Nissan officially releases 11MY GT-R

 

 

Nissan announced today the launch of the 11MY Nissan GT-R, which goes on sale November 17th at Nissan dealers nationwide in Japan.

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.Also, two new exterior colours will be available,  Meteo Flake Black Pearl and Aurora Flare Blue Pearl (photo at the top).

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.

Below are all the modifications and enhancements made to 11MY GT-R as published by Nissan:

1. Mechanism
Engine and Transmission Enhancements

• By modifying the boost pressure of the turbocharger, valve timing and air mixture ratio, reducing intake air resistance by enlarging the inlet pipe diameter, and reducing exhaust air resistance through use of an enlarged section of exhaust pipe, fuel economy is improved to 8.5km/L (10-15 mode) or 8.6km/L (JC08 mode).
• At the same time, the engine output is significantly improved to 390kW(530ps)/6,400rpm with maximum torque of 612N・m(62.5kgf・m) from 3,200 to 6,000 rpm. A new red color engine cover is used to demonstrate its greater performance.
• Cleaner emissions are realized through adopting an ultra-low precious metal catalyst and ECM with high-capacity microprocessor - achieving SU-LEV certification levels (emitting 75% fewer emissions than Japan's 2005 exhaust emission standards).
• A new SAVE mode is adopted, which optimizes driving torque and modifies the shift schedule to improve actual fuel economy when driving highways or open roads. This mode also helps reduce ankle fatigue.
• Starting performance while selecting "R mode" for the transmission and VDC-R is improved.
• To control tight corner braking phenomenon, which can occur when starting the vehicle while turning the steering wheel, 2WD mode is added to temporarily shift to 2WD driving.
  * When the vehicle speed is below 10km/h and the steering wheel is turned more than halfway.

Honda Civic Type R FD2 scale model by Ebbro

All the recent models that arrived (earlier post) are sealed and thus I wasn't able to take decent photos. Well, I decided to unwrap one of them and here are some detailed photos of it. This is a Honda Civic Type R FD2 scale model (1/43) by Ebbro in Crystal Black Pearl.

Modellista interior selections for new Vitz / Yaris

 

Here are some low-res images showing Modellista interior selections for the new Toyota Vitz / Yaris.

Honda Fit wagon version to be introduced in February 2011

A wagon version of Honda Fit is expected to be introduced in February 2011. The production of the previous wagon version, called Airwave (shown in the second photo), ended in August 2010. The new model is likely to be powered by a 1.5L petrol engine and a hybrid version will follow (1.3L petrol engine + IMA).

Meeting of NSX Owners Club of Yokohama

The 11th meeting of NSX Owners Club of Yokohama took place celebrating also the club's 15 year anniversary.

The NSX is definitely one of the finest sports cars Japan has ever produced and my favourite one by far! Enjoy the photos!

Honda Civic Type R Euro (FN2) YM2010 to be made available in Japan

Honda Civic Type R Euro YM2009 was made available in Japan last year and now,  Honda announced that the YM2010 will also be sold in limited numbers.

Leaked images showing new 2011 Vitz / Yaris (exterior and interior)!!!

So, the mystery is over! This is the new Toyota Vitz / Yaris and also the RS version is shown, which looks mean (in a good way). Although I am not really impressed, I am glad that the "oval" shape of the previous one is gone and at last, the instrument panel has moved from the centre.

Although seeing the car in flesh will give a better feel in terms of the design, I think Toyota should start adding some character to its cars... I am really fed up with all those bland looking designs.

Toyota launches teasing flash microsite about new Vitz / Yaris

Best Car magazine has already revealed an illustration of the new Vitz / Yaris (earlier post) and now, Toyota has launched a smart looking flash mircosite showing a few details. You can see the headlight design (indicating that the illustration is very close to the actual product), the instrument panel and the steering wheel. Also, the new Vitz will be equipped with Smart Stop, which is a stop/start system, and it will be also wider in terms of dimensions.