Perhaps one of the most interesting rumors of the year has been MT’s revelations that high level Nissan honcho’s are considering producing a four door version of the Nissan R35 GT-R.The car would apparently carry the original equipment on the standard GT-R, the 480-HP V6 VR38DETT, FSG-style 6-speed auto clutch gearbox, and AWD. However, considerable revisions to the car body structure in order to fit any decent seats in the rear would mean the car would be considerably more expensive, and of course, heavier than it’s already heavy brother.

What does this do to the GT-R namesake? Does it dilute the sports coupe into another high powered family car? It all depends on how much of a purist you are, and how good your knowledge of the GT-R is. The first GT-R - the 1969 PGC10 (later the KPGC10 coupe) Skyline GT-R (known as the “Hakosuka”) - was originally a four door car, not to mention the Autech and Nismo limited edition 4 door R33 Skyline GT-R’s of the 90’s.

That said, the GT-R is so named to distance itself from the old Skyline moniker. As Nissan’s premier flagship model, perhaps the 4door is better suited to Nissan’s premium Infiniti brand.

Bring on the Infiniti M38TT. Yeah, we just made that up.

[Source: Motortrend]

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Today Nissan Australia announced that the new Nissan GT-R will make its Australian debut, with the JDM model on display at this years Melbourne Motor Show. No information on the Australian spec GT-R, or any variants of the GT-R, is available at this time.

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Rumors have been flying about a new performance oriented Toyota sports car hitting the performance scene for a considerable time now, from an AE86 revival to a new Supra, but perhaps no one expected news that these shadowy rumors would coalesce into the forgotten Celica GT-4.

The last model Celica. Will we see styling cues from this?

But perhaps even more surprising is the rumor that the car will be engineered to a large degree by Subaru. In November Toyota confirmed rumours of a new sports car and Celica replacement, with the sports car being a collaboration between Subaru and Toyota, and now it seems the car is the performance model of the Celica line. However, the new car will not come with a Toyota bred turbo four in the tradition of the (somewhat) underpowered motor of the old model - instead it’s going to be carrying a Subaru Boxer turbo, most recently seen in the all grown up Subaru Impreza WRX STi.

The new model is said to come in two distinct performance variants. First, the base ‘GT’, packing a front engined, RWD drivetrain and naturally aspirated 2.0L 4 cylinder Boxer (most likely from the Impreza RX), designed to slide in under the $20,000 bracket. Secondly the full fat GT-4, which carries the new JDM STi’s 224KW (300HP) Boxer turbo and AWD system standard, with Motor Trend claiming the engine will be closer to the cars firewall in order to facilitate the installation of in-wheel electric motors to help with traction.

The GT and GT-4 will be built in in coupe and three-door hatch variants, but no five door variants because of Toyota and Subaru not wanting to compete in the Impreza’s arena, which is rather tongue in cheek considering this new car will inevitably be seen as either a Impreza in Toyota clothing, or as direct competition by tuners. This begs the question then; will the new GT-4 be a real contender in the hotly contested price for performance bracket? Will the Toyota be lighter, faster, and more capable than the new STi? Would Subaru shoot themselves in the foot, and does it matter considering Toyota’s widening stake in Subaru?

Does this mean Subaru will become more and more the performance arm of Toyota? Time will tell, but we certainly hope not.

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