Nissan GT-R NISMO 2020 Review

It wasn’t long ago that critics – your correspondent included – admonished the age and distinct mechanical wares of Nissan’s fastest car, the GT-R NISMO.

Old hat, out-paced, over-priced; there were numerous justifiable reasons for the well-heeled to shirk the 13-year-old Nissan GT-R NISMO in favour or newer, tech-laden rivals – internet forums abuzz for its 0-100km/h times notwithstanding.

But it appears that as time goes on, and as we venture down a more surveillance-oriented, rules-bound path, these same reasons conspire to support the plight of Nissan’s most berserk offering.

Put it this way: if Nick Kygrios can win over a tide of public sentiment in the space of an Aussie summer through gesture and good will, then maybe it’s time Godzilla had a rethink of sorts too.

Despite its age and seemingly one-dimensional make-up, the reality is cars like the GT-R NISMO should be celebrated while they're in showrooms, and Nissan clearly agrees.

While the 2020 Nissan GT-R brought a new-found liveability when it arrived in November, the 2020 GT-R NISMO now marks its overt character – one that has remain largely unchanged since the launch of the original R35 GT-R in 2007 – with extensive tweaks and modifications inside and out, totalling a 30kg weight loss.

There’s more carbon-fibre, helping bring a 10.5kg reduction in weight; there are lighter alloy wheels and carbon-ceramic brakes; there are new turbochargers borrowed from the Nissan GT-R GT3 race car. Inside, meanwhile, the ageing cockpit is now fitted with new Recaro race seats.

The front fenders now resemble those on the GT3 GT-R, too. Scalloped vents are said to funnel hot air away from the engine bay and provide downforce onto the front tyres without additional drag.

These updates don’t come cheap. In fact, the NISMO’s price has been cranked by $79,000 for 2020, taking its starting figure to a lofty $378,000 (plus on-road costs). For reference, that puts the NISMO in the same league, price wise, as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Mercedes-AMG GT R.

Of more concern to Nissan’s marketing boffins, however, should be the regular GT-R, which is exactly half the price of the NISMO at $189,000 plus ORCs.

Like any supercar, it’s not just the purchase price of the GT-R that’s high, but the ongoing cost of ownership. It might be a Nissan, but such is the NISMO’s pedigree that it requires nitrogen to inflate its tyres. This is the pointy end of the stick, no doubt.

Nissan does not provide capped-price servicing costs on its website for the GT-R, but past enquiries have shown that upkeep (particularly if you’re reaching critical temperatures on a circuit) is not for the faint-hearted. Think expensive transmission fluids and the like.

All that said, the world needs otherworldly, brutal beasts like the GT-R NISMO. Just like it needs firebrand tennis players.

Our introduction to the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO is hosted at the Wakefield Park circuit in Goulburn. It’s a blistering 35-degree day and the wind is ever-present, which ought to make the test interesting.

But even more significant is who carsales.com.au is sharing the track with: a host of GT3 drivers and their factory teams, some in Bentleys and some, fittingly, in the GT-R GT3 that the NISMO now shares more in common with.

Among them is KCMG driver Josh Burdon, a 26-year-old who originally hails from Hobart, Tasmania, but now spends the bulk of his time in China and Europe as a fully-fledged GT3 driver. Burdon is approachable and unassuming, but as his entry into this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour attests, is also ridiculously talented.

Cue the first component of our Wakefield test. I ask Josh if he is willing to cut a lap of the Wakefield circuit aboard the NISMO road car, with its stability control suite turned off. He agrees in a flash and we both go out, relatively blind, for an out lap, a fast lap and an in lap – all timed on a stop watch.

The point of the exercise is to demonstrate the GT-R’s continued ease of use, which has always been a strength considering it teams a twin-turbocharged V6, rear-mounted gearbox, carbon-fibre drive shafts and computer-controlled all-wheel drive system to slam down an awe-inspiring 441kW and 652Nm – 22kW and 20Nm over the standard GT-R.

