2018 GT-R NISMO brings motorsports-inspired performance to the street with 600-horsepower 3.8-liter V6, advanced chassis
- Extreme iteration of Nissan GT-R supercar features unmatched performance1 anchored by 600-horsepower2 high-capacity turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 and advanced independent rear transaxle all-wheel-drive system
- Enhanced body structure allows precise refinement of the unique NISMO suspension tuning
- Interior design offers Alcantara® leather-wrapped instrument panel, 8-inch capacitive touch panel monitor, steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters and lightweight seat design
Following a significant upgrading for the 2017 model year, the iconic Nissan GT-R returns in 2018 as the ultimate in GT-R in terms of design and performance. The 600-horsepower2 GT-R NISMO is available in very limited numbers in North America and continues to hold court as the most potent production vehicle in Nissan history. Practically a race car in street clothing, the GT-R NISMO is designed to explore the upper limits of performance.
Not surprisingly, given its racing-inspired roots, the GT-R NISMO continues to place a strong emphasis on the "R" – as in racing – of the GT-R name. A quick glance at the GT-R NISMO specs shows how:
- An additional 35 horsepower and 14 lb-ft of torque (vs standard GT-R)
- A NISMO-tuned suspension with reduced weight and additional roll stiffness
- The addition of adhesive bonding (in addition to spot welding) for increased body shell rigidity
- NISMO-tuned aerodynamic exterior elements designed to increase downforce, including carbon fiber3 trunk lid and spoiler, carbon fiber front and rear bumpers and lower front undercover
- Ergonomically sculpted Recaro® front bucket seats
- NISMO racing-style Alcantara®-trimmed three-spoke steering wheel with red center mark, designed to provide strong combination of feedback, grip and comfort
Bold Exterior and Interior Designs
Like every 2018 GT-R, the GT-R NISMO's front end features an aggressive face highlighted by deeply sculpted fascia. To help cool the car's high-output engine, the dark chrome "V-motion" grille is enlarged to collect more air, without diminishing the car's aerodynamic performance. A structurally reinforced hood avoids deformation at extremely high speeds, allowing it to keep its aerodynamic shape. The broad hood, which features pronounced character lines flowing flawlessly from the grille, is reinforced to enhance stability during high speed driving. Unlike the standard model, the front bumper of the GT-R NISMO – crafted with Takumi-like precision – features layers of carbon-fiber sheets carefully overlapped to achieve the ideal amount of stiffness.
The canards are designed to improve airflow around the vehicle and generate a high level of downforce, while at the same time, direct air around the wheelhouse to enhance aerodynamics. Overall, the car's shape generates more downforce than any other Nissan production car to date, resulting in exceptional high-speed stability.
The GT-R NISMO's strong visual impact includes High Intensity Discharge (HID) multi-LED headlights, which help create a distinctive GT-R "lighting" motif, generating a bold exterior signature. The four LED units are configured with LED high beam and three different low beams, including long distance illumination and wide illumination.
At the rear, GT-R's distinctive four-ring taillights signature form coherent circles of illumination, giving the GT-R an equally distinctive rear appearance. Upon start-up, the full lighting signature is illuminated, creating a dramatic start-up experience.
Unique NISMO body features include carbon fiber front and rear bumpers, black outside mirrors with red stripe and carbon-fiber side sills and emblem treatment. The GT-R NISMO's handmade dry carbon rear spoiler features a special coating that allows carbon fiber "weave" to be felt by the touch. The lightweight dry carbon-fiber material is also incredibly strong3.
The 2018 Nissan GT-R NISMO is available in four body colors: Jet Black, Solid Red, Pearl White and a limited production 4-stage metallic Super Silver, which accentuates the car's imposing exterior muscularity. GT-R's advanced technology is present even in the vehicle's paint, which utilizes a durable anti-chip paint and "double clear coat" process.
The GT-R NISMO interior features a dashboard and steering wheel that are covered with high-quality Alcantara® leather. NISMO racers influenced the design of the dark gray with red stripe steering wheel, with three spokes, red center mark and red stitching to give a strong combination of grip, feedback and comfort. A large 8-inch touch-panel monitor featuring large icons on the display screen make it simple to use, while a Display Command control on the carbon fiber center console allows easy operation without having to touch the monitor.
Unique to GT-R NISMO are the leather-appointed Recaro® seats with red synthetic suede inserts. Ergonomically sculpted, heated, reclining RECARO® seats comfortably, yet firmly, support the driver and front-seat passenger. Interior trim features include discreet red stitching on the seats, center console, door trim and steering wheel.
As with all 2018 GT-R models, the GT-R NISMO's instrument panel is dominated by a video game-inspired, multi-function display that was created in collaboration with Polyphony Digital, makers of the Gran Turismo electronic game. Eleven pages of information are available on this system, including mechanical and driving information, acceleration, brake pedal pressure, steering angle and a recording function with playback. Additional on-screen information includes navigation and Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System screens.
The standard NissanConnectSM with Navigation and Services featuring Apple CarPlay features an 8.0-inch color display with multi-touch control, Nissan Voice Recognition for navigation and audio, HD Radio, SiriusXM® Satellite Radio, SiriusXM® Traffic, SiriusXM® Travel Link® (weather, fuel prices, movie listings, stock info and sports) (SiriusXM® subscription required, sold separately), Streaming audio via Bluetooth® and Hands-free Text Messaging Assistant. Also standard is NissanConnect Mobile Apps and NissanConnect Services Powered by SiriusXM® (SiriusXM® subscription required, sold separately). The Display Command control on the carbon fiber center console allows easy operation of the NissanConnect system without having to touch the monitor.
