Nissan GT-R Litchfield Track Edition | First look
Litchfield Motors has introduced its own take on the GT-R Track Edition. We dive under the covers...
Few people outside Nissan know more about the GT-R than Litchfield Motors, from near Tewkesbury. Originally an importer of grey Japanese goodness, Iain Litchfield's business has evolved into being one of the most respected tuners of R35 GT-Rs in the business. It has sold more than 500 of its handling kits for the R35 GT-R, and reckons - as PH does, incidentally - that the Track Edition might just be the sweet spot in the current GT-R range.
At £94,995, the Track Edition sits between the £81,995 regular GT-R and the full-on £151,995 Nismo edition. The Track Edition gets the fully seam welded shell of the Nismo, which necessitates it being taken off the line and to a different facility for prep, as well as a wider front track and wings, larger hubs, different front suspension arms, hollow anti-roll bars, different wheels/tyres and a carbon fibre rear spoiler.
UK buyers don't necessarily always agree. Nissan only sold four Track Editions last year. Which is a shame: the success of the Track Edition helps justify the existence Nismo, or vice versa, because of the additional shell work that happens to both. Anyway it's why Litchfield has launched a new variant - the Litchfield Track Edition - based on it.
At £98,895 on the road, the Litchfield variant takes the regular Track Edition and adds larger air intakes, larger injectors, a fuel pressure sensor, an intake manifold air temperature sensor, a new exhaust Y-section and recalibration of the ECUs for both engine and gearbox. Thus reworked, the Litchfield car makes 640hp, up from 570hp (the Nismo is only 600hp), and 600lb ft.
Litchfield fits its suspension kit, too, which it developed for the limited edition LM20 it launched last year. There are Bilstein dampers, and Eibach springs which are 44% stiffer at the front and 13% stiffer at the rear. The roll bars are stiffer, and changes to the front suspension slightly change the wheelbase and caster angle, aimed at giving more front end grip and steering feel. To match the drivetrain and suspension changes, Litchfield calibrates its own stability control. Then there's a new front splitter and rear lip spoiler.
And it all gets a three-year warranty. Which is quite a lot of work for a mere four grand premium, no? I think there are a few reasons for that. A sub-£100k price tag is attractive, I suspect a few buyers will still ask Litchfield to do a little extra work again - turning the power up to the high sevens is pretty popular, I believe - and then there's the fact that Litchfield has a much better relationship with Nissan than it once did, so I suspect gets quite a good deal on the car. A bit like Japanese manufacturers used to frown on grey imports, before coming around to the idea, I think Nissan has realised that Litchfield is good, rather than bad, for GT-R business.
We managed to have a quick go, while on an airfield for some videos we're preparing. Not on the road and not in close proximity to a regular Track Edition GT-R, so we'll report back another time with a proper drive. But it's good: loads of power, evenly delivered, with surefooted handling, and, yeah, more steering feel than I remember - although it has been a while.
More details, then, when we pop back over to Gloucestershire for a proper drive. Alternatively, if you just can't wait, there's plenty of Litchfield's handiwork to be found in the classifieds, including everything from a Stage 1 to Stage 5 upgrade, and even a breathed-on Prestige model from horse's mouth. Alternatively, there's an unregistered 2018 Nismo waiting for a home, too. Choices, choices.
I do find myself wondering what the point is to the GT-R tho (other than raw number/feature bragging rights)??
I like how it looks - until I see one in reality when it's FAR too big - it's a 2+2 coupe the size of an E Class!!
It's clearly too big/heavy to be a "track car" and most will, at best, do a couple of runway/track days so the owner can try out the numbers.
"Fully Seam-Welded" - isn't really needed for that ;0
That they sold few 'track editions' says much - that they sell any of these at-all is testament to the fact some people just like some things (and that's fine of course)
It is one of those cars which is hard to explain tho - it makes little sense and maybe that's it's appeal - and £100K certainly reinforces that aspect ;0
I'm not a small feller and couldn't fit into a track car without looking quite out of place.
I don't get why track cars HAVE to be stripped out super lightweight cars. As long as you're having fun, it shouldn't matter what anyone else drives
I do find myself wondering what the point is to the GT-R tho (other than raw number/feature bragging rights)??
I like how it looks - until I see one in reality when it's FAR too big - it's a 2+2 coupe the size of an E Class!!
It's clearly too big/heavy to be a "track car" and most will, at best, do a couple of runway/track days so the owner can try out the numbers.
"Fully Seam-Welded" - isn't really needed for that ;0
That they sold few 'track editions' says much - that they sell any of these at-all is testament to the fact some people just like some things (and that's fine of course)
It is one of those cars which is hard to explain tho - it makes little sense and maybe that's it's appeal - and £100K certainly reinforces that aspect ;0
The way the LM20 drove was better than standard the differences could be felt in normal driving conditions & for the money I think it's a bit of a bargain when compared to 2 door performance coupes.
I previously owned a standard car (64 plate), but the new Track Edition driving dynamics are that little bit better in every way.
One of the automotive world's best kept secrets IMO.
And that’s before Litchfield work their magic on it....
N.
Speaking personally, the GTR is too capable to be enjoyable as a road car, it’s overall performance envelop (as opposed to just acceleration) is would just be frustratingly huge.
