GTR News

Drift R35 GT-R.
The former Blitz, rear wheel drive converted Nissan GT-R drift car, is now sporting a BenSopra Body kit, and out at the track for a drift session.

Driver Nobuteru Taniguchi drifts a highly modified Ben Sopra Nisan R35 GT-R at Ebisu.
Check out the video after the break.




Source: NAGTROC

Nissan GT-R Used Parts for Sale

If you are looking for an HKS oil pan, some stock wheels,or other parts, Allen has a few for sale. Check out his eBay auctions

The lads from Top Gear have driven just about everything you can think of. From the very first vehicle on the road to the latest hypercars, their experience is unparalleled.

The Invitation is a new design Nissan will use as the basis of a small car for Europe. (Credit: Nissan) At the 2012 International Motor Show in Geneva, Nissan will show off a small car concept with striking new design language. For the last couple of years it seemed like Nissan's design department was playing exquisite corpse with its vehicles, one designer taking over where another left off ...

Nissan's recent vehicles have either been boring or shown off disjointed designs. The Invitation, a small car with a dynamic design, changes all that.

Infiniti Essence Concept at the LA Auto Show
Car Magazine is reporting in an interview with Francois Bancon, head of advanced planning for Infiniti in Japan, that Infiniti is considering a GT-R based car.
'It's too good a platform to use only on one model,' said Francois Bancon, head of advanced planning for Infiniti in Tokyo. Infiniti has already shown the Essence concept car, which is build on a Nissan GT-R chassis. There are some challenges to making a GT-R based Infiniti. Infiniti is a more luxurious, upscale brand so an Infinti based GT-R would also have to fit in line with those requirements.
 'It would have to be softer than the GT-R,' he said. 'And that's extremely difficult to do. You can't easily tweak the GT-R to deliver the sophisticated, more refined performance we would need on an Infiniti.' Nissan sells the Egoist version of the Nissan GT-R in Japan. The Egoist has some special interior appointments that put it above and beyond the normal GT-R.
Egoist interior The biggest noise/refinement complaints you hear from owners about GT-R's are the brakes, and transmission noises. The GT-R doesn't have a lot of sound deadening, and the brakes are going for performance over minor issues of noise and dust. The twin shaft GR6 transmission can sound a bit like a box of rocks, but it is something Nissan has been refining from the CBA to the DBA. These kind of items would need to be addressed before Infinti can offer, what might be a $150k-$175k Infinti GT-R.

They say that a halo Infiniti wouldn't see production for about five years. The R35 chassis has been produced in Japan since December 2007.  The Nissan GT-R is selling as a 2013 model in the US, even if it might be a 2017 model, its still about 10 years on the same platform. It raises the question of exactly how long Nissan might use this same platform with minor versus major changes.  Chevrolet, and Porsche are both stepping up and renewing their platforms. If Nissan wants to be able to compete against those cars, eventually they are going to need to make some major versus minor changes.

See a video of the Essence on the stand at the LA Auto after the break.

Calling the Nissan GT-R “too good a platform to use on only one model,” Infiniti’s head of advanced planning, Francois Bancon, let slip that the luxury brand is seriously considering a halo car built on the GT-R platform.

NISSAN PARTNERS WITH NATIONAL AUTO SPORT ASSOCIATION TO CREATE NEW SPEC Z SERIES
Popular 350Z will be the basis of cost-effective racing program

Nissan North America and The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) are pleased to announce the creation of an all-new Spec Z series that will feature the Nissan 350Z®. The NASA Spec Z class will include all trim levels of the 2003-2008 year model Nissan 350Z in a single classification focused on close competition, parity and cost containment that will showcase driving ability and car setup skills.

NASA Spec Z will offer a comprehensive contingency prize program that will reward both Regional and National Championship competitors. Nissan Motorsports will provide significant support for the series, and their contingency prize program provides cash rewards up to $850 for the top three finishers at each regional competition weekend. Additionally, Nissan Motorsports will provide $6,500 in cash support to the top Spec Z finishers at the 2012 NASA Championships.

