VTC-Hotnews

[Cartoday]

Although fans of the Nissan GT-R have been made to wait until early in 2009 for the V-Spec “Godzilla”, in-house tuning division Nismo has released a Club Sport package to whet enthusiasts’ appetites in the meantime.

Nismo’s aim to save weight and increase handling capability has resulted in the employment of a set of wheels from Japanese wheel expert RAYS wrapped in Bridgestone RE070R runflat tyres (225/40 up front and 285/35 at the rear), Bilstein Damptronic struts (height-adjustable coilovers with electronically-controlled damping), carbon fibre undertray and a 5 kg lighter exhaust.

The interior receives two Nismo leather sports seats with carbon fibre backrests and side airbags. This does away with electrical adjustment, but a further 6 kg has been saved. Despite the minimal modifications, the Japanese price for the package is close to R400 000 – so it might be a good idea to wait for the real deal next year.

Apart from the new wheels, the GT-R’s exterior has been left untouched – we might just see enhancements with the V-Spec, but as Nissan extensively sculpted the GT-R’s outer shell for maximum aerodynamic efficiency it seems unlikely to undergo any further changes. Despite this reluctance to touch Godzilla’s scales, aftermarket tuners have each had a crack at releasing a bodykit for the GT-R.

Wald International’s latest Sport Line release might not be as aggressive as Garage Defend’s GT-R kit, but it certainly looks a lot more tasteful and progressive.

The GT-R’s exterior may be honed for aerodynamic perfection but we just can’t help but admire the increased amount of air inlets, new front bumper, rear bumper with non-functional diffuser, side skirts, rear wheel arch flares and rear wing extension that the Osaka-based tuner are developing.