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Porsche is claiming, after internally testing the Nissan GTR on the ‘Ring, that the car could not come within 25 seconds of April’s acclaimed time of 7 mins 29s.

Product Chief August Achleitner for the 911 team claims ’”This wonder car with 7:29 could not have been a regular series production car” and that  “For us, it’s not clear how this time is possible. What we can imagine with this Nissan is they used other tyres.” — meaning semi-slick tyres.

Achleitner said his team bought and tested a brand new Nissan GTR with new tyres, and achieved a time of 7:54, behind the 911 turbo at 7:38 and GT2 at 7:34. The opening shot at Nissan’s performance car credibility will no doubt create a response from fans and the company, and is being hailed around the world as a case of ‘sour grapes’ for Porsche, who’s 911 contender retails for double the cost of a new GTR.

[Source: Carsguide AU]

The Nissan GTR

The Japanese tuning scene lost a father and founder on Saturday with Hideki Tanabe of Amuse (Amuse Power-House) fame passing away. A master of the Japanese tuning scene, Tanabe will be sorely missed by fans and drivers across the world, and will be remembered for raising the bar on absolutely top notch work to another level of supreme quality, workmanship and dedication.

It’s business as usual at Amuse, and the ultra high quality parts and service that Tanabe embodied will continue.

Related: Please read this heartfelt tribute from NAGTROC, I cannot say it better myself.

Both the front and rear of the Colt have been extensively overhauled, to suit the aggressive new snout. The new car comes in both three and five door forms, with an almost micro-van like rear end to increase capacity.

Intended to go head to head with the likes of Toyota’s Yaris and Honda’s Fit/Jazz, the new Mitsubishi can be optioned with fuel sipping 1.1L to 1.5L 4 cylinder petrol engines, and a 1.5L DI-D diesel.

2009 Mitsubishi Colt Teasers

The new Kizashi follows some of the flowing lines we were shown with the Kizashi 2 concept, while clearly showing a refinement from the concept to an almost production appearance. Gone are the dazzling paint jobs, 4WD ride height, crossover sports wagon styling, and headlights. Instead version 3 of the Kizashi rides on 21 inch, 9 spoke chrome wheels, sports a new, sharper headlight design, wider split grille, a more muscular front end, and 350z style rear haunches becoming almost a 4 door sports car.

Along with the stunning stylistic update come some juicy details. The new Kizashi will carry a 300HP version of the GM’s new DOHC 24-valve 3.6L V6, come with Suzuki’s advanced i-AWD system mated to a paddle-shifted 6 speed automatic transmission and will comfortably seat 5 persons.

It’s one of the most solid close-to-production concepts we’ve seen and Suzuki claims we will see production of the Kizashi in some form in 2010, with construction planned to be at Suzuki’s new Sagara plant in Japan. Here’s to seeing Suzuki build this, and since we’re wishing, we might as well throw in a wish for the X-HEAD too.

Kizashi 3 Concept:

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.

However, compliance is as far as 12 months away (2009), and prices are expected to exceed AU$100,000 for the new Nissan supercar. Regardless, this is a big fist in the eye of Nissan Australia, as enthusiasts will now be able to grab the new car directly from the JDM without Nissan Australia’s interference!

[Source: Prestige Motorsport]

Nissan Australia execs, we are glaring at you right now. Fix this debacle and let us import them, or bring them here!

Mitsubishi doesn�t state whether the Ralliart will be based on the 4door Lancer or the upcoming 5door hatch, however Carscoop states the USDM Ralliart will be based on 4 door lancer sedan, whereas Europe will get the 5 door hatch. Since Australia classically gets the closest equivalent on the JDM, we can expect to see the 4 door on our roads.

The Ralliart is expected to run a detuned 177KW, 240PS version of the EVO X 2.0L, dual valve VVT turbo 4 cylinder. Coupled to this is the magnificent 6-speed Twin Clutch SST transmission, and AWD with Active Centre Differential and Active Yaw Control.

The final form of the Ralliart in Australia is unknown, but given the competition between Subaru and Mitsubishi in this segment we can expect the Ralliart to slot firmly into position against the standard Subaru Impreza WRX — leaving the Evo X to tackle the WRX STi.

Being somewhat given to fantasy here at IJ, we’d love to see that Sportback concept reproduced in full for the hatchback. Given the standard new Lancer is being hailed as a runaway success for Mitsu, a return of the Ralliart Lancer is sure to be nothing less than a added cream in Mitsu’s profits in an age of high demand for fast, small, fuel efficient cars.

[Source: Carscoop]