Despite being regarded as an antique in the car community, the brand new Nissan GT-R takes on a fresh new appearance but lacks in extra go go juice
Some things never go out of style. Some things keep their cool after nearly a decade of design obsolescence, and some things have the honor of being dubbed “Godzilla”. No matter what your opinions are on the Nissan GT-R, it’s hard to deny its impact in the car community. Nissan’s first supercar tipping the price scale at over $100,000, this generation of GT-R first came out in 2007 and has yet to advance ever since.
That’s simply because it doesn’t have to. The GT-R is a cult classic, in whatever way you spin it. It will always have loyalists flocking to it like it’s the Popeyes Spicy Chicken sandwich, and that’s exactly how Nissan likes it. Despite being dated over 14 years, the basic premise, look, and structure of the R35 generation GT-R has remained relatively intact. But also at some point, it becomes comical. That’s why the company decided to give it a little bit of a makeover, but still keep it the same old GT-R it always has been.
Familiar Face, Same Old Tricks
Many assumed Godzilla would die. With the entire world shunning internal combustion engines, it’s hard to imagine the GT-R would stay for an extended amount of time. Nissan surprised us by a statement saying that, “this is still a part of our company, we’re not ditching this just yet.”
The new GT-R adopts a new front fascia, boxier and more squared off than we’re used to, but it serves the vehicle well, giving it a much needed increase in aggressiveness. According to Nissan, “engineers even closely scrutinized the mesh used in the front grille and employed a thinner mesh to further enhance cooling and reduce drag.”
Nissan also went to great lengths to increase downforce all around the GT-R, redesigning the wing, front splitter, and even meticulously revising the grille shape all in order to keep the new version planted to the ground as best as possible. Despite the downforce upgrades, the company says the drag coefficient still remains the same at .26 cd, an impressive feat if Nissan was able to pull it off like they claim.
It’s also worth it to mention that the power levels are the same exact ones that you would get if you opted to purchase a 2023 GT-R instead. 565 horses for the Premium and new T-Spec models and 600 for the NISMO, as expected. It’s interesting to see Nissan not go all the way with the refresh, it could mean the writing is on the wall for not wanting to spend the extra buck for R&D because the company plans to phase out the GT-R in the near future. Or it could simply be Nissan keeping the tradition of using the same body style for the GT-R since 2009, either way, it put an anemic end to our celebration when we found out the car wasn’t getting any extra poot for the 2024 model year.
The T-Spec Returns
Nissan has always been very celebratory of its previous models and its heritage. With the GT-R being one of the few vestiges the company has of its racing success and history, it would make sense that they would use that car as the vessel for paying homage. The new GT-R returns with the T-Spec, which builds upon the already capable Premium with many visual and mechanical enhancements, including GT-R NISMO carbon-ceramic brakes, a gold-painted version of the RAYS 20-inch forged wheels, Vehicle Dynamic Control and wider front fenders.
The T-Spec is only available in two color options, Millennium Jade and Midnight Purple, two very popular choices amongst the GT-R community and provide gorgeous looks when splashed on the GT-R’s curves. The Midnight Purple is an ode to the Midnight Purple III colorway that was first seen on the R34 GT-R V-Spec, a special edition of the GT-R that was limited to only a few units.
More Fun Times? Or a Call of the Sirens?
It’d be naive to assume that this refresh means the sign of the GT-R staying much longer. With Nissan moving quickly into the EV space with the looming arrival of the new Ariya, the end is nigh. It’ll be interesting to see the future values of the T-Specs and their collectability on the market a couple of years from now.
The fabled twin-turbo 3.8 L V6 would also be slated to be nixed along with the rest of the car, meaning that the engine would forever be lost to history unless you could find a used one. Speaking of history, even with the refresh, the GT-R is getting antiquated by the minute. While it can still keep up with the best of them, it’s like Doc Hudson in the movie Cars, he just doesn’t cut it anymore. Quicker, faster, and more fun vehicles are overtaking the GT-R at warp speed… it’s time for Nissan to get with the times.
