Nissan has refreshed the mighty GT-R for its fourth year of availability, and given it a new look, new colors, new wheel design and, more horsepower. It also gets a new “Black Edition” in America with custom red-trimmed Recaro seats, red and black interior trim and a dark headliner. The car’s 3.8-liter twin turbo V6 now produces 530 horsepower, which is 45 hp more than before.

To squeeze 530 hp and 488 lb-ft of torque out of that engine, Nissan engineers modified the boost pressure of the turbocharger, valve timing and air mixture ratio, and reduced intake air resistance by enlarging the inlet pipe diameter, and exhaust air resistance through use of an enlarged section of exhaust pipe. Some unofficial tests have indicated the 2012 GT-R does 0 to 60 mph in under 3 seconds.

The appearance has not changed much, it only gets refreshed front fascia features aggressive double rectifier fins and new integrated high intensity LED running lights. But the aerodynamics have been improved with downforce increased by about 10% and the coefficient of drag reduced to 0.26 (from 0.27). That helps with stability.

Other new things on the 2012 Nissan GT-R include lighter weight and more rigid forged aluminum 20-inch wheels, new carbon fiber trim and upgraded materials, six exterior colors are available, including two new colors: Deep Blue Pearl and Jet Black. The Black Edition features special black six-spoke RAYS lightweight wheels in place of the Premium model’s 10-spoke design.