If you wondering why the new 2013 Nissan 370Z is pretty much the same car ad last year, that could be because Nissan do not know what to with it. Here they’re asking Facebook fans to weigh in and give them ideas.

It’s not for a new 370Z, mind you. It’s the Project 370Z campaign whose goal is to create the ultimate tricked-out Nissan 370Z with ideas that Nissan Z enthusiasts think are best.

What you do is log on facebook.com/nissanperformance and vote on potential modifications and follow along with the progress online. The finished product will be revealed as a one-off 370Z at the annual “ZDayZ” event.

Project 370Z will be built in several phases – power, handling/brakes, interior and exterior.  Fan Likes, Comments and Wall Posts will be reviewed over the course of each voting session and the part or accessory with the most fan support will be chosen for the build. For example, in the initial Power Phase, fans might vote between a turbocharger or supercharger for the factory 3.7-liter V6.  Phase 2 may include suspension and braking system, since the finished vehicle is expected to see substantial track time.

“Car companies build project vehicles all the time, but we thought it’d be interesting to harness the power of social media to reach out to Z® enthusiasts – the people who are doing this to their own cars everyday,” said Jon Brancheau, vice president, Nissan Marketing, NNA.  “Together we’ll create a vehicle that expands on the already outstanding performance and style of the Nissan 370Z with a balance of street and track ready modifications.  Then we’ll share the finished project at upcoming Z® car enthusiast gatherings around the country.”

At 2012 Chicago Autoshow Nissan unveils the 2013MY 370Z sports car, and as you’d expect from a modelyear upgrade, changes are very subtle.

The new model goes on sale from June, featuring a number of visual upgrades and revised suspension. The most important changes on the outside is the addition of new vertical LED lights, redesigned wheels, and red brake calipers. There’s also two new colors to choose from.

The Nismo model doesn’t benefit from the visual tweaks, but gets a new Bose Premium Audio Package with two additional speakers and two subwoofers, premium gun metallic dark-finish 19-inch wheels, and Nissan GT-R style high-rigidity brake hoses and performance brake fluid.

The engine remains the same, a 332-horsepower 3.7-liter DOHC V6 engine and choice of 6-speed manual transmission or a 7-speed automatic transmission. The Nismo has a tuned version of that engine with 350 horsepower and 276 lb-ft of torque but only one transmission , a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission featuring the SynchroRev Match system.

Models with Sport package fitted also get the Euro-tuned shock absorbers. Nismo doesn’t get that either.

The updates for the new model year include:

* Refreshed front fascia with vertical LED daytime running lights
* Red reflector added to rear fascia (replaces previous black center cover)
* Revised 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels (Sport Package equipped models)
* New 18-inch wheels for 370Z Coupe
* Red-finished brake calipers (Sport Package equipped models)
* Dark-finish fuel gauge trim
* Euro-tuned shock absorbers (Sport Package equipped models)
* And two new exterior colors – Magma Red and Midnight Blue

Nissan announced the 2012 Geneva Motor Show lineup, and the most important part of it is a near production concept car called the INVITATION.

That’s a silly name, yes, but the car itself isn’t. It’s a classy little hatchback that will soon join Nissan’ lineup of compact cars including the Micra and the Juke. The car is due to hit the market in early 2013.

The invitation has a very interesting design with elegant sweeping lines everywhere. We particularity like the rear-end and those fancy tail lights. The side of the car is dominated by a distinctive character line, known internally as the ‘Squash Line’, which adds a powerful dynamism to its profile.

All in all, it’s a great design for a B-segment car. Not as mad as the Juke, but not as boring as the Micra either. The interior is nice too, although looking a bit conceptual here, and showcases some of the technologies that will be featured in the production car.

The car’s powertrain options are yet to be decided, but Nissan is aiming for an ultra-low CO₂ emission target of under 100g/km for the most frugal model. The car will also be packed with advanced safety features.

