The Nissan GT-R is something astonishing. It’s a car that’s almost impossible to improve.
When it was introduced for the 2009 model year, it instantly took its place among the world’s great performance cars despite a price far lower than some of the legends it passed on the track. That alone would be enough to earn it superlatives.
But 15 years after its introduction, it hasn’t seen a major redesign. Nissan has improved it on the margins every year. But the 2023 GT-R is still recognizably the 2009 GT-R with a few tweaks. Same chassis. Same all-wheel-drive system. Even the same 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 engine (though nearly everything that can be adjusted has been adjusted, and power output is higher than it first was).
There aren’t a lot of designs from the Bush administration still for sale on car lots today. But the GT-R is one – and it will still blow the doors off some other high-performance cars.
For 2024, Nissan won’t give the world an all-new GT-R. But they are giving the car nicknamed Godzilla one of the most substantial updates it’s ever seen.
Maybe this one will be good for another decade.
A New Look With Old Inspirations
The changes start with a new face.
The 2024 GT-R gets a simplified nose, an obvious homage to the generations of beloved Nissan Skyline cars that make up its family tree. It looks like significantly less grille than the 2023 car, but Nissan says airflow stays the same thanks to thinner mesh. We like the salute to the car’s history.
Hexagonal openings at the widest point house honeycomb fog lights.
The profile is virtually unchanged. And while the trunk lid line is the same, everything lower on the rear has changed. Quad pipes sit under boxy new character lines. Nissan says the changes provide greater downforce.
A new wing with 10% more surface area helps with that.
Those exhaust tips now come pre-blued from the factory, so it’ll look like you’ve put some aggressive miles on your GT-R before you finish the first mile.
Powertrain Changes? You don’t mess with near-perfection. Output remains the same at 565 horsepower and one of the best engines of the pre-2010 era soldiers on into 2024. GT-R NISMO editions bump that output to 600 horsepower.
Mid-Level Trim Returns
The base trim, which Nissan calls “Premium,” returns, as does the track-spec NISMO version. That one now gets a front limited-slip differential.
A step in between, the T-Spec trim, last seen in 2021, returns to the lineup. It adds carbon-ceramic brakes, run-flat tires on trim-specific wheels, and an exclusive green interior.
