TRACK DRIVE VIDEO – 4K Quality

The Midwest Auto Media Association’s Fall Rally in 2013 was my first-ever taste of the mighty Nissan GT-R. Last year, the Nissan USA guys brought a seriously menacing Track Edition model for quick laps around the Autobahn Country Club racetrack.

We arrived on the scene in a press loan Nissan JUKE Nismo so it was a love-fest overall for the Nissan performance lineup. But a late arrival meant we skipped the track in 2013 in favor of mild street drives instead.

Or so we thought.

In Race/Race/Race settings, the GT-R threw my iPhone camera out of my hand and left me trembling with delight after some lurid four-wheel drifts, redline-kissing shifts and sweat pouring down my face right into my huge grinning smile.

It tasted salty and sweet and was so memorably shocking to the system that the mighty GT-R was the last car I reviewed from that amazing drive event.

So what about this year, in 2014? Were we late and scared of the racetrack?

Oh no.

We pulled up in our 2015 Chrysler 200 Limited at dawn and had to wait for the night guard’s shift to end at 7:00am so the day attendant could buzz open the big metal gates out front.

We hummed into the private track area and found this stunning beauty idling in its baritone – new-for-2015 LEDs blazing and the also-new Regal Red paint finish looking delicious.

ARTICLE CONTENTS

Included here are 20 new photos of the 2015 GT-R Premium and two 4K drive videos. First (embedded above) is the actual track drive. Second is the intro time spent in the line-up of pit lane – more chatty but still with a grinning car nut chomping at the bit for a the triple green lights.

EXTERIOR

As described in detail below, the GT-R’s updates for the 2015 model year are focused on lighting and wheels outside. It keeps the R35’s brutal and butch stance and all panels intact, but updates the headlamps with dual-projector low-beams on each side and a lightning bolt of LED in white forming an extra DRL accent. The bright and signature LED pods below are new internals, but the same design as before.

In back, the lights are also the big exterior change. The round lamps now have a thin halo of red running light in their rims, while the internal bits are more like a kaleidoscope’s geometry than the previous dots of red brake lights.

It is subtle, but instantly new and instantly GT-R.

 

TRACK DRIVE INTRODUCTION VIDEO

INTERIOR

Here is where things feel familiar but suddenly comfier than ever before. The GT-R Premium for 2015 employs more sound deadening, more soft surfaces and more leather wrapping for everything that was touchy plastic before. Trims are tweaked, and the tech suite is quicker with more processing power.

This goes for the ECU computers too — which are now far speedier as making decisions regarding the GT-R’s dozens of ATTESA E-TS AWD parameters, engine controls, and handling magic.

The new GT-R sounds much, much better from the exhaust than the previous model. Both are clearly aimed at the highest level of performance possible, but the new GT-R has a more artful exhaust tune.

While more soulful on throttle, the GT-R now runs Bose Active Noise-cancelling to delete the sounds that do not excite. These include tire rumble and some wind howls around the downforce package. So it is quieter but the sounds you do hear are much more pleasant.

DRIVE IMPRESSIONS

This GT-R felt much smoother and more progressive than the savage Track Edition from last year. Granted, we left more settings in their natural state– but there is none of the dual-clutch hiccup nor occasional thumps from its transaxle located under the back seats.

It just feels smoother overall, and more refined. All this is not just for owners going soft — the lack of driveline harshness at max attack is critical to keeping the GT-R balanced and ready for more pace at all times.

On track, the GT-R feels immensely mechanical. As we note in the video above, all the old video-game critiques are far from the mark for 2015. The steering is sharper with a huge amount of bite on the track, while the entire GT-R feels like it can change direction like a gazelle being hunted.

PRICING

Overall, more than anything, the GT-R felt hungry. Hungry like a cheetah to snap that VTS-V Coupe in front of us to the ground. Pin it down and chomp its windpipe closed for a minute or so.

Then it would be time to feast on an open track ahead.

Flat-out and driven much harder than the 6/10ths shown in these videos, the GT-R will make you consider selling a kidney or two to drive it daily. With only the $3,000 Regal Red paint option, this test GT-R came in at $106,000 and will hold its value, and your heart, firmly for years to come.

SUMMARY

The 2015 Nissan GT-R is, quite frankly, the most thrilling hypercar on the market. All wrapped in a 2+2 package with a supercar’s entry price.

Unnatural pace.

Exceptional fun.

Demanding and very rewarding.

But even at the pace here, the GT-R Premium for 2015 is better in every way — both on the hunt and relaxing after a meaty feast.

 

The GT-R is available now as a 2015 model, with pricing starting from $99,590. Cruise over here to build your own 2015 GT-R!

2015 Nissan GT-R Premium

 

 

PREVIOUS

So, which new GT-R is which? The below snapshot is very helpful in understanding the new GT-R.

The 2015 Nissan GT-R is hugely revised, and arriving in American Nissan stores in the next month or two.

Very exciting LED revisions are joined by richer cabin styles, redesigned aerodynamics, far more power, and three distinctly-tuned trim levels: Premium, Black and Track.

The 2015 GT-R NISMO arrives in early Summer 2014 to the U.S. – but most of its major improvements are helping the 2015 model to be sharper and comfier at the same time.

 

What a huge, huge week of car news it has been. With dueling auto shows in LA and Tokyo vying for the same column inches, there are bound to be great concepts and ideas that are not explored deeply enough.

Such is the GT-R. As if anyone could ever fully understand the GT-R… we car guys generally must know the details on a model-year basis.

    

Both 2015 GT-R and 2015 GT-R NISMO Include These Change Highlights:

• All new LED lighting for up front

• LED DRL: NEW

• Triple LED Lowbeam: New

• Single LED Matrix Highbeam: New)

• New Rear Combination LED lighting [Brakes, Running lights, Spoiler CHMSL, Solid LED quad rings (No more dots)]

• Revised Chassis/Suspension/Grip

• Revised Aerodynamics and Rigidity From New Rear Bulkhead and Carbon-fiber Reinforcements

• Revised Engine Management/Data Transfer Improvements

• New interior

Just 2015 Nissan GT-R (Black Edition, Premium, Track)

• New Wheels, Tires, Damptronic Bilsteins

• 535 Horsepower (US Market)

New Nissan GT-R – LED Lighting Gallery

 

 

 

 

2015 Nissan GT-R – Exterior Gallery

2015 Nissan GT-R – Interior Gallery

2015 Nissan GT-R NISMO – Exterior Gallery

2015 Nissan GT-R NISMO – Interior Gallery

 

The GT-R is available now as a 2015 model, with pricing starting from $99,590. Cruise over here to build your own 2015 GT-R!