Among the features is Nissan’s advanced Around View Monitor (AVM) safety technology – seen for the first time on a B-segment car – which makes reversing and parallel parking as stress-free as possible. In addition, INVITATION also incorporates the Nissan Safety Shield Technologies, which interacts with the driving environment keeping the driver aware of what is happening around the car.

The INVITATION seems to have all the right ingredients for a successful premium hatchback.

We just showed you a battle between the Nissan GTR and the new BMW M5. Now check out the Japanese super taking on an American sports car. The GTR is sort of a benchmark in terms of performance, so Road&Track thought if they measure the new Camaro ZL1 against it, they’d get a clear picture of where this handsome American really stands in the world of high-performance cars. We’d also love to see the new 650hp Shelby GT500 challenging the mighty GTR.

This, you might think, is stupid. The M5 F10 is a saloon car, and the Nissan GTR a purpose-built sports coupe, so they can’t be compared. But, if you look at the stats of these cars, they are remarkably similar in a number of critical ways. They both have around 550hp, they cost roughly the same, and they are both designed for maximum performance. This is an interesting challenge then. Hit the jump and watch Bavaria taking on Tokyo!

The new top of the range version of the Nissan Juke crossover has been given a price tag as it goes on sale in the UK.

Called the Shiro, this model comes with a white center console, hence the name, and replaces the Kuro which featured a black one. It also gets white door panels and window switch surrounds.

That’s not all, of course, as the leather wrapped steering wheel, gear gaiter and the edges of the leather seats all feature white stitching, while the seats themselves have a double layer fabric with a white background colour visible through the perforated leather facing. Other highlights include illuminated chrome-plated sill protectors for the front doors and Juke-branded velour floor mats.

On the outside you can tell the Shiro apart from normal models by its dark grey 17-inch alloy wheels, the satin silver finish to the door handles and mirror caps plus a gloss black finish to the B-pillar. This version can be had with an exclusive color called Nightshade, which is a sophisticated deep aubergine color.

Juke Shiro is available with all three engine choices – a 110PS 1.5-litre dCi; 117PS normally aspirated 1.6-litre petrol; and the range-topping turbocharged direct injection petrol 1.6-litre DIG-T with 190PS. 4×4 system and CVT gearbox are optional.

Prices for this special Juke start at £17,695.

In response to the positive feedback Nissan received fro the Juke-R’s Dubai street race, part of the car’s promotional program at this year’s Dubai 24 Hours race, they released an official video of the event. In this challenge Nissan Juke-R takes on three of world’s greatest supercars, and beats them. I know, it might staged and all, but we are baffled by the way that crossover takes off and gathers speed. This is really something for Nissan’s British engineers to be proud of!

With over 100,000 sales in the bag, Nissan UK decided to refresh the Note supermini-MPV for the new year.

The new Note comes gets a number of upgrades, chief among which is an increase in equipment and style for the popular Acenta model. The car gets a set of new ‘diamond cut’ two-tone 16-inch alloy wheels, which look a bit too showy for this mini MPV, chrome-effect door mirror covers and front fog light surrounds.

Inside the cabin changes include new seat fabric with blue stitching, and a range of standard features including climate control, automatic headlights and rain-sensitive wipers.

The better equipped N-TEC trim gets some new toys too, including rear parking sensors, darkened rear privacy glass and the touch screen ‘Connect’ satellite navigation system. The ‘Connect’ system additionally provides a full digital music connectivity package with built in CD/radio, iPod gateway, Aux-in, USB connection and Bluetooth phone connection.

Engine-wise, you can choose between 1.4, 1.6 petrol and 1.5dCi power units. The Pure Drive badged 1.5dCi emits a CO₂ level of just 110g/km with a combined economy figure of 67.3mpg. Prices start at £11,200 for the Visia, and £13,000 for the Accenta. The new N-TEC+ costs a further £500.

Sales of the 2012 note begins from February at Nissan dealerships nationwide.

Nissan’s tuning and motorpsort arm Nismo teamed up with JR Motorsport to present this GT3 version of the mighty GTR.

