Nissan GT-R 45th Anniversary Edition

The current iteration of the Nissan GT-R has been melting our hearts since 2007, but the GT-R's story doesn't just begin with the version that we get here in the States. Over in Japan, the GT-R's got an even longer history that dates back to 1969, the year when the GT-R first entered the market, eventually becoming the forefather of the Skyline range. Forty-five years later, as of 2014, the GT-R has taken different forms, including the current iteration. As such, Nissan is celebrating this milestone by unveiling the GT-R 45th Anniversary Edition in Japan.

The GT-R 45th Anniversary Edition is based on the 2015 Nissan GT-R and will only be available in the model's Premium trim. The upgrades on the model are pretty limited, too. That's a little disappointing considering what Nissan could have added to the car if it really wanted to go overboard to celebrate its 45th anniversary.

Maybe it's waiting for the 50th anniversary model to unleash all of its goodies? That's an issue for another time, but the bottom line remains the same. Lack of changes notwithstanding, the GT-R 45th Anniversary Edition is still the same fire-breathing Godzilla we've all come to love. As sports cars go, it's still one of the best in the world.

Sadly, the special-edition model is exclusive to its home market. Unless you live in Japan, you get no dibs on the 45 units Nissan plans to build to celebrate the GT-R's 45th anniversary.

Updated 03/16/2015: Nissan announced that a total of 30 GT-R 45th Anniversary Edition units will make it to the U.S. market. It will be priced at $102,770 and, just like in Japan, will be offered with a special "Silica Brass" paint, plus a special gold-tone VIN plate located inside the engine compartment and a special commemorative plaque on the interior center console.

Click past the jump to read more about the 2016 Nissan GT-R 45th Anniversary Edition.

Nissan GT-R 45th Anniversary Edition originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 16 March 2015 16:20 EST.

read more

---

Mercedes GLK 350 4MATIC Schwarz Edition

Posted on 08.5.2013 18:00 by Simona

The Japanese market has received lots of special attention from tuners in the past few months. After BMW launched a bunch of special-edition models, like the BMW M5 Nighthawk Edition, Mercedes decided it was its turn to develop some special models for Japan.

The first model it released was a rather boring B180 Northern Lights Black Special Edition, but now the maker wanted to make up for this lackluster model and came up with something pretty cool: this GLK 350 4MATIC Schwarz Edition.

The special model got its name from the German word for black, so it is pretty easy to imagine what the the dominant color is. The Schwarz Edition is painted in Obsidian Black, and features stainless-steel running boards and 20-inch wheels. AMG also tossed in a pretty cool styling package a new new sports suspension.

For the interior, the new GLK 350 4MATIC Schwarz Edition adds seats wrapped in a combination of Artico and Dinamica leather, a sport steering wheel, black ash wood trim and alloy pedals.

The new Mercedes GLK 350 4MATIC Schwarz Edition is limited to only 100 units and is priced at 6,840,000 or a little under $70k.

Click past the jump to read more about the standard Mercedes GLK 350.

Mercedes GLK 350 4MATIC Schwarz Edition originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 5 August 2013 18:00 EST.

read more

---

Toyota GT 86 14R60

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of the Toyota GT 86. I used to be, but my joy soured over time due to what I felt was a lack of initiative from Toyota's to make the GT 86 a more performance-oriented sports car. The closest Toyota came was with the TRD-enhanced GT 86 Griffon Concept that was unveiled at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon. Well, it may have taken some time, but finally - oh, finally! - Toyota now has a production GT 86 that can live up to its sports car name.

The model is called the GT 86 14R60 and it's everything the GT 86 was supposed to be - and then some. It still doesn't have any performance upgrades, but I've all but given up hope on seeing anything on that front. Instead, Toyota decided to build around the limitations of the GT 86's 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine and build a car that was light enough to the point that its performance capabilities wouldn't be defined by its 200 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque output.

Toyota injected plenty of lightweight materials into the car to not only cut down it weight, but also improve its aerodynamic performance. There are, after all, more than a handful of ways to make a car faster without any performance mods on the engine.

That's the good news. The bad news is that the car will only be available in Japan at a price of 6.3 million yen, which is close to $60,000 based on current exchange rates. That's more than double the price of a standard GT 86. Ouch.

Click past the jump to read more about the 2014 Toyota 86 14R60.

Toyota GT 86 14R60 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 10 October 2014 08:00 EST.

read more

---