Godzilla Returns to Oz
23 Oct, 2007
14 Comments 
With just hours to go before the official world reveal, CarAdvice can confirm that Nissan’s eagerly anticipated supercar, the GT-R, will go on sale in Australia.
At a press conference held before the Sydney Motor Show, Nissan Australia’s boss Shinya Hannya announced that he hoped to get the GT-R here by 2009.
A December launch date has been set for Japan, with the US, Europe and Australia to follow from mid-next year. Although not releasing any official details on the different specification levels, Nissan’s global head of communications, Simon Sproule said that interest in the car was substantial.
In Japan, only specialised dealerships which have set up high performance divisions specifically to service the GT-R will be able to sell them. Whether Australia follows their lead is unclear.
However, CarAdvice has learned that some dealers are currently taking deposits. One in particular, requested a $10,000 deposit to place an order, however they would not confirm which version this would be.
Nissan’s Australian website is currently encouraging potential buyers to register their interest, while the rest of the world can tune in to the official GT-R website (www.gtrnissan.com) to receive updates on the reveal.
While we wait for the official unveiling, you can find some more info and photos here.
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October 24th, 2007 at 12:15 am
Awesome. But then again, not so awesome.
Now my dreams of importing one cheaply a few years down the track from Japan are dashed. Still, will be nice to see these rolling on Australian roads.
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October 24th, 2007 at 1:55 am
yea well if you can wait 15 years or so… then you can import one!
curious as to how much it will cost here…
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October 24th, 2007 at 4:36 am
Disappointing actually.
Because,
1) It will be priced closely to the mid-high, exotic range.
If a 350Z retails for 70K AUD, expect this to be at the very least 110K AUD. With a realistic target of 120~130K, its target is the Porsche 911, M3 Coupe, Audi Quattro, Lexus ISF, etc.
Thing is, Infiniti brand is not present in Oz, so it’ll be a Nissan, as IT SHOULD BE. Nissan’s 350Z did okay down there for the price, now imagine a superior vehicle in every facet of design and performance… But again, convincing someone to buy a GTR rather than a “Porsche” name will be tough.
2) You can still buy one down the road from Japan, as long as you live there for a year, and owned it for the whole year you are there. Unless you know someone trust worthy who lives over there, who can make a purchase for you, preferrably second hand as the market price will be around 70% of its brand new price. And Japan price is already lowest around the world, when all converted to dollars, by a hefty amount too. Probably 70K AUD equivalent, so expect 49K AUD equivalent for a second hand in 2 years time.
I can tell you its being priced in the U.S to compete with Z06 directly, and around 40K less than a brand new Porsche 911 Turbo, and thats around 120K USD, so 70-80K USD, still translate to about 90K AUD, still cheaper here.
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October 24th, 2007 at 10:12 am
will it be another sales disaster?
how soon we forget, the last official imported gtr took near 3 years to sell the small quantity they had
FACT if its porsche money, punters will go for the label!
cheers
f-0
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October 24th, 2007 at 10:43 am
I loves me taxes
*shakes fist*
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October 24th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Yeah I think its a stupid move to price it high… the people who were part of the ‘cult following’ of these in the past for the most part wont be able to afford it. Sooo you they are pricing it in an area people who dont care about its heritage are buying at (the heritage which is a contributing factor to its high price), they will go for Porsche etc… hell even I would!
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October 24th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
GT-R vs. Cayman S… very hard choice indeed!
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October 24th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
i would expect the nissan to lose out to the porsche. It just doesnt look the part for the price if you get what I mean. when you look at a porsche cayman or even a ferrari,lamborghini( yes i know they cost way more but bear with me) you automatically associate prestige,style,power and a deep sense of jealously. But when you see a skyline you think of noisy kids with loud exhaust hooning around. I guess if you are willing to spend 100K+ car you wan a proven classic machine. i mean how many 20 or 30 year old you think can afford a car like this??
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October 24th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Plenty of people associate Porsches with self indulgence and men compensating for inadequacies as well, doesnt mean anything. Fact is this is a no compromises performance machine, screw the badge this proves that a real performance car doesnt have to be ridiculously priced.
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October 24th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
There is a great package here - 4WD Twin Turbo - 100 km/h dash in 3.6 seconds - what Porsche is even going to come close those specs for similar money i.e. 110K? Yes thats right - there is not one.
However I agree it is a high price for a Nissan but I also suspect the true RRP in Australia has being substantially underestimated… we wait….
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October 24th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
At least hoons won’t get their hands on this supercar at the price they asking for.
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October 24th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Nissan should release a version called “bathurst GT”.
They should do a promotional ad campaign reminding people of a time when Ford and Holden were sore loosers and banned the GTR because it overlapped them and took the win.
They could do a new promo race up against the current offerings from the 2 red-neck racers and watch the same win over again.
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October 25th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Its going to be 80K USD, now think for a second… 350Z here cost 26K…. In Oz its 70K… thats more than double.
It might even hit the 140~150K price range.
And yes, you see performance wise the GTR and Porsche 911 Turbo is actually very close and the 911 Turbo has 380kW and retails for an arm and a leg, about 280K AUD, Im not too sure. Im sure Nissan’s marketing is going to be targeting that fact that you pay half price for a Porsche 911 performance…
Sorry Cayman S is below this car in terms of performance and practicality (as if you’d care if you have that much money anyways, you’d have several cars).
A lot of people who buy Porsche, they look at the brochure for information and they get Porsche to service their cars… a lot of GTR fans/buyer they tend work on their cars, by either buying upgrades for it, tuning it for more performance, they also tend to be “INTO” cars in general, well looking at the specs of the new GTR no mods will be needed.. rather than the prestige that a brand name brings….
If a Porsche and Nissan had the same prestige value…. its basically very equal…
By the way, 2002-2004 model Porsche Carerras are affordable in the US, around 60~80K…. In Oz, a Porsche has higher prestige than other countries…and that includes Germany.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 9:38 pm
hey Jamison…
listen i read ur post… about having to live in japan for a year… to get the gtr (or any other car) back to oz… could u give me the details… the thing is… ive already started making plans post college… hehe… do u think work holiday works? coz i figure… that ways id be able to get the car back with abt 70-80 aud… and plus have a japan stint on my resume… presuming i get work there. i really dont want to pay 120 as thats the final figure thats coming out for the base.
thanks man…
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