Godzilla finally arrives

It's no joke the legendary supercar will officially go on sale in 11 specialist local showrooms on April 1. Nissan Australia confirmed the start date at yesterday's launch of the car held at Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway.

And when it does it will cost an extra $7000 as the falling value of the Australian dollar takes its toll on the original price announced in September. The regular GT-R will be priced from $155,800 while the Premium model will start at $159,800.

But Nissan Australia has committed to selling the car at the pre-order price of $148,800 and $152,800 for the respective models as long as the order is placed for April 1 and the car is delivered before June 30.

The good news for Australian customers is they will receive the MY09 model GT-R that cops a number of upgrades over the 2008 car (more here).

Power is up 4kW to 357kW at 6400rpm with torque remaining the same at 588Nm between 3200-5200rpm. The ABS and front lower suspension has been re-engineered to improve rigidity and tweak the handling.

Fuel tank capacity has been increased to 74-litres and there are new colour and wheel options.

The most important changes though are to the spring and damper rates. While the original car praised for its handling on the racetrack it was criticised for its abilities on the open road.

Unfortunately, Nissan's launch program was restricted to the track making a proper evaluation of the changes impossible.

For our comprehensive international launch review of the GT-R see here.