BFGoodrich tires will be the control tire for the Spec Z class, and BFG has also created a generous contingency prize program for the series. More contingency prize programs for the Spec Z class are being finalized for the series and will be announced shortly.

"We are very excited about Spec Z,” said Jeremy Croiset, NASA Sponsorship Manager. “We have been working closely with Nissan Motorsports on the creation of Spec Z, and it will be an excellent series for anyone looking to step into a spec vehicle that’s fast and relatively inexpensive to build, maintain and race. With the fantastic contingency prize programs that are being provided for Spec Z, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more rewarding spec series to race in. We look forward to watching Spec Z grow and flourish in the coming years as more racers adopt this new formula.”

Ron Stukenberg, Senior Manager, Motorsports Marketing Communications, Nissan North America agrees, and adds, “NASA has a proven track record of growing classes from the ground up, so we are excited to be working with NASA on the new Spec Z series. We have a number of competitors already expressing interest in the series, so the potential for this series is very strong indeed. With our Nissan Motorsports Competition Parts Program and comprehensive contingency prize programs, we are looking to make this a strong offering for those interested in stepping into a very competitive spec series racing the iconic Z car.”

For complete details on the new series rules, please visit http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules.

For details on the newly-announced contingency programs for the Spec Z series, please visit http://www.nasaproracing.com/contingency.

About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, design, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010 and has been recognized as a 2010 and 2011 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. More information about Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.Infiniti.com.

Visit the NISMO performance parts and accessories site at http://www.nissanusa.com/nismo/

Join the Nissan Performance Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/nissanperformance

About National Auto Sport Association (NASA)
The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) was formed in 1991 to deliver high quality motorsports events to enthusiasts at major racing venues throughout the nation. NASA has created programs that allow owners of both racecars and high-performance street-driven vehicles to enjoy the full performance capabilities of their cars in a safe and controlled environment. NASA offers many different programs that will allow you to enjoy motorsports on a number of different levels, including our High Performance Driving Events (HPDE), Rally Sport, Time Trial, NASA-X and Competition Racing programs.

Source: Nissan News

NISSAN PARTNERS WITH NATIONAL AUTO SPORT ASSOCIATION TO CREATE NEW SPEC Z SERIES
Popular 350Z will be the basis of cost-effective racing program

Nissan North America and The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) are pleased to announce the creation of an all-new Spec Z series that will feature the Nissan 350Z®. The NASA Spec Z class will include all trim levels of the 2003-2008 year model Nissan 350Z in a single classification focused on close competition, parity and cost containment that will showcase driving ability and car setup skills.

NASA Spec Z will offer a comprehensive contingency prize program that will reward both Regional and National Championship competitors. Nissan Motorsports will provide significant support for the series, and their contingency prize program provides cash rewards up to $850 for the top three finishers at each regional competition weekend. Additionally, Nissan Motorsports will provide $6,500 in cash support to the top Spec Z finishers at the 2012 NASA Championships.

BFGoodrich tires will be the control tire for the Spec Z class, and BFG has also created a generous contingency prize program for the series. More contingency prize programs for the Spec Z class are being finalized for the series and will be announced shortly.

"We are very excited about Spec Z,” said Jeremy Croiset, NASA Sponsorship Manager. “We have been working closely with Nissan Motorsports on the creation of Spec Z, and it will be an excellent series for anyone looking to step into a spec vehicle that’s fast and relatively inexpensive to build, maintain and race. With the fantastic contingency prize programs that are being provided for Spec Z, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more rewarding spec series to race in. We look forward to watching Spec Z grow and flourish in the coming years as more racers adopt this new formula.”

