An old nemesis is making a return to Australia’s V8 Supercar series. From 1990 through 1992, the Nissan Skyline GT-R dominated the Australian Touring Car Championship series, running rings around Holden and Ford V8′s. During the 1991 Bathurst 1000, the GT-R even set a top-speed record that could not be matched for nine years. Finally, in 1992, Australia’s racing body charged a weight penalty and a boost pressure reduction in an attempt to level the playing field. However, that failed to slow the GT-R down as it continued to dominate its last season before new rules that required V8 powerplants banned the GT-R’s entry.

After a decade, the Nissan GT-R once again returns to the stage under the the Supercar V8′s Car of the Future program, a new project encouraging a wider variety of automakers to join the series. What’s more, Mark Skaife, the man behind the Car of the Future program, was a former GT-R racer that won many of Nissan’s victories in Australia during the early ’90s.

In order to meet the current V8 Supercar regulations, Nissan’s race car will be forced to use a generic rear-wheel-drive, V8 drivetrain. Despite the fact that it will not be an authentic GT-R racing alongside the fire breathing Aussie V8s, we do look forward to seeing more and more automakers following Nissan’s example to freshen up the Bathurst grid. So far, four GT-R’s under Kelly Racing will be participating in the 2013 season.

Watch video of the announcement below:

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How would you like to help design Nissan‘s next Z car? You can do just that – using Facebook – as Nissan announces Project 370Z.

Putting Z enthusiasts in the driver’s seat of design, Nissan launched this initiative as a chance to showcase how many options are available in this car. Using a 2013 370Z as a base, this car will be built in several different stages – power, handling/brakes and interior and exterior. To put in your two cents about each section, post your thoughts on Nissan’s Performance Facebook fan page with wall posts, likes and comments. These responses will be reviewed each voting session, and the upgrades and accessories with the most fan support will be picked for that particular phase.

“Car companies build project vehicles all the time, but we thought it’d be interesting to harness the power of social media to reach out to Z enthusiasts – the people who are doing this to their own cars everyday,” said Jon Brancheau, vice president, Nissan Marketing, NNA. “Together we’ll create a vehicle that expands on the already outstanding performance and style of the Nissan 370Z with a balance of street and track ready modifications.”

The final result will be making its grand debut in a grand setting this May during ZDayZ – in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. If you can’t make it to that momentous day, not to worry – the Project 370Z will be making an appearance at other Nissan events, such as ZCON 2012 and SEMA.

Check out a short video about Project 370Z after the jump.

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The Nissan NV200 is a functional cargo van looking to steal some business away from the Ford Transit Connect here in North America, and was just unveiled at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

Over 40 countries worldwide are already supplied with the NV200; today is strictly the little van’s North American debut. The NV200 has done quite well for itself globally, winning the 2010 International Van of the Year award in Europe, the 2010 Commercial Delivery Van (CDV) of the Year in China and the 2011 Universal Design Award from Universal Design GMbH, which would suggest that the NV200 will do well for itself in North America.

The NV200 measures in at 186.2 inches in overall length riding on a 115.2-inch wheelbase that offers 123 cubic feet of storage space. That length is 7.9 inches longer in North America than the rest of the global market. Nissan also estimates the van is capable of carrying 1,500 lbs of payload. The NV200 is can also fit a standard 40×48-inch pallet in its cargo area. To bolster the idea of the NV200 being a utility vehicle, six floor-mounted cargo hooks are available for the rear of the van as well as standard mounting points in the walls where shelves and racks can be installed.

The interior of the NV200 tries to emulate a mobile office with a laptop storage spot, a place to hang files, a pen tray and of course cupholders all embedded in the center console. The passenger seat is fully foldable to further aid the driver’s office experience by functioning as a desk or by offering more storage space for particularly long items.

Driving the NV200 is a 2.0-liter 16-valve DOHC 4-cylinder engine mated to Nissan’s Xtronic CVT transmission. While it may not be a power house, the NV200 should get reasonable fuel economy, an important factor for buyers interested in the van for working vehicle fleets.

GALLERY: 2013 Nissan NV200

Nissan has released information about its new Pathfinder Concept today, as well as the new technology thats going to help make it a more comfortable SUV for the whole family.

While the Pathfinder also features a new exterior, which works with a new CVT to provide better fuel economy, Nissan also shows us a few new features designed to upgrade the cars comfort. Drivers will certainly enjoy the heated and cooled front seats, as well as the heated steering wheel. Passengers should appreciate features like the heated second row seating, and the tri-zone climate control. Its also worth mentioning the advanced Bose speaker system that has 13 speakers.

The Pathfinder concept features a large multifunction display which provides the driver with real-time traffic and weather information. Also making an appearance is Nissan’s Around View Monitor, which gives the driver a full 360-degree image of the area around the car.

One last innovative feature is the second row’s “child-seat mode” which allows the row to move forward while a child seat stays in place, so a passenger can get into the third row.

GALLERY: Nissan Pathfinder Concept

Nissan unveiled the refreshed 2013 370Z today at the Chicago Auto Show, though little is different over the 2012 model year.

The same 3.7L DOHC V6 making 337 hp sits under the hood, or 350 hp out of the NISMO tuned version. A new euro-tuned suspension is the only performance-minded change to the updated Z car — the rest is cosmetic. The company actually revealed it yesterday, but this is the first time we’ve had a chance to get up close and personal.

