Nissan's fire-breathing automotive Samurai dragon just seems to get angrier by the year and 2012 is no exception.
Set to fly into South African showrooms during the first quarter of next year, the latest Nissan GT-R is faster, stiffer and more balanced.
Some serious tinkering beneath the bonnet sees the outputs of its 3.8-litre twin-turbo engine rise from 390kW and 612Nm to 405kW at 6400rpm and 632Nm at 3200 - 5800rpm.
Nissan also claims to have improved the engine responsiveness and torque levels at low-to-mid engine speeds; this and the increased power at high revs due to improved intake efficiency, enhanced exhaust valve cooling and better airflow resistance. Despite the bigger fire in its belly, fuel economy has been marginally improved.
Nissan has also perked up the feel of the gearbox, and quietened it, with a strengthened shift fork arm and firmer fixing bearing for the flywheel housing. 2012 GT-Rs also receive special differential oil that was designed for competition use.
Nissan's engineers clearly pay attention to the finest of details - even finding an imbalance in right-hand drive vehicles once factoring in the weight of the driver on the left side and the fact that the prop shaft is located on the right-hand side. The solution is an asymmetrical suspension set-up that entails a harder left-side spring rate for the front suspension and rear suspension arms that are positioned upwards on the left side and downwards on the right. While this creates an imbalanced wheel load when the car is stopped, this is equalised during driving and according to Nissan the changes provide improved responsiveness, stability, steering feel and ride comfort.
Even the 2012 GT-R's body is stiffer thanks to the reinforcement of areas around the engine compartment and dashboard panel.
This is very much a mechanical makeover, meaning the biggest superficial change that we know of is new blue lighting inside the rev counter ring. Specification changes are also minimal, with the Bose sound system sporting improved woofers and the addition of a rear view camera as standard on all models.