Ron Stukenberg, Senior Manager, Motorsports Marketing Communications, Nissan North America agrees, and adds, “NASA has a proven track record of growing classes from the ground up, so we are excited to be working with NASA on the new Spec Z series. We have a number of competitors already expressing interest in the series, so the potential for this series is very strong indeed. With our Nissan Motorsports Competition Parts Program and comprehensive contingency prize programs, we are looking to make this a strong offering for those interested in stepping into a very competitive spec series racing the iconic Z car.”

For complete details on the new series rules, please visit http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules.

For details on the newly-announced contingency programs for the Spec Z series, please visit http://www.nasaproracing.com/contingency.

About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, design, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010 and has been recognized as a 2010 and 2011 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. More information about Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.Infiniti.com.

Visit the NISMO performance parts and accessories site at http://www.nissanusa.com/nismo/

Join the Nissan Performance Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/nissanperformance

About National Auto Sport Association (NASA)
The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) was formed in 1991 to deliver high quality motorsports events to enthusiasts at major racing venues throughout the nation. NASA has created programs that allow owners of both racecars and high-performance street-driven vehicles to enjoy the full performance capabilities of their cars in a safe and controlled environment. NASA offers many different programs that will allow you to enjoy motorsports on a number of different levels, including our High Performance Driving Events (HPDE), Rally Sport, Time Trial, NASA-X and Competition Racing programs.

Source: Nissan News

ZL1 Camaro vs 2013 Nissan GT-R
Camaro vs GT-R? Isn't this supposed to be Corvette vs GT-R? Inside Line, just recently compared the 2012 Z06, and the Nissan GT-R, but in this test Road and Track magazine pits the new supercharged ZL1 Camaro vs the just updated 2013 Nissan GT-R.
The ZL1 against Godzilla? Yes indeed. As illogical as that may seem, both cars have massive horsepower, weigh 2 tons, have 2+2 seating and feature a variety of go-fast goodies. On the track, even with the magnetic suspension, PTM traction control, and 580 supercharged horses, the ZL1 Camaro can't keep up with the 545hp GT-R.
Here the Camaro gets its normal view

The clocks show that the ZL1 is 2.8 seconds off the GT-R at Inde. Even with PTM, no-lift shifts and launch control, the ZL1 is simply the harder car to drive. It’s heavier by nearly 200 lb., thanks in part to a beefy 9.9-in. differential that’s built to handle the torque but is nearly twice as heavy as that used in the SS.
Check out the video after the break.


Source: Road and Track

 

# drive The nearly three-decades-old Ford RS200's byzantine all-wheel-drive system is like the modern Nissan GT-R's, only in reverse. The Audi Sport Quattro had ABS and self-locking diffs when those things were still wizardry. Awesome, yes, but which one of these cars enjoys the most renown? More »

After a few laps around a track in Dubai, we discover the Nissan Leaf RC is as slow as it is expensive, but nevertheless awesome.

Nissans total sales for January 2012  were up 10.4% versus January 2011, however only 20 Nissan GT-R's were sold, down 9.1% from 22 a year earlier. It looks like the buyers were anticipating the 2013 model. Will the slow sales continue for the Nissan GT-R in 2012, or will the release of the 545 hp 2013 show some more sales?

The first 2013 Nissan GT-R's are arriving to dealerships now. We should have some projections of 2012 sales by the end of the month. The GT-R had a healthy price bump to $96,820 on the Premium, and $106,320 on the Black Edition.

Up for the month were the Versa, Altima, and LEAF.  The LEAF sold 676 units.  Down for the month were the Sentra, Cube, Juke, 370Z, and GT-R. The 370Z was down to 417 sales or 26.5% off January 2011. 

