Motor Australia – May 2019

18 may 2019 whichcar.com.au/motor

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NISSANCELEBRATED 50 yearsof

theiconicGT-Rnameplateatthe

NewYorkAutoShow,revealingan

upgradedNismo,a 50thAnniversary

editionanda subtlyupgraded 2020

versionofitshalosportscar.

AllMY2020GT-Rsbenefitfrom

newturbosfocusedonimproved

low-rpmresponse,a titanium

exhaust,revisedexhaustmanifolds,a

reprogrammedsix-speeddual-clutch

gearbox,retunedadaptivedampers

anda newbrakebooster.

Outputsfromthe3.8-litretwin-

turboV6remainat419kW/632Nm.

The50thAnniversaryGT-Rrevives

theR34’siconicBaysideBluehero

colour,complementedbywhite

stripes.PearlWhitewithredstripes

andSuperSilverwithwhitestripesare

alsoavailable,butall50thAnniversary

GT-Rsscorenewinteriortrimin a

specialgreycolour,claimedtobe

reminiscentofthenightskyattwilight.

Nissanhaspaidparticularattention

totheflagshipNismo.Moreextensive

useofcarbonfibreshaves10.5kg,the

bumpers,bonnet,frontguards,roof,

sidesillcovers,bootandrearspoiler

madeofthelightweightmaterial.

A further20kgis shedthanksto

lighterwheelsandtheadoptionof

carbon-ceramicbrakes,whilethe

Dunlopsemi-slickshavean11 percent

biggercontactpatchthankstoa wider

treadandfewergroves.Thefront

guardsnowsportGT3RS-stylevents,

whichfunnelawayhotairfromthe

engineandincreasefrontdownforce.

Localpricingis notannounced,but

NissanAustraliahasconfirmedthe

2020 GT-Rswillarrivelocallythisyear.

THEMERCEDES-AMG‘35family’now

numbersthree,withtheswoopyCLA

four-door coupe joining the A35 sedan

and hatch. This is important, as locally

the CLA45 outsold its hot hatch sibling,

so this slightly more sensible version

should shoot out of showrooms as

quickly as it accelerates.

That’s 0-100km/h in 4.9sec, in case

you were wondering, 0.2sec slower

thanthehatch,whichsuggestsit’sa

touchheavierthanthefive-door.Slight

weight differences aside, the rest of

the mechanical package is the same, a

225kW/400Nm driving all four wheels

through seven-speed dual-clutch.

The A35 is an impressive steer, so

the CLA35 is likely to be equally capable

when it lands locally towards the end of

2019 for an as-yet undisclosed sum.

225kW CLA35 GETS SET TO RIP

GT-R TURNS 50

NEW MODELS to celebrate Godzilla’s golden anniversary

ABOVE

Upgraded Nismo

now lighter with

even more grip

and increased

downforce

➜

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