nissan

2011 Nissan GT-R Egoist

A car wearing a badge so ordinary as Nissan's may not strike most as a luxury or even premium automobile as much as, say, their own luxury division Infiniti. But this is no ordinary Nissan. This is the Nissan GT-R. The king of the hill. And it's been thoroughly updated – with some nice luxury touches to boot – for the 2011 model year.

Following years of refinement and improvements, the 2011 GT-R has had its power upped from 485 to 523, along with a series of aerodynamic and chassis enhancements aimed at taking the car known as Godzilla ahead of its never-ending rivalry with the Porsche 911.

Also new for 2011 is a new edition called Egoist, which features an exquisitely handcrafted quilted leather interior from the Seton Company of Germany. Buyers can choose from a range of 20 leather choices on the Egoist, which also gets the wheels, titanium exhaust system and carbon-fiber rear spoiler from the hardcore SpecV model, which also benefits from the upgrades along with the race-ready Club Track Edition.

Gallery: 2011 Nissan GT-R Egoist

Tags: 2011 nissan gt-r, 2011 nissan gt-r egoist, egoist, gt-r, nissan, nissan gt-r, nissan gt-r egoist

Switzer Performance Nissan GT-R P800

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

A Nissan might not be the first name that comes to mind when you think about high-performance supercars, but make no mistake about it: the Nissan GT-R ranks among the best of 'em, running circles around European exotics twice as expensive or more. Now one of America's most celebrated Porsche tuning firms has taken on the sportscar which the Japanese have nicknamed "Godzilla".

Switzer Performance may be familiar to some of our readers for their 800-horsepower Porsche 911s. But at one customer's request, they've done the same thing to the GT-R. With an eye on increasing the all-important power-to-weight ratio, Switzer installed new turbochargers, intercoolers, intakes and exhaust, along with some extra equipment like racing bucket seats and a big rear wing to keep it planted. The result is a 200-lb weight reduction and a 300-horsepower output increase, resulting in that magic number once again: 800 horsepower, with a side helping of 700 lb-ft of torque. Porsches, be afraid.

Gallery: Switzer Performance Nissan GT-R P800

Tags: gt-r, gtr, nissan, nissan gt-r, nissan gtr, switzer, switzer gt-r, switzer nissan gt-r, switzer performance

New Deal Means Infiniti Will Get Mercedes Power

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

New deals, mergers and joint ventures are constantly being brokered in the automotive industry. And many of them involve Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler. The ink on the German automaker's divorce from Chrysler is barely dry, and they recently penned a cooperative deal with Aston Martin. But now another could see increased cooperation between two of the world's biggest players.

The deal has been signed between Daimler chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche and Carlos Ghosn, who presides over the Renault-Nissan Alliance, including their luxury division Infiniti. The partnership will allow both to benefit from each other's strengths in a variety of ways. Among the first will see four-cylinder Mercedes engines transplanted into the Infiniti G range. Both automakers note that, while their products compete in the same arena, customers don't typically comparison shop between these two brands specifically.

Gallery: 2010 Infiniti G37 Sedan

Tags: alliance, carlos ghosn, daimler, dieter zetsche, dr dieter zetsche, infiniti, infiniti g, infiniti g37, luxury cars, mercedes, mercedes-benz, nissan, renault, renault-nissan alliance

Updated Nissan GT-R Brings The Fight Back to Porsche

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

If you've been under the impression that the cold war is over, you haven't been watching the arms race unfolding between Japan and Germany. Fortunately we're not talking about World War III here, but an escalation in the performance wars between Nissan and Porsche. The former took aim square at the latter with the all-conquering GT-R, and Porsche has been responding in kind with ever faster versions of the 911. With the ball now in their proverbial court, Nissan unveiled a revised version of its all-wheel-drive supercar affectionately known as Godzilla at the Tokyo Motor Show this year.

Improving on the formula that already incorporates a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 driving 480 horsepower to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, the revised GT-R has been fitted with an upgraded suspension, exhaust system, aerodynamics package, high-performance tires and info-tainment system to bring the fight back to Germany. Your turn, Porsche.

Gallery: 2010 Nissan GT-R

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Tags: 2010 nissan gt-r, 2010NissanGt-r, godzilla, gt-r, gtr, nissan, nissan gt-r, nissan gtr, NissanGt-r, NissanGtr

Plans for Nissan GT-R Include Exclusive, Luxurious SpecM

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Since launching the GT-R, Nissan has been taking on the likes of Porsche and company with a twin-turbocharged supercar capable of out-performing exotics worth twice as much. But while there were rumors that the Japanese automaker was considering a luxury version for its premium Infiniti division, nothing seems to have come to fruition. However emerging reports indicate some exciting developments for the car affectionately known as Godzilla.

In addition to a few minor modifications for the upcoming model year, Nissan is planning a SpecM version with an added measure of luxury and exclusivity. Few details are known at this point, but the existing SpecV model (pictured above) already has hearts racing in true GT-R style. The SpecM should arrive some time next year, but by 2013 the car is expected to receive a thorough overhaul to keep it ahead of the Porsche 911 GT2... and just about anything else, for that matter.

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Tags: infiniti, nissan, nissan gt-r, nissan gt-r spec v, nissan gt-r specm, nissan gtr, nissan gtr spec m, nissan gtr spec v, NissanGt-r, NissanGt-rSpecm, NissanGt-rSpecV, NissanGtr, NissanGtrSpecM, NissanGtrSpecV, spec m, spec v, SpecM, SpecV

Lux List: Favorite Egg-cellent Items

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Designers love eggs. Eggs have beautiful, clean lines and a great shape. The egg shape is perfectly symmetrical when cut vertically, but has a soft slope that draws the eye along its curves when viewed as a whole. Egg shapes can and do appear just about anywhere anwhere, in both small and large sizes. We've noticed this, as egg-shapes have come up repeatedly on Luxist, but we still have our favorites. Let's face it: some egg designs work better than others. These are some of the good ones:

Vivian Alexander Egg Purses - These novel purses are made out of real Rhea egg shells. They are enameled and decorated to perfection by hand with a variety of precious and semi-precious stones. The interior of the purses are lined with silk and they retail from $1000-7000. The Chanticleer Purse, pictured, costs $2,875.

Tags: cars, cavial server, chocolate, concept car, ConceptCar, crystal, easter, egg, egg lamp, egg shape, eggs, faberge, hand carved, j schatz, jewelery, lamps, nissan, occulas, pendent, pivo, purse, purses, richart, sculpture, the occulas, truffles, vivian alexander, VivianAlexander