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Nissan GT-R EGOIST is Here – Official Launch Day With Photos
Some scoffed when we broke the news that Nissan’s luxury pinnacle model of the Nissan GT-R would bear the moniker “EGOIST”. There it is though stuck firmly on the trunk of what was called the GT-R Spec-M through it’s development lifecycle.
It’s a nice looking badge ain’t it? Take a closer look at the one on the inside now because each EGOIST steering wheel GT-R emblem is hand crafted Maki-e by Wajimi lacquerware artist Mr. Sakae Kubota in Japan. This basically means it’s hand made lacquerware sprinkled with silver dust to bring out that silver coloring. The look of the badge will change as it ages which I’m told is one of it’s desirable qualities.
The same principals that are shown with the small details like that are applied throughout the car and are described by Nissan as follows:
EGOIST is the first and only Nissan GT-R in the world exclusively created by Takumi, or “master with greatest skills.” Each customer can choose a combination of interior colors among 20 choices. In addition, the Bose® sound system is exclusively tuned according to the driving position of each driver to meet every customer’s needs. This is the ultimate expression of the Nissan GT-R.
So artisanship and making the car your own are the big themes here. Mentioned is the color choices available, up to 20 different combinations in fact made up of 10 lower area colors (seats, passenger dash, doors, center console and so on) and 4 upper colors (roof lining, steering wheel, upper dash, carpet). You can see one such combination in the Nissan press photos of a Muelheim Brown lower and Muelheim Brown upper interior finished with brown stitching. The EGOIST’s leather is not only colorful but it’s hand selected and sewn by Seton Company in Germany by master craftsmen.
Other colors combinations EGOIST owners will have to choose from are:
- Muelheim Brown lower with Muelheim Brown upper
- Ruhr White lower with Ruhr White upper
- Ruhr White lower with GT Black upper
- Ruhr White lower with R-Red upper
- GT Black lower with GT Black upper
- GT Black lower with R-Red upper
- R-Red lower with GT Black upper
- R-Red lower with R-Red upper
- Espresso Brown lower with GT Black upper
- Espresso Brown lower with R-Red upper
- Caramel Beige lower with GT Black upper
- Caramel Beige lower with R-Red upper
- Mimolette Orange (new) lower with GT Black upper
- Mimolette Orange (new) lower with R-Red upper
- Aqua Grey lower with GT Black upper
- Aqua Grey lower with R-Red upper
- Shadow Grey lower with GT Black upper
- Shadow Grey lower with R-Red upper
- Sakura lower with GT Black upper
- Sakura lower with R-Red upper
In terms of performance changes, the EGOIST doesn’t bring a whole lot to the table. Yes there are some crossover components taken directly from the SpecV including:
- 20″ Rays forged aluminium wheels in a new Blue Sword Chrome color
- Titanium Exhaust system with those classic dual tips
- Carbon Fibre rear spoiler manufactured by Challenge
Apart from these however there’s very little to differentiate it from the Pure Edition GT-R, no carbon brakes, no mention of the SpecV turbochargers, fancy suspension, or even the special high-gear boost mode available on the SpecV.
There is a really special BOSE sound system to enjoy your favorite tracks on featuring carbon composite woofers and custom tweaking for every owner. If I had one though I can’t help but think I would enjoy the titanium exhaust note a whole lot more than a set of BOSE speakers.
Where the Nissan GT-R EGOIST is priced at launch, which is fair and square in SpecV territory of 15,000,300 yen, I can’t help think that they might have spent a little too much time improving on things that really weren’t broken to begin with and too little on making the EGOIST as special as it needed to be to command the premium.
It’s really a compliment to Nissan in that they’ve done such an amazing job on the basic Pure Edition at not much under half the EGOIST’s pricetag.
I’ll reserve final judgment until I see it in the flesh but since it won’t launch outside Japan for quite some time I think I might be waiting a while.
Images: Nissan Japan
Update: Nissan GT-R EGOIST concept and construction video added.
Official Launch: MY11 (2012) Nissan GT-R – Nissan Opens Info Floodgates
October 18th is here already in Japan so Nissan have unleashed the full spread of details on the new DBA-R35 GT-R model including full performance details and photography. With the press release comes confirmation of much of what we’d been saying for months now and that is the DBA-R35 is a leap ahead of the previous GT-R in terms of performance.
The main bullet points of improvements across the board begins with improved power and torque, better handling, improved aero and updated look and feel are extremely welcome to GT-R fans. What is also great to see is that the model range continues to expand in size with the addition as predicted of the EGOIST to the existing SpecV, Club Track Edition, and standard models. With that news comes some dissapointment though as many territories where the GT-R is sold will miss out on the full lineup with the EGOIST and Club Track only being considered in Japan, Europe and the Middle East (EGOIST only).
Skip all the rest of the fluff (for now at least) though because what most of us want to know is the hard numbers and the GT-R is not dissapointing here in any way. 530ps (522hp) @ 6400 rpm is the official power figure with 612Nm (451 lb/ft) of torque available from 3200 rpm to 6000 rpm. Nissan say this horsepower bump comes from running more boost, tweaking the A/F ratio, valve timing and improving the air intake.