With the road-going GTR being so fast and awesome, you would expect the racing version to smoke all the rivals, and it probably will.

The car has some very bold specs starting with a 530PS (390 kW) and 612Nm (451 lb-ft) of torque twin-turbo V6 engine. The race car also weighs no more than 1,300 kg, and features a semi-automatic 6-speed transmission, and an FIA GT3-spec carbon fiber aerodynamic kit with a massive air splitter at the front, and an even bigger wing at the back.

Other goodies include racing suspension, wheels and tires, and brakes, as well as a stripped-out interior with roll bar.

Set to compete with the likes of Audi R8 GT3 and Mercedes SLS GT3, the Nissan GTR GT3 will cost a smudge under 300,000 EUR.

The amazing Nissan Juke-R is in Dubai for a press event, and while being there it entered a friendly race with a Lamborghini LP560, a Mercedes SLS and a Ferrari 458. Granted, the other cars are not being driven very seriously, but still, the way that fat ugly crossover takes off and accelerates boggles the mind. It goes like a stabbed rat! The Juke-R, as you, know is powered by a 480bhp version of Nissan GTR’s V6 turbocharged engine.

Check it out after the jump.

via: GTspirit

Nissan USA revealed official pricing of the 2013MY GT-R as it hits the dealerships across America.

The new, revised Nissan GTR is available in two well-equipped models: GT-R Premium, which is the normal model, and GT-R Black Edition. The latter is a sort of tarted-up GTR, featuring special lightweight black forged aluminum RAYS® wheels, unique red and black interior, Recaro leather-appointed seats and new dry carbon fiber rear spoiler.

MSRP:

GT-R Premium / Dual-clutch transmission $96,820 USD
GT-R Black Edition / Dual-clutch transmission $106,320 USD

Both models are powered by the thoroughly upgraded 3.8 liter bi-turbo V6 with 545 hp (versus the previous 530 hp) and torque to 463 lb-ft (versus the previous 448 lb-ft). The engine is hand-assembled in a special clean room and mated to a high-performance 6-speed dual-clutch transmission. The system’s efficiency is also improved, but who cares about that.

The Nissan GT-R suspension has been retuned and adjusted for optimal performance. The vehicle again utilizes a special Bilstein DampTronic system, and the braking system consists of Brembo full-floating cross-drilled rotors, low steel high stiffness brake pads and Brembo monoblock six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers.

As for the equipments and features, new items include an 11-speaker Bose sound system with speakers mounted in rigid aluminum die cast panels, a RearView Monitor, Nissan Navigation System with XM NavTraffic with Real-Time Traffic Information and NavWeatherTM capabilities (XM subscription required, sold separately), and Bluetooth Hands-free Phone System.

]]> http://www.motorward.com/2012/01/2013-nissan-gt-r-u-s-pricing-announced/feed/ 0 http://www.motorward.com/2012/01/nissan-makes-self-healing-iphone-case/ http://www.motorward.com/2012/01/nissan-makes-self-healing-iphone-case/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:47:19 +0000 Arman Barari http://www.motorward.com/?p=30021

Nissan Scratch Shield iPhone case features Nissan’s self-healing paint finish technology.

This is a technology from the automobile world to make scratch-resistant paint finish. It actually allows fine scratches to quickly mend themselves. Now Nissan has found a new use for it.

It came to Nissan’s attention that Apple iPhone’s gloss case is very prone to scratches through everyday use. So they thought why not use our self-healing technology to help iPhone 4 users.

Good thinking. But there’s one major drawback with this case, and that’s the huge Nissan logo on its backside. A large of part of the iPhone’s appeal is that shiny Apple logo. Replacing that with a Nissan logo kinda spoils the point of having the phone in the first place.

But it has its advantages too. The highly flexible and elastic properties of Scratch Shield paint technology allows fine scratches to quickly mend themselves; its tactile gel-like rather than glossy surface is more scratch-resistant than conventional paint and provides a better grip; and the case itself is made of ABS plastic – a high grade substance widely used in the automotive industry which is more rigid and robust than other plastics.

