The GT-R is older than the Dodge Challenger. It’s older than Barack Obama’s presidential nomination. It’s older than David Banner’s The Greatest Story Ever Told. These things were prowling the streets while MySpace was alive and well, and Nissan doesn’t seem like it’s planning to end production anytime soon. Despite its archaic nature, the R35 GT-R is such a flex of craftsmanship by a Japanese automaker that it’s basically a Toyota Century for people who know what TX2K is. That it receives another facelift at all is a marvel.
So what’s new with the 2024 Nissan GT-R? Well, the front and rear bumpers have been dramatically re-shaped for the sake of style and aerodynamic efficiency. While the blacked-out bumper beam cover is gone from the front end, Nissan claims that the new car features the same grille area as the old one. Separate daytime running running lights make a reappearance, although their hexagon overlays are new and distinctive.
Around the back, a new rear bumper with a trapezoidal license plate recess gets a new diffuser for better aerodynamic efficiency. A wider rear wing with vortex generators mounted further rearward on the decklid, which helps with the rest of the body tweaks to improve downforce by 13 percent without affecting drag coefficient. It’s all very nerdy, which means it’s all perfectly GT-R.
Horsepower of the Premium and T-Spec models is still 565, so expect straight-line acceleration to be similar to that of the old model. This comes despite a new muffler to pass strict noise regulations. Unusually, the new muffler uses a resonance chamber and a bunch of small vortices to cut exhaust noise, the latter of which Nissan claims was inspired by jet engines. The other big news for GT-R otaku is that the T-Spec model gets some properly cool heritage colors. Millennium Jade returns, while Midnight Purple also makes an appearance, much to the delight of R34 Skyline GT-R fans. What’s more, the T-Spec model gets a green interior which sounds delightfully weird. Sadly, we don’t have a picture of it, but it’s not hard to imagine given how long the GT-R has existed for.
Stepping things up to the Nismo variant, it also gets a new front fascia, although this one’s a bit weird. The grille strakes are styled to effectively pierce the bumper beam, while even more red accents than usual make it very well known that this is a Nismo model. Things get even stranger around the back, with a massive black diffuser and trim piece reaching skyward up the edges of the bumper. It’s truly a bizarre look, but we’re glad that Nissan is letting its freak flag fly.
In terms of performance bits, the GT-R Nismo gets brand new ultra-thin Recaro seats that look to weigh as much as a cheeseburger, while the drivetrain is enhanced with a new limited-slip front differential. Power is predictably unchanged at 600 horses, but this thing should still fly.
There’s no word yet on pricing or American trim level availability of the 2024 Nissan GT-R, but don’t expect it to be cheap despite the model’s age. It may date back past the days of crabcore, but it can still get down with the best of them. Long may it continue, for a replacement doesn’t appear to be in sight. (Photo credits: Nissan)
The Nissan GT-R Returns From The Dead And Honestly I Don’t Think It’s A Bad Deal Here’s Everything At The 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon We’re Excited About (So Far) Your Scientists Were So Preoccupied With Whether They Could, They Didn’t Stop To Think If They Should: Nissan Z Becomes A Crossover Look At How Much Nicer China’s Nissan Juke Was The 1990s Nissan Sentra SE-R Was Japan’s Version Of The Sporty But Understated BMW 2002: Holy Grails Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage. Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member. Thanks? The rest of the redesign, pretty nice. But man, I’m struggling to accept it’s new face. The edit: https://imgur.com/a/aYpjmOV Maybe it’ll be like the Morgan, and in another 20 years people will still be happily buying this niche anachronism. (now stop putting tacky red pinstripes on everything) I don’t chase nameplate prestige. I purchase cars that visually appeal to me and I can afford. Hence my interest in the 2023+ Prius Prime. Granted it would probably be easier to find and buy a GT-R considering the unicorn fairy dust Toyota’s Prime models appear to be made out of. “I don’t chase nameplate prestige.” Those seem like contradictory sentences.. But I agree, at this point the $115k is hard to justify for a street car. Second, if you are considering your ride, based upon the way you will be perceived at your next class reunion, then you have already failed at life. I will not belabor the point. But seriously. No. I have been to multiple class reunions and never heard a conversation along this line. Stop imaging scenarios where people will let you prove you’re a schmuck. You’re doing just fine in real life. I have a Nissan (the MegaVan) – and that was due to it being the best of a lot of poor choices. The least bad if you will. No way I’d trust their dealer network to take delivery of a $100k+ car. My new van had the tire pressure light on, and an interior light was missing, no one noticed and I was initially mocked by a salesperson for “inspecting” the car. Until he realized they failed at delivery. I saw a decent enough example of one of these locally during the early stages of the pandemic listed in the high 40s that still haunts me. It would’ve been a serious financial stretch at the time but in retrospect maybe I should’ve thrown caution to the wind and gone for it…