Brand enthusiasts will appreciate the LED accents on the car’s lights and the brake calipers which match the paint job. The car also gets new 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels on the Sport package models and 18-inch alloy wheels for the coupe. Those thinking of buying the car when it becomes available can look forward to two new exterior colors as well: magma red and midnight blue.

GALLERY: 2013 Nissan 370z

See video of the updated 370Z below:

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The Nissan 370Z will officially debut tomorrow at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, but the details for this update were released today by the Japanese automaker.

The updates for the 370Z will be almost strictly paint and plastic, with new Euro-tuned shock absorbers being the only new feature that will add to the performance of the car. For looks, the car will sport a refreshed front fascia, 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels on the Sport package models and 18-inch alloy wheels for the coupe, brake calipers finished in red paint and two new exterior colors, magma red and midnight blue.

On the inside, the 370Z will get a new dark finish fuel gauge trim, and if you opt for the NISMO tuned 370Z, you will get a Bose sound system complete with sub-woofer and two additional speakers.

The engines offered in the 370Z are unchanged from 2012. For the 370Z coupe and coupe touring you have a 3.7L DOHC V6 capable of making 337 hp and for the NISMO 370Z you get the same 3.7L DOHC V6 paired with an H-configured exhaust system design and an optimized Engine Computer Module which as a package puts out 350 hp.

The 2012 model of the 370Z started at $32,690, but prices for the 2013 will not be announced until closer to the June release date.

Check out the video after the jump to see exactly how the 370Z will look inside and out.

GALLERY: 2013 Nissan 370Z

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Today Nissan announced its list of concepts that will bow at the Geneva Auto Show next month. There are two world premiers in the group, the Invitation and one other that the company is keeping closely guarded.

The Invitation, which from what we can tell is a lot like a cooler version of the Versa, will feature Nissan’s Around View Monitor (AVM) which gives a bird’s eye view of the car for easy parking.

“The future product vision promised by these four concept vehicles – when added to the strength and depth of our full range – shows the confidence coursing through every aspect of Nissan today. We are on target to become the top Asian brand right across Europe by 2016,” said Paul Wilcox, the senior vice president of sales and marketing in Europe.

Aside from the Invitation and the secret concept which has us wondering, the company will also display the Juke NISMO concept that will wear speedy-looking trim on the dressed-up Juke, but little in actual performance improvements.

The e-NV200 is Nissan’s next foray into the EV market and will first gain entry to the U.S. market as a fleet of New York City taxi cabs. The e-NV200 will be the fourth and final concept unveiled by Nissan at the Geneva show.

Nissan announced today that it will be revealing a new B-segment concept car called the Invitation at next month’s Geneva Auto Show.

The little car that slips between Nissan’s Micra and Juke vehicles in the European market is aimed to attain the company’s Pure Drive badge for efficiency with 100g/km CO2 emission. What isn’t clear is if we’re looking at a replacement to the brand’s current B-segment car, the Versa.

Few actual specifications are available now, but François Bancon, deputy division general manager of product strategy and product planning division, said “the name we have given to this concept is self-explanatory. It is designed to be inviting thanks to its sensuous exterior design and generous and comfortable interior space, cleverly packaged within compact overall dimensions.”

The interior has a futuristic feel that Nissan said will have “impressive levels of quality and purposeful technology features.”

We do know that the Invitation will feature Nissan’s Around View Monitor (AVM) safety technology, though looking at the pictures reveals an array of colorful buttons that we’re curious to jump in and press, making the Invitation seem surprisingly cordial.

GALLERY: Nissan Invitation Concept

There’s no denying just how excellent a platform the Nissan GT-R is. It appears that the head of advanced planning at Infiniti, Francois Bancon, shares the same sentiments about the GT-R. “It’s too good a platform to use only on one model,” he told CAR magazine.

Infiniti is definitely planning a supercar, according to Bancon, with three or four proposals being considered, one of which is based on the 542-hp GT-R platform. But using the GT-R isn’t so cut and dry for a luxury brand like Infiniti. Even if it does wish to achieve supercar status, the brand still has a reputation of luxurious comfort to live up to.

“Our Infiniti model would have to be softer than the GT-R and that’s extremely difficult to do. You can’t easily tweak the GT-R to deliver the sophisticated, more refined performance we would need on an Infiniti. We have three or four proposals we are looking at right now. Once we have launched the new smaller Infiniti (coming in 2015), the time would be right to have a flagship,” Bancon said in the interview.

This report comes at a rather interesting time, since Infiniti recently announced its Emerg-E plug-in hybrid which will sport a mid-engine powertrain configuration (throwing out the possible use of the GT-R’s platform) and is supposed to be their new flagship performance vehicle. We suppose that the GT-R-based supercar could just be way down the road on Infiniti’s roadmap, but either way… we hope more exciting things are on the horizon from the Japanese automaker.

GALLERY: Infiniti Essence Concept

[Source: CAR]

About two months ago we reported a collection of luxurious and exotic machines that were involved in a bizarre accident in Japan that claimed at least eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benzes, a Lamborghini, a Nissan Skyline and a Toyota Prius.

The exotic car crash occurred on the Chugoku Expressway out in the Yamaguchi Prefecture and fortunately only ten people were hospitalized with just minor injuries.

Now a video of the aftermath from that accident has surfaced and it appears that Japan is now home to at least two parking lots full of fine machines just sitting and rotting. This accident is now being dubbed “the world’s most expensive car pileup” with an estimated combined cost of $4-million in damage.

Take a closer look at the Italian carnage after the break.

[Source: Carscoop]

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