Developed by Nissan in collaboration with University of Tokyo and Advanced Softmaterials Inc., the unique Scratch Shield paint finish was initially designed for automotive use and is available on the Nissan Murano, 370Z and X-Trail along with the Infiniti range of products.  Now, thanks to Nissan’s pioneering approach, this technology is being trialled for the first time on a non-automotive product in Europe, with the Nissan Scratch Shield iPhone case.

Pricing and availability of this case are yet to be revealed.

Nissan unveiled a Nismo-tuned version of its Micra city car at the Japanese tuning show of Tokyo Auto Salon.

The new generation Micra is a global economy car and nowehere near as fancy and outrageous as the previous model. Still, Nissan is going to market a tricked-out Nismo verison of the car as previewed here with this concept. It will join other new Nismo models including Juke and LEAF.

The paint job on this special concept is a pearl white affair exclusive to expensive cars. It is also equipped with a full body kit including new grille, revised bumpers, side skirts, spoilers and bigger wheels, as well as some red accents and graphics.

The suspension has also been lowered as part of the mechanical upgrades using sport springs.

If you’ve been following Nissan Juke-R chronicles, you’d know that Nissan took us through every stage of design and development of this special car. They showed us how they designed it, how they made the interior, how they managed to fit GTR’s massive engine under that small bonnet. Now that the car is finished they released the final episode of the build series, recapping all that stuff and showing the finished product bouncing around the track.

We’re kinda glad it’s over, you know. It was getting kinda old and all that technical stuff were pretty boring. The result of them however, isn’t boring. The 480bhp Nissan Juke-R has set blistering performance records in intial testings, with 0 to 60mph in 3.7 seconds and stop speed of nearly 160mph. Too bad they will never put it into production.

Let’s take a brake from Detroit and visit the Brussels Motor Show, where Nissan unveiled a top of the range version of the Juke, called Shiro.

This special version of the popular crossover complements the Juke Kuro unveiled last year. Shiro means white in Japanese, but the car is black, except for the center console which is white. Does that make sense?

So far the center console has only been available in red or grey. The leather wrapped steering wheel, gear lever knob and the edges of the leather seats all feature white stitching while the seats themselves have a double layer feature on the squab and backrest with a white background colour that shows through the perforated leather facing.

On the outside, the Shiro features include dark grey 17-inch alloy wheels, the satin silver finish to the door handles and mirror caps and the glossy B-pillar.

You can have the car with all the engines in the range, including 81kW (110PS) 1.5-litre dCi; 86kW (117PS) normally aspirated 1.6-litre petrol; and the turbocharged direct injection petrol 1.6-litre DIG-T which develops 140kW (190PS). All versions are front-wheel drive and are coupled to a five- or six-speed manual transmission depending on the engine.

The Shiro is also very well-equipped, with a list of features including Nissan Connect, colour reversing camera, Intelligent Key with engine start button, heated front seats, Climate Control, automatic wipers and lights, folding door mirrors and rear privacy glass, plus ESP, six airbags, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist and three head restraints in the rear.

Unveiled at Detroit Motor Show, this electric version of Nissan NV200 tries to mix purposefulness with zero emission.

This concept is in fact a preview of a near future production zero emission small van. It is powered by the same system used in the Nissan LEAF, a high-response 80kW AC synchronous motor that generates 207 lb-ft (280 N-m/rpm) of torque.

The e-NV200 is obviously heavier, so you naturally don’t expect the same performance, or range. On the upside, the motor delivers 100% of its torque from start with immediate response bringing excellent acceleration and smooth, comfortable driving feel.

They’ve also styled the car to look like the LEAF a bit. The wide hood is accented by a large central charging port door, the blue–accented Nissan badge, and sweeping headlights with LED illuminated accents. It’s all then wrapped in Nissan LEAF’s Aqua Blue.

