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2012 Nissan GT-R (photos)

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.
Wayne Cunningham
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1 of 10 Antuan Goodwin/CNET
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.

Back to 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show.

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2 of 10 Antuan Goodwin/CNET
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.

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NissanGTR_SS02.JPG
3 of 10 Antuan Goodwin/CNET
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.

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4 of 10 Antuan Goodwin/CNET
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.

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5 of 10 Antuan Goodwin/CNET
These 20-inch Rays wheels have added knurling for the 2012 model year to prevent the tires from slipping off during hard cornering.

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6 of 10 Antuan Goodwin/CNET
Enlarging the exhaust pipes also helped increase power.

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7 of 10 Antuan Goodwin/CNET
The interior of the GT-R gets a carbon fiber trim treatment for 2012.

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8 of 10 Antuan Goodwin/CNET
Those rear seats are still as unusable as ever.

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9 of 10 Antuan Goodwin/CNET
As in the previous model year, paddle shifters on the steering wheel column let you shift the dual-clutch transmission.

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10 of 10 Antuan Goodwin/CNET
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.

Back to 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show.

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