Nissan to bring GT-R, NISMO to Philippines

OYAMA, Japan—Aiming to bring some spice and excitement to its line-up, Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) has confirmed the impending arrival of the high-performance GT-R sports car into the country by the second half of 2016. The revelation was made by NPI president Antonio “Toti” Zara at the NISMO Festival held at the Fuji International Speedway last weekend.

Launched in 2007, the GT-R is what Nissan calls a blend of “soul and technology.” It’s the quintessential Japanese super car offering performance that can shame more exotic machines twice or even thrice its price. It currently holds the record for the fastest production car at the Nurburgring in Germany with a time of 7 minutes 8.679 seconds.

Powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 (VR38DETT), the GT-R has 545 hp and 612 Nm of torque. This figure goes up to an even 600 hp and 652 Nm of torque for the top-of-the-line GT-R NISMO. But even in its standard trim, it can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds. All models are equipped with a 7-speed dual clutch automatic transmission and ATTESA E-TS All-Wheel Drive.

When asked about ballpark pricing, Zara says that more information will be revealed closer to the launch, but they are currently monitoring the peso-yen exchange rates. They’re confident though that it will be “competitive.” He did say though that the standard GT-R will come in with the possibility of the GT-R NISMO to follow.

The launch of the GT-R is only the first step in reorienting the brand’s image towards one of sportiness. NPI will use their flagship super car to introduce NISMO to the country as well.

Abbreviated from “Nissan Motorsport International Limited,” NISMO is the motorsports and performance division of Nissan. Aside from participating in several motorsports disciplines including Japan Touring Car, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Super GT, and the FIA GT Championship, NISMO designs and manufactures a range of aftermarket performance parts for Nissan passenger cars.

Realizing a growth in not just the “performance-seeking” customer, but the “highlife-seeking customer”, NISMO aims to widen its reach, especially in emerging markets such as the Philippines. Their presence may come not only in the form of individual performance parts and styling accessories, but in the form of entry-level complete cars as well. A case in point is the well-received Almera NISMO in Malaysia.

Like the launch of the Nissan GT-R, NISMO’s arrival into the Philippines is subject to a more definite timeframe. Nonetheless, this all comes as welcome news for Nissan fans in the country, especially those who’ve been wishing something of an enthusiast bent from the brand.