2022 Nissan GT-R R35 Launched on Livestream for the Japanese Market
Nissan has launched another update for the GT-R. This time, it’s a pair of new special-edition models for the Japanese market.
The original R35 came out back in 2007 and received minor changes in 2010. For 2012, the car saw a massive performance boost and some styling tweaks, then received some more minor changes in 2013. In 2016, the current GT-R got a design overhaul and a decent amount more power.
In its current iteration, the now 14-year-old GT-R makes 565 hp (572 PS / 421 kW) and 467 lb-ft (633 Nm) of torque from its 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6. This was an increase over the outgoing car’s 545 hp (553 PS / 406 kW) and 463 lb-ft (628 Nm), which itself was a significant increase over the original car’s 485 hp (492 PS / 362 kW) and 434 lb-ft (588 Nm) of torque.
Today (14 September 2021) Nissan calls its new GT-R derivatives the Premium Edition T-Spec and the Track Edition Engineered by Nismo T-Spec. Production will be limited to just 100 units across the two new cars, with the owners being selected by ballot.
Upgrades for the GT-R Premium Edition T-Spec include wider (and lighter) Rays alloy wheels and tweaked suspension which takes advantage of a drop in unsprung weight. Nissan has also reworked the car’s seats, with some model-specific stitching.
The GT-R Track Edition Engineered by Nismo T-Spec loses a couple of kilogrammes over the standard car, thanks to a new carbon-fibre roof and boot lid. Both T-Spec cars can also be specified with a choice of two new paint colours – Midnight Purple and Millennium Jade.
Both cars are powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V6 petrol engine, which produces 562bhp in the Premium Edition model and 592bhp in the Track Edition variant. Both cars also share the same four-wheel drive system and six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
Nissan pulled a similar trick earlier this year, with the launch of the GT-R Nismo. It shares its mechanicals with the standard sports car, but gained a couple of cosmetic extras, such as new Stealth Grey paint, exclusive 20-inch alloys and an exposed carbon-fibre bonnet.
Updates for or special-edition variants of the current-generation GT-R have landed almost yearly ever since the car was first put on sale in 2009. Nissan says this strategy is influenced by the Japanese concept of “Kaizen,” which roughly translates as “changes for the better” or “the mentality of improvement.”
However, this 2022 version of the GT-R, could be one of the final versions of the car we’ll see before it’s discontinued. The Nissan GT-R has been on sale for 12 years and, in that time, it’s seen two facelifts and 14 special-edition derivatives, while also forming the basis for the limited-run 710bhp GT-R50 by Italdesign.