Source: Nissan News

CRP Racing have just announced that they are going to be racing a pair of Nissan GT-R's in World Challenge for 2012. Brass Monkey Racing tried racing a couple of GT-R's in 2010, and 2011, but they never got too far with the cars.  Brass Monkey had some issues with cooling, and the transmission. Now a few years along, hopefully CRP will be able to work out those issues.  The car is going to be sponsored by Hawk brakes, and Cragar Wheels. Hawk already produces brake pads for the Nissan GT-R, but I haven't seen anything in Cragars lineup that will fit on a GT-R. Maybe soon.  World Challenge GT is a tough series, with a number of well established teams, with very fast cars. Coming from the Corvette, a lightweight V8, rear wheel drive car, the GT-R will be a new experience for the team.  See the full press release after the break.
HARRISBURG, NORTH CAROLINA, February 1, 2012 – Hot on the heels of asuccessful 2011 season for Hawk Performance® and Cragar Wheel®Corvettes, CRP Racing is announcing exciting changes for the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge GT series.  A new partnership between CRP Racing and Nissan North America will see the debut of two Hawk Performance Nissan GT-Rs this season.
Both CRP Racing and Nissan are excited to be entering a new era with the Nissan GT-Rs in World Challenge. “Nissan is looking forward to partnering with CRP Racing to campaign the Nissan GT-Rs in the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge GT class,” said Ron Stukenberg, Senior Mgr., Motorsports Marketing Communications at Nissan. “Both CRP Racing and the Nissan GT-R have a long history of winning races and we anticipate that success will carry over to the Pirelli World Challenge series.”
Nicholas Short, owner of CRP Racing, agrees. “We’re very happy with this new collaboration between CRP Racing and Nissan North America to develop the Nissan GT-Rs into a race winning package. We now have two great partners in the Hawk Performance Group and Nissan, which will allow CRP Racing to show its true potential as a car builder and a race team.” The Nissan GT-Rs are currently being built at CRP’s Harrisburg, NC, race shop. 
Hawk Performance Products and Cragar Wheels are owned by Carlisle Companies Inc., a diversified manufacturing company headquartered in Charlotte, NC. Carlisle’s Chairman, President and CEO, Dave Roberts, recently spoke of the CRP/Nissan partnership. “Nicholas Short approached me about teaming with Nissan to run the GT-Rs in World Challenge for the 2012 season. After two successful seasons, with Ron Fellows, Mike Skeen and Patrick Lindsey driving the CRP Racing prepared Hawk and Cragar Corvettes, I told Nick that if he thought the Nissan GT-Rs would provide our drivers the opportunity to compete for a series championship, we would support the change. While we enjoyed competing with the Corvettes, the Nissan GT-Rs provide us the opportunity to attract Performance Sports Import owners to our new and expanding line of Hawk wheels and brakes. Everyone at Carlisle, and especially everyone within our Hawk Performance Products Group, looks forward to the season opener in St. Petersburg on March 24thand 25th.”
Back for the 2012 season is Mike Skeen, who will pilot the #2 Hawk Performance Nissan GT-R.  Skeen had an impressive debut in World Challenge, having already scored four wins in the series and finishing third in the Driver’s Championship in his first full season of competition. “I am excited to be back with CRP in World Challenge for 2012,” says Skeen. “Our performance with the Cragar Wheels Corvette was always strong, and hopefully gave the fans something to look forward to at each event.  The move to the Hawk Performance Nissan GT-R is an exciting challenge, and I am looking forward to it and have no doubt that we will be successful.” A second driver for the CRP Team will be announced in the near future.
CRP Racing is a leading edge race car engineering company with a winning pedigree that offers full service race car prep, full track set-up, restoration and custom fabrication, and shock, dyno and design services. Owner Nicholas Short has made a career out of motorsports with experience in IndyCar, NASCAR, Trans-Am, Group C Endurance Racing, Baja desert racing, Vintage SVRA and HSR and the World Challenge series. CRP Racing plans to not only have a winning team, but one that is fan-oriented as well. Updates from the track, videos (including exciting in-car footage), and photos will be posted each race weekend at www.CompetitionRaceParts.com and the CRP Racing Facebook page. The team invites fans to stop by the transporter at all World Challenge races to meet the team and to check out the Hawk Performance Nissan GT-Rs up close.

Sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing and managed by WC Vision, the World Challenge Championship will offer four categories this year - GT, GTS, Touring Car and Touring Car Spec-B. The series will feature 12 races at eight different venues, beginning with the doubleheader weekend at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg March 23-25, 2012. It promises to be an exciting, fun-filled weekend for all race fans. 
Source: World Challenge and CRP

- New January Sales Records for Nissan Frontier, Rogue and GT-R -MISSISSAUGA, ON, Feb. 1, 2012 /CNW/ - Nissan Canada Inc. (NCI) today announced its best January sales on record with a total of 5,351 units ...

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) maintained momentum from a strong 2011 finish with January sales of 79,313 units versus 71,847 units a year earlier, an increase ...

Nissan put its GT-R-powered Juke-R to the test against a trio of bona fide supercars. Who will win? (Credit: Nissan) When Nissan showed us renderings of a GT-R powered Nissan Juke-R, we said, "Gee, that's neat." When it started building the darn thing , our interest was piqued. Today, we have a video of this oddest of skunkworks supercars at a street race exhibition event in Dubai going wheel-to ...

2013 Nissan GT-R vs 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

The head to head tests cometh. In this one, with video from Inside Line, they pit the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Centennial Edition Z06 vs the 2013 Nissan GT-R.  What exactly makes a Centennial Edition?

Our Centennial Edition test car features Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, Magnetic Ride Control suspension and Performance Traction Management; the last a torque-limiting traction control that manages spark, fuel and throttle at five different levels of intervention (previously only available on the ZR1). In other words, the beast of a Corvette has been tamed by technology. In other words, its a very well equipped, and expensive Corvette. The Nissan GT-R has also had a good bump in price.  Both the cars are coming in right around the $100k mark.
And even though it has a 3.7-inch-longer wheelbase, is 7.5 inches longer overall and is packing an extra 642 pounds over the Vette, the GT-R actually feels smaller and more of one piece. Its best lap time was a 1:23.8. The Corvette was nearly a full second faster on the Streets of Willow Springs. Carbon Ceramic brakes, magnetic ride control, and the new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires make the Corvette Z06 shine on the track.

And when the Vette did break its tires loose, it was in a more linear fashion than the violent nature of the GT-R's tires. When we checked the time sheet, the Corvette's best lap time was 1:22.7. The GT-R was quicker in a straight line, but on the track, and though the slalom, the Z06 has it beat.  Both cars pulled around 1 G on the skidpad. Head over to Inside Line for the full results and pictures. Video after the break.




Source: Inside Line via NAGTROC

Tony Quinn and Naomi Tillet's Targa Wrest Point challenge has ended on the second competitive stage, after a braking problem put their V.I.P. Petfoods Nissan GT-R R35 off the road.

The 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon is well and done for another year, and in this post from Motor Trend, Peter Lyon, managed to get some comments from Katsutoshi Mizuno, and Toshio Suzuki. Supposedly this is the first time "Mr. GT-R" Mizuno attended the event, and he thought that he might be able to learn some things from the tuners. It is an interesting comment, considering that his stance has normally been that the GT-R does not need any tuning.

 GT-R chief test driver Toshio Suzuki and Toshikazu "Mr. GT-R" Mizuno, the GT-R's chief engineer, who were visiting the salon for the first time, were impressed at what some tuners were doing. "I think we can learn something from these guys. But the issue with souping up a GT-R as with all cars is how much stress can the transmission take?" Mizuno commented.

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/auto_shows/events/1201_a_tour_of_the_2012_tokyo_auto_salon/#ixzz1kxk8KU3V
 How much can the transmission take? Stock, it can take quiet a lot, even though it has a few issues. The bigger issue with the GR6 is still the inability for the Nissan dealer to repair it, rather they just remove and replace the transmission in the case of issues.  Even something as simple as a fluid leak, can be a transmission R&R.


 Head over to Motor Trend for the full article and pictures.