At the 2010 Los Angeles Auto show, Nissan unveiled its updated GT-R. This 2012 model features minor body updates, including LED running lights, and is supposed to have a more pliable ride.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
When Nissan unleashed the new iteration of the GT-R four years ago, it seemed engineered to the gills, with no possible room for improvement. But Nissan proves that assumption very wrong with the 2012 model, which features much more power and some refined styling.
The most obvious change is the bigger fascia with these louvered corners. Nissan says it has improved air flow to the engine and brakes, while increasing downforce by 10 percent. The coefficient of drag also goes from 0.27 to 0.26. Nissan inset new LED running lights into the fascia.
Although it uses the same twin turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6, Nissan pushed up the turbo boost and made other modifications to increase horsepower from 485 to 530. Likewise, torque was increased from 434 pound-feet to 488 pound-feet.
Still present is the all-wheel-drive system and the six-speed dual-clutch transmission, located in front of the rear axle for better weight distribution.
We noticed one difference in the all-wheel-drive mode switch not mentioned in Nissan's press materials. Formerly, the switch on the left had a Snow mode, but now it reads Save. This change leads us to believe that you can set up a custom all-wheel-drive program and save it.