Inside, the Nissan e-NV200 Concept interior depicts a clean, modern Nissan EV identity through use of the EV meters, blue colored accents and bright interior color palette, while also retaining the NV200’s strong functional feeling. The e-NV200 Concept interior also features advanced telematics and a flat C-cluster display that resembles and responds to user input like a tablet computer.

Nissan mentions a reduction in operating costs compared to current internal combustion engine vehicles among the advantages of an electric-powered van, but there’s no getting away from the fact that they will have limited range, and recharging them takes time, long time, which means they are completely out of business when plugged-in. That, I’m afraid, will increase the costs!

Looks like somebody at Nissan clicked the ‘Send’ button a bit too soon, because a few hours ahead of its official debut, the first pictures of Pathfinder concept hit the web.

No worries though, we will bring to you the official stuff as well. For now you can take a good look at this new generation Pathfinder. Nissan says it’s a concept, but they’re not fooling anyone, this is the actual production car you will be able to buy from Fall 2012.

Besides the new styling, the Pathfinder also features another major change and that is the uni-body chassis structure. The previous model had the old school separate chassis which is better for off-roading, but the new uni-body will make the whole car lighter and more fuel efficient.

The Pathfinder is, as ever, a hugely practical car with 7 seats and lots of amenities and space for your gear. It is powered by Nissan’s favorite setup of a V6 and a CVT.

Stay tuned for more on the new Nissan Pathfinder from Detroit Motor Show.

The Nissan Juke-R might never make it into the production, but it’s already inspired many tuners to build similar versions of the crossover.

One of them is Fox Marketing, an expert in turning innocent Japanese cars into vicious, filthy monsters. Of course they cannot put the GTR engine into the Juke like Nissan did, but they do promise something close with 400 hp.

The astonishing bit is, they are going to use the same 1.6 liter engine that powers the normal Juke and fit it with a big turbo and a large intercooler. How big that turbo must be to extract 400 hp from a 1.6, we have no idea.

The Juke-S, as they call it, also features a unique body kit, uprated chassis and suspension, 20-inch wheels and a race-prepped interior with Yonaka Ronin seats.

Fox Marketing will reveal the finished product in a few months.

Created by Nissan’s British engineers, the Juke-R might only be a pointless exercise, but there’s no denying what they’ve accomplished here is nothing short of remarkable. They managed to create the world’s fastest crossover powered the GT-R’s V6 480 hp V6 engine. As officially announced by Nissan, the car does 0 to 60mph in 3.7 seconds and can reach a top speed of 160mph. In this video EVO magazine gets behind the wheel of this superb car to try it for themselves.

Even though Nissan’s top brass wasn’t happy with the Juke-R project, the engineers got it done and are now proudly announcing its performance specs and figures.

For those of you who might have forgot, Nissan Juke-R was an experimental project to see what happens if they put the Nissan GTR’s V6 bi-turbo engine in the fluffy Juke. It really had no particular purpose, and was just for funsies.

The outcome of the project however, is a very serious car capable of extraordinary performance. The 3.8-litre V6 twin turbo engine makes 485-bhp in the Juke, but even so it propels it from nought to 60mph (100 km/h) in 3.7 seconds and lets it hit a top speed of 160mph (257 km/h).

It took Nissan’s engineers 22 weeks to build this car, because there was more to it than just bolting the engine to the chassis. They’ve basically redeveloped the Juke around that massive engine and gave it bespoke chassis and suspension, so it can contain the fury of what’s under the bonnet.

The car is the same length (4135mm), height (1575mm) and has the same wheelbase (2530mm) as Juke, while the width has increased from 1765mm to 1910mm, with flared wheel arches surrounding 20-inch RAYS forged alloy wheels. Inside, the driver and passenger sit in OMP race seats, but with all the controls and instruments from GT-R at their fingertips. The 7-inch touch-screen display is in the centre of the dashboard, providing access to the wealth of information about the car, just as the one you get in the GTR.

Unfortunately, Juke-R will never see production. But it might inspire a performance-oriented version sometime in future.