What this means to the Nurburgring lap time you’re wondering? Word is Nissan have slashed 6 seconds off their previous best of 7:26 for a mind boggling 7:2x flat spin around the Nordschleife. Update to this update: The Nurburgring laptime is not officially confirmed at this stage.
In terms of new colors, we had previously mistranslated this one it seems or maybe it was changed. Looks like Meteor Flake Black (pictured above) is the new black to go with the correctly predicted Aurora Flare Blue Pearl blue.
Coming up next will be some hi-res photos of the new Nissan GT-R EGOIST as well as the updated SpecV and Club Track Editions…
To read the full press release click the Read More link below…
Nissan Releases the 11MY Nissan GT-R
YOKOHAMA (October 18, 2010) – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced the launch of the 11MY Nissan GT-R, which goes on sale November 17th at Nissan dealers nationwide in Japan.Nissan GT-R
For 11MY, GT-R features improved engine output and torque, greater fuel efficiency, revised handling, a refreshed exterior with improved aerodynamics, revised interior treatment and new wheels and tires. The large number of enhancements for the new model year is part of the continuous advancement of the GT-R design, technology and performance since its debut in December 2007. Nissan has also enhanced the level of after-sales support for GT-R owners, providing even greater value for customers.
The “World of GT-R” expands again this year with the addition of a racing circuit use-only “Club Track” edition and an ultra-exclusive “EGOIST” version that can be custom-ordered according to the precise desires of each individual customer. The complete 11MY Nissan GT-R model lineup now includes six versions – the “Pure edition,” “Black edition,” “Premium edition,” “SpecV,” “Club Track” and “EGOIST” – allowing customers to choose the exact level of dynamic performance and style to meet their various needs.
The 11MY Nissan GT-R will also be released in North America, Europe and other regions after February 2011. Nissan is considering introducing EGOIST in Europe and the Middle East, and the Club Track edition in Europe as well.
2012 Nissan GT-R Leaks: Part II More Confirmed Details
As mentioned in our previous Spec-M Exposé the 2012 Nissan GT-R is set to arrive on the scene shortly with so many changes that Nissan had to go out and revise the chassis designation bumping CBA-R35 in favor of the new DBA-R35 tag. While we touched on the cosmetic changes in part 1 of this post we didn’t delve into the more technical changes yet so here goes.
Aero Updates
Aero changes to the front bumper, rear diffuser and rear underspoiler mean that the 2012 GT-R slips through the air with even less drag than the already impressive 2009 model. As mentioned previously, these changes help it lower it’s co-efficient of drag as well as increase downforce in the rear by as much as 10%. The rear vents also assist in keeping rear underbody temperatures lower meaning less heat transfer from the GT-R’s hot exhaust into the critical areas like the GR6 transmission fluid and rear differential.
Nissan took the opportunity with the rear diffuser/underspoiler rear design to build in a rear Euro mandated fog light using an LED strip along the bottom edge in the center.
Chassis Updates
As well as aerodynamics, street and circuit handling in the 2012 GT-R is going to benefit greatly from some key chassis stiffening updates in the DBA-R35. Strengthening members are added to the front area under the dashboard (highlighted above). In the engine bay, new bracing members extend from the rear of the strut towers to the firewall.
As well as increasing chassis rigidity by adding new key metal – the GT-R engineering team has improved the manufacturing line to improve GT-R build quality and panel fit consitency for every car built.
Suspension Updates
Again showing that the Nissan GT-R engineering team is focussing on driver feel, they’ve gone to the extrordinary length of changing the suspension geometry on the DBA-R35 model. The changes to the front suspension lower arm move the stabiliser bar further out and change the shock absorber lever angle. To go with these changes up front is a castor angle change from 5°35 to 6°00. In the rear, Nissan has tuned the roll center.
All around, Nissan’s update to the suspension to adopt an aluminium free piston design as well as spring, damper and valve rate changes mean the suspension is able to more quickly adapt to changes in surface and direction. The net benefit is a more stable and more responsive feel with even more feedback to drivers than ever before.
Brakes, Wheels and Tires Updates
Nissan’s experience with racing over the past few years with the GT-R has taught them that more stopping power is always better. To that end they’ve upped the front rotor size on the DBA-R35 from 380mm of the CBA-R35 to 390mm.
As mentioned already, the DBA-R35 will debut with a new design Rays forged aluminium wheel each 3kg lighter than the outgoing type. These wheels will come in two new colors Hyper Blue Black and Hyper Titanium. The new Rays wheels feature improved knurling to help further with reducing tire slip on the rims themselves.
To fit these new wheels are updated versions of both summer tires already being fitted to the GT-R, namely the RE070R R2 from Bridgestone and the SP Sport Maxx GT 600 DSST CTT from Dunlop. Both are touted to improve grip and increase sidewall stiffness, something very important in a heavy awd vehicle such as the GT-R.
Part III to come soon where we’ll cover the remainder of the DBA-R35 changes including interior and engine changes, so stay tuned…
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