Nissan GT-R tweaked for 2009 with more power

By Ben Pulman

Motor Industry

09 December 2008 11:30

The Nissan GT-R still hasn’t gone on sale in Europe and it's already been treated to a few tweaks - new for 2009 will be more power, revised suspension, different wheels and tyres, plus a price hike.

Quite, but the increase is a mere 5bhp, taking the output of Nissan's 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 from 473 to 478bhp. Nissan says the extra grunt comes from the fine tweaking of the electronics, though torque remains unchanged at 432lb ft.

Grippy (and GT-R specific) Dunlop SP Sport 600 DSST tyres replace the Bridgestones as the standard-fit rubber. The Dunlops – if you believe Nissan and not Porsche – are the same tyres on which the GT-R set its 7:29 Nurburgring time. They wrap around gun metal seven-spoke RAYS alloys on the 'standard' and Premium Edition GT-Rs, while Black Edition buyers, appropriately, get black RAYS wheels.

Also new is the mildy revised suspension, while a lighter pearl white paint replaces the previous white hue. And because these tweaks are so far reaching Nissan has upped the GT-R's UK prices by 3.8%. The 'basic' GT-R starts at £56,795, it's another £1300 for the Premium Edition and the same again for the Black. European deliveries start in April 2009 and 1200 UK customers are already on the waiting list. So if you order a GT-R today you won't see it on your drive before the middle of 2010.

By Ben Pulman