Nissan 2017 GT-R

Nissan showcases the 2017 GT-R at the New York                            Auto Show

The latest Godzilla is in town. Not the one on two feet, but the one on four wheels.

We’re talking about the Nissan GT-R’s 2017 avatar unveiled at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) and we think it’s awesome.

By awesome, we don’t mean slang but the literal awesome. Awe-inspiring, intimidating, thanks to the V6 engine that’s 20hp more powerful than the last edition. The stance of the car is equally intimidating.

The NYIAS opened to the media on Wednesday where Nissan’s iconic racer car ruled with its amid other big launches like the Maserati’s first sports utility vehicle (SUV) Levante, a concept from Hyundai’s premium brand Genesis, the Jeep Cherokee Trail Hawk and three Mercedes cars.

The new GT-R is the latest chapter in the racing legend which dates back to 1969 when the PGC10 GT-R had a top speed of 125 mph. The 1989 R32 model never lost a race in its first season

The racing icon went through iterations of the Skyline GT-R series, the GT-R M SpecNur, and the 2015 GT-R Nismo models before the 2017 edition struck hearts in New York on Wednesday.

Power. Performance. Refinement: That is the underlying mantra and the hot racer lives up to it. In terms of power, it’s a class apart, courtesy a mighty 3.8 litre V6 twin turbo engine that screeches at 565hp power and 633Nm of torque.

Nissan GT-R made its India debut at the Delhi Auto Expo on February 3 this year and the company confirmed its India launch in September. However, it’s still uncertain which model Nissan will bring here – the new 2017 edition or the previous one.

Time for change

As one of the largest producers of electric vehicles (Leaf), Nissan is predicting more changes in the next five years than it has seen in the last 50 years.

To take this on, it’s time for companies to not rely on conventional automotive technologies and be conservative, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said in his keynote address.

“The new emerging technologies are creating a lot of uncertainties in global automotive market. The biggest fear for traditional automobile manufacturers is the emergence of technology players in the car making business,” he said.

Renault-Nissan leads the pack of electric vehicle sales with 300,000 units globally, which Ghosn said was “not as much as expected”.

Responding to a Twitter question about when Renault will be sold in the US, Ghosn, who is also chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, said, “Renault today is keen to develop its presence in emerging markets, particularly China, and I don’t see the possibility of any Nissans rebadged as Renault being sold in US in the next five-ten years. Maybe, the next CEO may plan.”

Nissan in India has a strong presence with all three brands – Nissan, Renault and the Datsun. Nissan plans to phase out the hatchback Micra and the sedan Sunny from India by 2020 to project Datsun in the mass market.

At present, Datsun sells the hatchback Go, the multi-ulility-vehicle GO+ and a concept crossover GoCross was unveiled at the Delhi Auto Expo. Following the launch of GT-R, Nissan also plans to bring more of its global products to India in the next few years.