Josh, having driven his GT3 race car around the circuit all morning, casually clocks a 1:08min lap in the road car. I’m up next – out lap, timed lap, in lap – clocking a 1.11min post.

It’s an eye-opening exercise, one that reaffirms the GT-R’s blistering speed, but also the way in which it compliments novice drivers with an electronic system that picks up driver errors before you’ve even made them.

Back in the pits, we pour over the GT-R’s internals a little more closely. The outlay is more or less identical to the NISMO we first spent time in at Bathurst in 2017, an 8.0-inch touch-screen, Nissan-centric switchgear and a fast-ageing interface, complete with a Bluetooth system that simply doesn’t want to play ball on this sweltering day.

Moreover, the rear seat is tight and the driver instrument cluster and clunky performance toggle switches in the centre fascia have long been superseded by more contemporary rivals. The criticism is not so much on the technology here, it’s the price Nissan asks you to pay for said technology.

Elsewhere, carbon-fibre now makes up the front and rear bumpers, front fenders, bonnet, roof, side sill covers, boot and rear spoiler. According to Nissan, “each component has been improved to cut weight, increase downforce and enhance aerodynamics”. Clearly it’s time to venture back onto the circuit.

With Josh and his race team now packed up and headed for Bathurst, the Wakefield facility is free and ready to play on.

And play we do. The fuel gauge reads three-quarters full and the car’s Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT600 tyres (the fronts now boasting a semi-slick pattern) are fresh. Time to have some fun.

What’s immediately clear is how forgiving the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO is for a 600hp, 1750kg supercar. It will happily feel its way through corners, occasionally lurking precariously on the outer edges of ripple strips, and yet it remains so well tied down, keeping its composure and grip in the face of small mid-corner steering interventions.

The new tread plays a role here, purportedly bringing a 7 per cent improvement in grip. The NISMO’s Bilstein DampTronic suspension is another factor, having been made 20 per cent softer in rebound and 5 per cent softer in compression to compensate for unsprung mass changes.

The car feels notably more communicative to the outgoing model, too. This clearly isn’t a one-trick, straight-line pony – it feels and telegraphs its movements on the circuit more succinctly, amounting to a more enriching driving experience.

The real glue here feels like the all-wheel drive system and underlying electronics, which provide benign but reassuring inputs to keep the car on the black top. The computer-controlled all-wheel drive system is seamless in its power delivery, too, with no semblance of delay.

With all settings flicked to their firmest R mode, throttle response feels sharp and immediate – correlating with Nissan’s claims of a 20 per cent improvement – while the gearbox at top flight provides whip crack-like upshifts and an adequate spread of ratios. That said, the instant temptation is to slot the automatic gate over to manual mode for a more involving lap.

With more time and speed comes more confidence. Soon enough, the GT-R NISMO is easily performing deliberate but controlled slides out of Wakefield’s fish hook and last turn. At no point does it feel as though it will blow you into the weeds.

Forgive the cliche, but the thrust under acceleration is like that of a fighter jet, an almost maniacal forward surge complete with induction noise that is audible from pit lane. Unreal.

Ultimately, the Nissan GT-R NISMO’s road-bound origins aren’t infallible. During our private test session the semi-slick Dunlop tyres, for example, reach their grip threshold within a handful of laps, and there was one instance where the carbon-ceramic brakes require more pressure than normal to bring the car to rest.

On the flip side, the NISMO’s track-ready pretensions are not without drawback; namely, a firm (if slightly improved) on-road ride, and the low-speed acoustics of an industrial workshop.

But driving out of Wakefield’s baking pit lane and watching the striking red NISMO disappear in my rear-view mirror, it’s clear that now, more than ever, Nissan’s ageing supercar has a clear point of difference from the rest of the crop.

Nissan has struck a neat technological détente. For all its computer systems and underbody wizardry, the GT-R NISMO increasingly feels like an analogue anachronism – and I’ve never liked it more.

It’s just a shame Nissan asks so much for the privilege.

How much does the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO cost?
Price: $378,000 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo petrol V6
Output: 441kW/652Nm
Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 12.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 281g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not rated