2018 GT-R NISMO models also include a specially designed, 11-speaker Bose® audio system that features two forward-facing woofers in the rear center armrest area. Rigid aluminum die cast panel mounting of all speakers allowed Bose® engineers to perfect the acoustical performance of the GT-R sound system. Streaming Audio via Bluetooth® is also standard.
Standard GT-R NISMO safety equipment includes a Nissan Advanced Air Bag System for driver and front passenger, front seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags for driver and front-passenger and standard roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags for front seat occupant head protection – along with front seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters and three-point ELR/ALR rear seat belts.
Uncompromising Engineering
Every GT-R model, including the GT-R NISMO, employs innovation, uncompromising engineering and motorsports-inspired technologies to achieve its exceptional levels of power, speed and handling. The GT-R NISMO's 3.8-liter V6 VR38DETT engine benefits from the expertise that NISMO has gained from participating in motorsports events around the globe. Rated at 600 horsepower and 481 lb-ft of torque2, the engine utilizes high-flow, large-diameter turbochargers used in GT3 competition, which improve breathing, while optimized individual ignition timing control for each cylinder and upgraded fuel pump improve combustion.
The engine features innovative plasma-sprayed bores (versus cast iron liners) for reduced friction, lighter weight, enhanced cooling, power output and fuel efficiency; a symmetrical independent intake and exhaust manifold system featuring twin NISMO-specific high-performance IHI turbochargers; a secondary air management system for improved cold-start emissions performance; a thermostatically controlled oil-cooling system; an oil scavenger pump to maintain oil flowing to the turbochargers; and a lateral wet and dry sump oiling system.
A special factory-tuned Titanium exhaust system is standard. The system is made of Formula 1 race car grade titanium (Ti-1Cu), with its alloy construction generating a high strength-to-weight ratio and delivering a weight savings over the stock exhaust unit – along with a clear sound unique to titanium. The system offers reduced thickness, integrated fins and undercover ducts, allowing it to endure high temperatures without affecting performance under extreme driving conditions.
As with all 2018 GT-R models, each GT-R NISMO engine is hand-assembled from beginning to end in a special clean room by meticulously trained technicians, with an aluminum plate added to the front of each engine showing the name of the Takumi engine craftsman.
The VR38DETT V6 is backed by an advanced paddle-shifted sequential 6-speed dual clutch transmission, which can be driver selected to shift at race car-like speeds. The sequential-shifting transaxle features separate wet clutches for the odd (1,3,5) and even (2,4,6) gears and pre-selects the next highest and next lowest gear for quick shifts. It also features Hill Start Assist for easy starts on uphill inclines. High performance differential oil, used in GT-R motorsports competition, is standard.
Along with Nissan GT-R's unique Premium Midship platform, the GT-R NISMO utilizes an independent rear transaxle ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system, which optimizes weight distribution and handling capability. The rear drive-biased system can vary torque split from 0:100 to 50:50 depending on speed, lateral acceleration, steering angles, tire slip, road surface and yaw rate.
Of note is a special GT-R-specific yaw-rate feedback control, which measures the differences between the target yaw rate calculated from steering angle and actual yaw rate detected by the yaw-rate sensor and G sensor to adjust torque bias.
The Premium Midship Platform layout places the transmission, transfer case and final drive at the rear of the vehicle, without the use of traditional torque tubes, allowing the suspension to operate independently while optimizing tire grip at each corner. Contributing to overall vehicle balance and low center of gravity, the unique offset input and reaction shaft design of the rear transaxle enables a shorter design profile versus a typical manual transmission, moving the concentration of powertrain weight lower in the vehicle.
The GT-R NISMO's suspension set-up is inspired by that of the NISMO racing GT-R and tuned for stunning agility, road holding and handling finesse, without compromising refinement. The springs and custom-developed Bilstein DampTronic dampers in the front and rear suspension are specially tuned to deliver exceptional grip levels and progressive handling response at the limit. Three suspension modes can be selected: Comfort, Normal and R, for circuit applications.
Specially developed links fitted to the front double wishbone suspension increase castor trail to optimize wheel position during high-G cornering and improve straight-line and cornering stability. Additionally, large high-rigidity bolts are used to increase stiffness of the wheel-hub attachment area. To minimize body-roll during cornering and changes of direction, the Nissan GT-R NISMO features a 17.3 mm hollow rear anti-roll bar, which raises roll stiffness while reducing weight.
Additional rigidity in the body shell (versus the GT-R Pure and Premium models) is achieved using adhesive bonding in addition to spot welding, leading to precise suspension response under extreme load – another NISMO "factory tuned" enhancement.
The rigid forged metallic black 6-spoke RAYS® forged lightweight aluminum 20-inch wheels, manufactured by RAYS®, are inspired by Nissan's legendary GT500 racecar. They feature knurling inside the wheels to help keep the tires from slipping around the wheels under heavy acceleration or braking.
The GT-R NISMO's tires – developed by Dunlop with a NISMO-specific compound – exhibit outstanding grip and handling characteristics. The front tires are 255/40 ZRF20, with 285/35 ZRF20 in the rear.
The 2018 Nissan GT-R NISMO is available in one limited edition model with no options. It is assembled in Tochigi, Japan, with the engines hand-assembled in Yokohama, Japan.
