Legacy Nissan

Filed under: Spy Photos, Hybrid, Sedan, Etc., Nissan, Design/Style

Nissan is busily putting the 2013 Altima prototype through its paces ahead of the vehicle's debut later this year and spy photographers spotted the vehicle on public streets wearing a new vinyl wrap designed to obfuscate the model's lines. Even so, we can clearly see a few more details about the upcoming sedan.

From the looks of things, the vehicle received more than a little inspiration from the Nissan Ellure Concept. With a contoured body line and headlights borrowed from the 370Z, the vehicle looks to have quite a bit more personality than in years past. Additionally, the same boomerang line found in the headlight housings also look to be transposed on to the vehicle's C pillars and tail lamps, though the look isn't as exaggerated as we saw on the Ellure.

The photogs also garnered a glimpse into the vehicle's cabin, giving us the first look at the dash in the 2013 Altima. The sedan will likely come with the same intelligent key system found elsewhere in the Nissan line, and the center stack and steering wheel have seen some love as well. Word has it the Altima will debut with a new hybrid drivetrain that makes use of a an electric motor paired with a supercharged four-cylinder engine and a lithium-ion battery pack.

Nissan Altima prototype gives up more of the goods, including interior originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Coupe, Nissan, Racing

What would a Nissan GT-R be without the racing pedigree that's helped make it what it is today? The truth is that we don't even want to know. But we don't have to, because the car known as Godzilla is as devastating on the race track as it is on the street.

Very different racing versions have been made to challenge the FIA GT1 World Championship and for Japan's own Super GT series, the latter powered by a naturally aspirated V8 to satisfy regulations instead of the twin-turbo V6 in the production model. Getting your hands on either of these, however, could prove a bigger challenge than passing one in a race. Fortunately, Nissan has just released a competition-spec GT-R you can buy.

Co-developed by Nismo (Nissan's in-house tuning department) and JR Motorsports (which campaigns a pair of GT-Rs in the aforementioned GT1 series), the GT3-spec model first debuted at the Magny-Cours circuit in France back in August, but is now available for order by privateer teams and gentlemen racers alike. It packs the same 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 as the production model, tuned to deliver 523 horsepower.

That may be slightly less than the current production model (due to the constrictions of GT3 regs) but the Nismo GT3 model also offers a fully adjustable suspension, stripped-out interior with roll cage and all the trimmings, extra cooling ducts and an aggressive aero package. The extra grip is where the extra speed comes from, and it can all be yours for a hair under 300,000 euros, or about $390k at today's rates.

Nissan taking orders for new GT3-spec Nismo GT-R originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Performance, Etc., Videos, Crossover, Nissan, Middle East

The Nissan Juke-R found some adventurous extracurriculars to take part in while in Dubai to pace the Dunlop 24-Hour race. Nissan said it would be making a film of the Juke-R taking on other street-legal supercars in the Dubai International Marina, but that race is meant to include a Mercedes/McLaren SLR-engined Mercedes-Benz SLK.

This appears to be something different, with the Juke-R going up against a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, a Mercedes SLS AMG, and a Ferrari 458 Italia. Lucas Ordonez, the first GTAcademy winner from 2008 is reportedly behind the wheel of the Juke-R. We don't know the driving level of his competition, but we do know this: Nissan's little beastie is really, really quick. Check out the (admittedly grainy) video after the jump to have your horizons expanded.

Continue reading Nissan Juke-R takes on Gallardo, 458 Italia and SLS AMG in Dubai

Nissan Juke-R takes on Gallardo, 458 Italia and SLS AMG in Dubai originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Aftermarket, Performance, Japan, Hatchback, Nissan, Tokyo Auto Salon

With press days for the Detroit Auto Show now behind us, our focus is shifting eastwards. Make that Far East, as the tuners have rolled in for the Tokyo Auto Salon, where Nissan performance tuning arm Nismo has taken on its third compact and given it an attitude adjustment.

