The News for January 13th, 2023

Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. This week: the Nissan GT-R is “new” again, Cadillac racing shows off their V-LMDh race liveries, plus your news for the week.

The Nissan GT-R refuses to die

“… In this world, nothing is certain except death, taxes, and the Nissan GT-R (R-35).” – Benjamin Franklin.

Truly a visionary, that man. Nissan just will not let the GT-R die, and at this point it’s almost sort of comforting knowing it’s still around. With how much the industry has changed since its launch, the GT-R remains as sort of a link to the past. To a simpler time when the sports cars were just a little cooler and much more plentiful. And the only thing to worry about was the first of several once-in-a-lifetime economic disasters.

For the seventh time since its production run began in 2007, the Nissan GT-R has been updated with new looks, the reintroduction of the T-Spec with heritage colors, and a reworked Nismo version. But truth be told, these are once again fairly insignificant changes. The car that first debuted in concept form in 2001 now marches into the 2024 model year with the same basic formula in place – the same engine, same suspension, and same capabilities. If you were hoping for a GT-R taken to the next level, this ain’t it. Unless you’re looking at the Nismo.

The styling updates on the “base” GT-R Premium extend to the front and rear fascias, bumper sides, new grille shapes, and new rear wings. All these new surfaces were optimized for reduced drag and increased downforce. They even went as far as “closely scrutinizing” the thin mesh used in the front grille to ensure proper cooling with reduced drag. They claim an unspecified improvement in downforce without any change to the car’s drag coefficient. No other significant updates to the base car were made as far as I can tell.

The next step up is the GT-R T-Spec which is a sportier model available in two classic Skyline colors that will get any fan’s attention. The first heritage color is Millennium Jade, which pays homage to one of the rarest GT-Rs ever, the R34 GT-R V-Spec II Nür. The second T-spec-exclusive paint is Midnight Purple, a modern interpretation of the Midnight Purple III color made famous on the R34 GT-R V-Spec. The gold-painted RAYS 20″ forged wheels look perfect on either color. The T-Spec also gets wider front fenders and GT-R Nismo carbon ceramic brakes. Now you may recall there being a T-Spec announced for the 2022 model year. You’d be correct. It’s basically the same as it was back then. Initially it was claimed to be a special edition with limited numbers of each heritage color being offered. No word if that’s the case again.

Then there’s the GT-R Nismo. This one gets wild new aerodynamic elements all around with tangible effects on cooling and downforce. The roof is carbon fiber as is the front and rear fascias, hood, trunk lid, rear wing, side sill covers, and side mirror housings. Its power output remains the same at 600 horsepower and 481 lb.-ft. of torque, but power delivery is improved by the addition of a front limited-slip differential for the first time.

The 2024 Nissan GT-R arrives in select dealers beginning this spring. Nismo versions will follow this summer. No pricing is available yet, but the GT-R has gotten more expensive every year it’s been on sale. Expect the same this year.

[Source: Nissan]

Cadillac V-LMDh race liveries unveiled

Since the news is pretty light this week I’m sending you off with some race car goodness. Cadillac Racing has revealed the liveries that will adorn their gorgeous V-LMDh race cars at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and beyond.

Competing full time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the No. 01 Cadillac Racing and No. 31 Whelen Engineering V-LMDh cars. They will also compete for the full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-LMDh. All three cars will be present later this month at Daytona. As with the Cadillac DPi, each car has a similar design with Cadillac theming with the only main difference being the primary body color. The three liveries share a V-Series graphic-and-color theme. Each car wears one of the primary colors of the V-Series logo.

The cars themselves all run Cadillac’s LMC55R 5.5L DOHC V-8 paired with a common hybrid system per LMDh regulations. It’s built around a Dallara chassis but features brand-specific bodywork, which in this case just might be the prettiest of all the modern LMDh/Hypercar entries. And the driver lineup is stacked. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook will co-drive the No. 2. Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande will drive the No. 01 for the full season and be joined Scott Dixon for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims will drive the No. 31 with assistance from Jack Aitken for the Rolex.

The future of endurance racing in America and globally looks extremely promising. I can’t wait to see their competition debut in person. If you’ll be at the Rolex 24 this year, look for me drunk on the ferris wheel.

[Source: Cadillac]

What’s your news for the week?

hooniverse news whats your naws

So that’s all I’ve got for you this week, so now it’s your turn. If you saw anything, fixed something, broke everything, or otherwise did anything even remotely car related that you want to share with your fellow hoon, sound off in the comments.

Have a good weekend.

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4 responses to “The News for January 13th, 2023”

  1. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    A 1961 IH Scout was recently featured on Jaloopnik’s NPOND for $20,000. It was listed on San Francisco CL as ‘beautifully restored’ and I had a couple issues with that. There were no rear or side view mirrors on it, for one, and the ad said “comes with a full rubber door seal kit” which seems to leave some assembly required.
    https://jalopnik.com/at-20-000-is-this-1961-international-scout-80-a-deal-1849892168

    What really made me roll my eyes was he incorrect tailgate. The first year of production had a tailgate with just the IH logo in the center.

    Now my job is to find the sucker who bought that truck and offer him my 1961 Scout tailgate for just two more thousands of dollars. Or maybe I’ll offer it to John Glancy at Scout Light Line for a fraction of that. I always liked dealing with that guy.

  2. wunno sev Avatar
    wunno sev

    when the GT-R came out there was nothing like it. now everything is like it. it was once a link to the future, and now everything has caught up to it. it’s the 2013 Model S of gasoline sports cars. maybe it represents a change that isn’t my personal favorite, but i have to respect it.

    also it’s just absurdly quick. in 2007 all the reviewers could talk about was how fast it was. getting a ride in one with launch control was probably the fastest i’ve ever accelerated on public roads. and it’s still the same damn car. ok, now everything else is fast too – but isn’t it cool that this thing has been fast enough to not need to change for 15 years?

  3. Salguod Avatar

    I’m still up to my eyeballs in bathroom remodeling and the Boxster is still broken. I did break the tailgate handle on the Tundra, so a new one is on the way from the Amazon. And it really needs front shocks and springs. I’m hoping to wait on that until the bathroom is done.

  4. Paper Minecraft Avatar

    These cars are really beautiful and unique. When can I get it? It’s quite expensive for my income.