The 2022 Nissan NISMO GT-R Special Edition was unveiled today in Japan. How much more exclusive can a limited-edition sports car be? It turns out this GT-R is pretty distinctive. It’s not just a badge and some decals that sets it apart.
First, it’s painted a NISMO-exclusive color called Stealth Gray.
Rays 20-inch wheels are aluminum-forged and accented in red. I have no idea who this smiling gent is who’s blocking a better view of the wheels.
You can see the carbon fibers through the clear-coated carbon fiber hood. Yes, there are the new Nissan corporate logos on the trunk and wheel centers.
Second, it uses the VR38DETT 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6, rated at 600 horsepower and 481 lb-ft of torque on 93 octane petrol. What they say is the GT-R NISMO gets higher-precision, balanced rings, rods, crank, and valve gear dialed in with tighter tolerances. Will deliver ‘snappier engine revs and quicker turbo spooling’ is the question.
How many GT-Rs are there in the U.S.? Comparing a garden-variety GT-R to the GR-R NISMO would be quite a feat, and not likely to happen. Call it PR fluff, along with the use of takumi, master techs assembling these V6s by hand. I can see Elite Motorsports doing this for Erica Enders’ Pro Stock engines, but Nissan? Not so much.
Meanwhile, Nissan and McDonald’s Japan announced on Nissan’s LinkedIn page they are releasing a miniature GT-R NISMO replica. Available for a limited time only in Japan, it will include a McDonald’s Tomica happy set from April 30th. I know what you’re thinking. The airfare to Japan would set you back a grand or more. It’s been a long time since there’s been this much happiness in a stateside Happy Meal. Maybe their U.S. counterparts will take note.
No mention how many constitute a limited number of GT-R NISMO Special Editions. They will be on sale in North America this fall, at a price well above what we estimated previously for the last of the GT-Rs.
[Images: Nissan]
“Will deliver ‘snappier engine revs and quicker turbo spooling’ is the question.”
Well, here’s more poorly written stuff. I’ll edit it for you.
“The question is whether all these enhancements deliver snappier engine revs and quicker turbo spooling.”
Sakurai writes with the same careful attention to detail as the Chinese toy supplier for McDonald’s Japan crafts those GT-R NISMO miniatures.
That grey is so stealthy it looks like blue.
My next-door neighbor has a regular GT-R. He’ll be very upset when he finds that his anonymous-looking supercar has been outdone in known-to-nobody cachet by an even more expensive version of it.
What are you on about? Everyone under 45 knows exactly what the GT-R is, a huge chunk of car people got to know Godzilla playing Gran Turismo for hours on end longing for what we could not have… then witnessed the R35 finally come to North America and solidly embarrass supercar after supercar for a fraction of the price.
Now of course yes, it is old and stale… pretty much like all Nissans these days… but everyone knows what Godzilla is.
“Available for a limited time only in Japan, it will include a McDonald’s Tomica happy set from April 30th. I know what you’re thinking. The airfare to Japan would set you back a grand or more.”
Thanks for the heads up, there’s a McD’s down the street from my home, and another near my job. Dunno what I need to do to snatch up these JDM GT-R Tomicas cheaply so I can flip them on the internet to US fanbois though…
My ’98 SC400 was a great road trip cruiser, not a sporty handling car due to weight but at highway++ speeds.. effortless and luxury with unique sculpted eye-candy styling. Aftermarket exhaust system improvement and intake really opened up that de-tuned 4L V8 to ~320hp. Swapped GS300 17″ 5-spoke rims for the stock 16s looked so much better.
Better sell all of these before GM comes out with the new Z06.