What's the news?
With the Nismo version of the Nissan GT-R and its Nürburgring lap times dominating the news we almost missed the updates that Nissan announced for the 'normal' GT-R. The updates are not as thorough as those made to the Nismo model, but Nissan says the 2014 car will "offer smoother ride comfort, more refinement and benchmark fit and finish, in the spirit of a great 'GT', while delivering breath-taking performance and road-holding."
Exterior
Most of the exterior changes relate to lighting with the front end gaining new multi-LED headlights that 'create a distinctive motif' and illuminate on start up to create "a dramatic start-up procedure." An Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS) will also be available in certain markets that will adjust the angle of the lights according to the speed of the car.
A new paint colour called Gold Flake Red Pearl has also been added to the palette, which features gold-tinted glass flakes to give a more dramatic and lustrous look.
Buyers can also opt for a carbon fibre rear wing and boot lid, which Nissan says is half the weight of the standard parts.
Interior
In the move towards GT the cabin has been made more sumptuous as evidenced by the addition of a pale ivory interior trim option and contrasting accents for the part-aniline leather seats.
Mechanicals
Ok so the exterior and interior updates have been a little underwhelming, but this is a GT-R, a car that is all about the oily bits.
Changes have been made to the electronics that control the shock absorber valves and the spring rates of the front suspension to ensure the tyres remained planted on the road, even over rough surfaces. Those tyres have been changed to new Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT 600 DSST CTT items, which feature stiffer sidewalls than before.
Nissan has also fettled the calibration of the brakes to deliver more linear response at lower speeds, which, along with a fine-tuning of the steering, should make parking your GT-R that little bit easier.
Anything else?
The 2014 Nissan GT-R will go on sale in Japan in December. No prices for the updated model have yet been announced.