing however, as U.S.-based company COBB Tuning has said that it has cracked the ECU, and is in the process of in-house testing. Along with allowing the untethered GT-R to reach its fully mad top-end of 193 mph (claimed), cracking the Nissan computer should also allow COBB to tinker with fuel-mapping and boost pressure controls.
COBB has also been busy working with Nissan’s 350Z and Infiniti G37; the company plans to have aftermarket exhaust systems, suspension mods, and more electronic trickery available soon for those cars as well.
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The prototype example of Nissan’s new GT-R Spec V has been dazzling observers of its Nurburgring testing of late, reportedly turning in lap times of an almost unbelievable 7:25. If correct, those numbers would make the V Spec substantially faster than the ultra hardcore Pagani Zonda F Clubsport, which set a production car record last October with a lap time of just under 7:28.
The amazingly quick lap times become a bit more believable when you consider that even the standard GT-R was able to reel off lap times in the 7:38 range. The Spec V is said to be making extensive use of weight-saving materials like carbon fiber, dropping its curb weight by a reported 330 pounds or more. Couple that savings with the addition of 70 more horsepower or so and…wham! A new King of the Ring could be arriving shortly.
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Sighted while being off-loaded from a truck near Nissan’s Nurburgring workshop, this high-performance mule has a few subtle differences from the standard car. Visual modifications include a revised from splitter with additional air intake slots, a possible solution to cooling brakes at even higher temperatures. The brakes themselves might be getting a big change; Paulina speculates that the lack of the usual gold Brembo calipers may indicate a movement to a ceramic composite system.
The mule seen also shows a blacked out portion of the massive rear wing, which could represent the portion newly comprised of carbon fiber. A liberal use of that material could go a long way to solving one of the GT-R’s biggest downsides, its hefty 3,836 pound curb weight.
(Click on the thumbnails below to launch a gallery of GT-R Spec V prototype images or through the jump to read all of spy shooter Glenn Paulina’s thoughts.)
Rumor has it that Nissan is planning to unwrap its newest flagship sedan at the fast-approaching Beijing Auto Show, and that it will likely bear the Intima name. If the automaker chooses to stay true to the Intima concept, we can expect a four-door sedan with coupe-like lines, as well as a bevy of techie toys in the cabin. More interesting (and unlikely) is the question of whether or not Nissan will keep any portion of the innovative seating arrangement shown on the concept car.
Refresh your memories with our gallery of the Nissan Intima concept below.
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Nissan’s Denki Cube Concept is an electric vehicle dressed up in a rather fancy and futuristic package, but it’s got nothing on its art project brothers. These JDM Cubes have been used as a sort of blank canvass for the artist’s brush, with their unmistakable blocky shapes broken up with striations, patterns, and slashes of color.
Have a look at some of the Nissan Art Cube examples in our galleries below, and then give us your take on the project in comments.
Datsun’s 510 may have been considered sporty in its heyday, but American consumers were never truly able to see the car in its most powerful form - sold elsewhere around the globe as the Nissan Bluebird SSS. If you’re still sulking about that, fret not - a pristine 1970 example is up for grabs on eBay Motors.
If the fender-mounted mirrors didn’t give it away, this was an original Japanese-market car, so you’ll have to practice your left-handed shift technique. You’ll have an extra gear to practice with, too; the owner’s swapped in a five-speed gearbox, as well as fitting a larger sway bar and modified springs in the name of speed and steering.
With only 35,000 miles on the odometer, this Bluebird is in remarkable condition, sporting the original mono AM setup and seat covers. If you’re truly worried about originality, the OEM transmission and suspension parts are provided, allowing the SSS to be returned to stock with little work. That said, we think the car still looks stock, and that five-speed helps squeeze the most from that 100-horsepower 1.6-liter I-4. This SSS would be a fun ride as-is.
We’ve been eagerly awaiting the next iteration of Nissan’s Maxima sedan for some time now—but not for the reasons that one might think. With the Max’s kid brother, the Altima continuing to swell in dimensions and capabilities at a lower entry price, we’ve been thinking for some time now that the current car’s raison d’être has eroded.
For 2009, Nissan is heralding the return of the Maxima as a 4-Door Sports Car, a catchphrase that it had largely abandoned in recent years. To that end, the Max receives a reworked 3.5-liter VQ V-6, rated at 290 horsepower and 261 pound-feet of torque (increases of 35 and 9, respectively). Despite the 4DSC tagline, enthusiasts will have to slake themselves on Nissan’s Xtronic CVT—no manual will be made available, although buyers can spec the car with paddle shifters, as well as put the transmission in “Ds Mode” for crisper shifts.
(Click through the jump to read on or on the thumbnails below to launch galleries of live and stock 2009 Nissan Maxima images.)
Nissan hasn’t gotten around to debuting its all-electric Denki Cube concept yet, but the company’s show minders didn’t bother to cover the boxy EV either.
Denki is basically an electric version of the Japanese Domestic Market Cube with a white-out body kit, and a yellow interior treatment that looks as if it could glow in the dark. We’ll be able to report more after Nissan gives us the facts and figures later in the day, but until then take a look at our live gallery of images below.
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