Speaking personally, the GTR is too capable to be enjoyable as a road car, it’s overall performance envelop (as opposed to just acceleration) is would just be frustratingly huge.
I previously owned a standard car (64 plate), but the new Track Edition driving dynamics are that little bit better in every way.
One of the automotive world's best kept secrets IMO.
And that’s before Litchfield work their magic on it....
N.
What, honestly, is the difference between a 2008MY one (let's say £40k), that you would modify to get better intercoolers, suspension, brakes and tyres along with new sportier ECU tune (let's be generous and say £20k) and one of these that costs £95k...aside from warranty :-)
Speaking personally, the GTR is too capable to be enjoyable as a road car, it’s overall performance envelop (as opposed to just acceleration) is would just be frustratingly huge.
Have an E85 Z4 2.5i, seems about right. Enough oomph to push 225 rear tires, not so much that top end of third gear is banning country, and sounds nice on the way there
I previously owned a standard car (64 plate), but the new Track Edition driving dynamics are that little bit better in every way.
One of the automotive world's best kept secrets IMO.
And that’s before Litchfield work their magic on it....
N.
What, honestly, is the difference between a 2008MY one (let's say £40k), that you would modify to get better intercoolers, suspension, brakes and tyres along with new sportier ECU tune (let's be generous and say £20k) and one of these that costs £95k...aside from warranty :-)
There’s your answer. Spending 60k on a 10 year old one would be more madness than buying this.
Speaking personally, the GTR is too capable to be enjoyable as a road car, it’s overall performance envelop (as opposed to just acceleration) is would just be frustratingly huge.
Have an E85 Z4 2.5i, seems about right. Enough oomph to push 225 rear tires, not so much that top end of third gear is banning country, and sounds nice on the way there
Also own a 1999 impreza Sti, much more enjoyable on the road because it’s not as quick in a straight line and can’t corner as well which makes it more of challenge without needing to do 100+mph to push the limits.
It's not just 'prestige image' or 'racing history' - every car has some sort of image (even if it's that it's not got a high-profile image!!)
No-one buys a GT-R because they wandered into a Nissan dealer and it seemed nice - the GT-R sells to people who love GT-Rs, the Gran Turismo generation - it's image is why Nissan can sell it for that price when most of their cars are 1/4-or-less that sort of cash (and almost none would appeal to someone looking for a GT-R)
As for "expensive" and "slower" - those things are contextual and relative - there's always something cheaper/more expensive/faster/slower than your car - people make choices (which, as I said earlier, is fine) but some cars are just a bit 'out there' and the GT-R, to me, is one such car (I do wonder if Sony shouldn't get royalities on every one sold!
)What, honestly, is the difference between a 2008MY one (let's say £40k), that you would modify to get better intercoolers, suspension, brakes and tyres along with new sportier ECU tune (let's be generous and say £20k) and one of these that costs £95k...aside from warranty :-)
It's not just 'prestige image' or 'racing history' - every car has some sort of image (even if it's that it's not got a high-profile image!!)
No-one buys a GT-R because they wandered into a Nissan dealer and it seemed nice - the GT-R sells to people who love GT-Rs, the Gran Turismo generation - it's image is why Nissan can sell it for that price when most of their cars are 1/4-or-less that sort of cash (and almost none would appeal to someone looking for a GT-R)
As for "expensive" and "slower" - those things are contextual and relative - there's always something cheaper/more expensive/faster/slower than your car - people make choices (which, as I said earlier, is fine) but some cars are just a bit 'out there' and the GT-R, to me, is one such car (I do wonder if Sony shouldn't get royalities on every one sold!
)I suspect for a lot of people, the image means a lot.
Not sure this is a direction I'm personally interested though. I believe in the bang for buck, value for money proposition. A liter bike is £10k, quicker in a straight line, and arguably more fun. That leaves £90k to put a tin roof over my head for the DD. Possible?
I previously owned a standard car (64 plate), but the new Track Edition driving dynamics are that little bit better in every way.
One of the automotive world's best kept secrets IMO.
And that’s before Litchfield work their magic on it....
N.
I suspect very few TP and Nismo were sold in the second generation, because of the lack of investor interest in the first generation.
It's not just 'prestige image' or 'racing history' - every car has some sort of image (even if it's that it's not got a high-profile image!!)
No-one buys a GT-R because they wandered into a Nissan dealer and it seemed nice - the GT-R sells to people who love GT-Rs, the Gran Turismo generation - it's image is why Nissan can sell it for that price when most of their cars are 1/4-or-less that sort of cash (and almost none would appeal to someone looking for a GT-R)
As for "expensive" and "slower" - those things are contextual and relative - there's always something cheaper/more expensive/faster/slower than your car - people make choices (which, as I said earlier, is fine) but some cars are just a bit 'out there' and the GT-R, to me, is one such car (I do wonder if Sony shouldn't get royalities on every one sold!
)It’s not really got anything to do with a PlayStation, or the desire to either own a car with a certain image or avoid another image. It’s got to do with the fact it’s as quick as you can go for as little as you can spend on a new car.
Then add the ability to tune it to near 700bhp for about £5k and even today it stands on its own in performance per £.
I had a good look round a MY18 on Saturday and the exterior styling/details and interior finish are way ahead of the older models. Is it a £100k car. I'd say yes, absolutely. The track edition looks perfect to me, and the Litchfield version seems a relative bargain.
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