Nissan GT-R 2017: updated supercar unveiled in New York
Revised Nissan GT-R gets more power and a raft of interior and exterior changes
Nissan may well have been uncharacteristically quiet at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, but the Japanese giant has cranked up the excitement at New York by arriving with a new GT-R for 2017.
The new GT-R is an overhaul of the current car rather a brand new model. Despite this, Nissan is calling the changes “the most significant since the model was introduced in 2007”. So there are tweaked looks and a new interior, while the car’s V6 engine has been boosted to give more power and there’s also new sports suspension.
The most noticeable bodywork change is at the front. The GT-R now wears a new matte-finished ‘V-motion’ grille to bring it line with cars like the Qashqai and X-Trail, while at the same time allows the engine to breath more freely. The bonnet is new but the redesigned bumper is more angular and has new air vents, too.
• New York Motor Show 2016: latest news
Along the side the sills have been extended outwards, while at the back the bumper is reshaped and air vents have been added next to the exhausts. Overall the new car creates the same amount of downforce as the outgoing GT-R but generates less drag.
Inside the interior gets a welcome boost in quality and looks more modern. The entire dashboard is now covered in leather and there’s a new, larger eight-inch touchscreen that can also be operated with a new controller on the centre console. In a bid to improve ease-of-use the old GT-R’s button heavy fascia tided up, and the outgoing car’s circular air vents have also gone. In their place are horizontal vents under the new touchscreen. The interior changes are topped off with a smart-looking new steering wheel with the gearshift paddles now attached.
An update to the GT-R wouldn’t be complete without some mechanical changes, and under the new bonnet the car’s 3.8-litre 24-valve twin-turbo V6 has been worked on to give more power. For now Nissan has only revealed the power data for the standard GT-R with no news on the Track Edition or Nismo versions, but V6 now packs an addition 20bhp taking total power to 562bhp and 637Nm of torque. Nissan says acceleration above 3,200rpm has been improved thanks to the extra power output and boost from the two turbos.
GT-R engineers have also tweaked the gearbox so that it swaps cogs more smoothly and quietly than before. However, it’s a safe bet you won’t notice as Nissan has pumped up the engine noise inside the cabin thanks to new standard-fit titanium exhaust mufflers from the Nissan GT-R Nismo, and in a move that may annoy purists, fitted Active Sound Enhancement – engine noise that’s fed into the cabin.
There’s new suspension too and a stiffer body shell to give sharper and, amazingly, even faster cornering abilities. There’s new 20-inch ‘Y-spoke’ alloys, a multi-layered ‘Katzura’ orange paint shade and leather interior options for the new ‘Premium Edition’. Nissan says the 2017 car is the most comfortable GT-R yet.
As yet, Nissan has only revealed there will be Premium and Recaro Edition cars. Nissan hasn’t revealed pricing for the UK, only confirming it’ll be arriving in the Autumn.
What do you think of the updated GT-R? Let us know in the comments below!