Following the recent debuts of the Leaf Nismo and Juke Nismo comes this March Nismo, based on the small hatchback also known as the Micra or (in Taiwan) as the Verita. Nismo has given it a enhanced sportiness through lightweight wheels, updated grille and aero kit, new door mirrors and sportier seats and steering wheel inside.

It's all capped by a pearl white finish with red highlights, but while the Nismo parts catalog is sure to offer bolt-ons for the March, this particular configuration is strictly a concept. Check it out in the pair of high-resolution images along with the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Nissan March Nismo concept debuts at Tokyo Auto Salon [w/video]

Nissan March Nismo concept debuts at Tokyo Auto Salon [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Etc., Videos, Bugatti, Nissan, Luxury

The Nissan GT-R has earned itself a hard-won reputation as a giant slayer. The relatively low-buck supercar can embarrass more expensive hardware right out of the box. Spend a little time and money throwing a few aftermarket parts toward the Nissan and you can easily have a vehicle capable of giving vehicles like the Bugatti Veyron a scare.

Take the videos after the jump, for example. The two clips show off a drag race between a mildly-tuned GT-R and a bone-stock Veyron. While the Bug gets an early lead on the more plebeian racer, the GT-R makes up the gap quickly.

Who wins? We won't spoil it for you. You'll have to hit the jump to see the show down from two different angles for yourself. However, we will say we'd like to see a rematch with a sharper reaction time from the GT-R driver.

Continue reading Drag-off: Bugatti Veyron vs. tuned Nissan GT-R

Drag-off: Bugatti Veyron vs. tuned Nissan GT-R originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Concept Cars, Performance, Crossover, Nissan, Specialty

The Dubai Autodrome will play host to a very special guest for the 2012 Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai race.

In addition to the scads of GT3-spec BMW Z4s, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMGs, Ferrari 458 Italias and Porsche 911s, the pace car running in front of them will be none other than the Nissan Juke R.

The 480-horsepower GT-R/Juke mash-up hasn't made its debut in front of the public yet, so unless Nissan has a surprise up its sleeves before the race, which is scheduled for the weekend of January 12-14, this will be Juke R's coming out party. We won't be on hand to snag shots of the R in Dubai, but rumor has it that it could make its first Stateside appearance at the Chicago Auto Show.

Nissan Juke R to pace Dubai 24-hour race originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Nissan, UK

The Nissan GT-R has become something of a cult favorite for a number of types of enthusiasts: supercar slayers, import tuners, and especially track-day junkies. Particularly in the UK, where congestion (and a proliferation of speed cameras) prevents stretching out your car's legs, where there are legendary racing circuits abound and where, subsequently, Nissan has now rolled out a new Track Pack for the recently updated GT-R.

The Track Pack doesn't touch the engine, so the same 542-horsepower twin-turbo V6 applies. What it does provide is better cooling for the brakes with extra ducting front and rear, lighter six-spoke Rays alloys, a stiffer suspension (whose dampers can, of course, still be softened for road use), and an interior stripped of its rear seats and bolstered in the front for harder cornering.

Nissan UK is pricing the Track Pack at £10,000 ($15,000) on top of the £74,450 ($116,000) purchase price of a stock GT-R, and fortunately, the kit's addition doesn't preclude it from being driven on public roads. Although the package is currently only available overseas, we're hopeful that when the revised Godzilla makes its way to these shores, we'll have a chance to get our driving gloves on it as well. In the meantime you can check it out in the press release after the jump and the fresh batch of high-resolution images in the gallery.

Continue reading Nissan rolls out new Track Pack for GT-R

Nissan rolls out new Track Pack for GT-R originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Safety, Technology, Videos, Infiniti, Nissan

In the last few years, Infiniti has joined the ranks of the Germans by offering a range of enhanced active safety features on its higher-end models. But Nissan wants to bring many of these systems to its core models, including blind spot and lane departure warnings.

But that's old hat now.

This week in Japan, Nissan demonstrated three new safety technologies that are bound for both Infiniti and Nissan models in the next few years, two of which are sure to be copied by other automakers in short order.

Continue reading Nissan introducing three new trick safety technologies

Nissan introducing three new trick safety technologies originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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