YOKOHAMA, JAPAN — When it first came on the scene, the Nissan GT-R was quickly nicknamed “Godzilla” by the motoring press in light of its power and speed and the fact that it offered supercar performance for a relatively affordable price. The new GT-R and the GT-R Nismo, revealed at Nissan’s global headquarters prior to the Tokyo Motor Show, feature a series of upgrades in power and aerodynamics as well as chassis-tuning improvements derived from the GT-R Nismo GT3 racecar that competed in the 2012 Nurburgring 24 hour race.

How fast is it? Nissan is quite proud of the fact that the new GT-R Nismo, equipped with the track pack option, meaning that it is 143 pounds lighter and features Öhlins shock absorbers as well as some chassis tuning modifications, has lapped the Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 8.69 seconds, an astonishing performance for a series production car that is expected to cost less than $200,000 US. To put it in perspective, Porsche’s new 918 Spyder supercar lapped the Nurburgring in 6 minutes 57 seconds and it is on offer for a cool $845,000 US.

What does 7:08.69 around the Nurburgring look like? Ride along Marco Krumm in the Nissan GT-R Nismo to find out!

What’s new on the new car? Power is up from 545 to 595 horsepower at 6,800 rpm with torque now rated at 480 pound-feet thanks to high-flow larger diameter turbochargers, developed for the GT3 racing car, and to improved engine breathing as well as optimized individual ignition tuning control for each cylinder. The bodyshell uses adhesive bonding as well as spot welding for increased rigidity, the Bilstein-supplied springs and shock absorbers have been tweaked to optimize handling and a 17.3-millimetre hollow rear anti-roll bar is fitted to raise roll stiffness when cornering.

The GT-R Nismo features a new trunk-mounted carbon rear spoiler as well as a front carbon bumper and engine undercover strake to increase downforce by an additional 100 kilograms at 300 kilometres per hour with the drag coefficient reduced to 0.27. The GT-R Nismo is equipped with black six-spoke wheels and will be available with a Dark Matte Grey colour created specifically for this car. The racecar theme continues inside with carbon-fibre backed Recaro seats, which will only be available in Japan and Europe, as well as a three-spoke Alcantara steering wheel with red stitching and centre mark. An in-board telemetry system allows for the download of digital data allowing for the assessment and review of the driver’s performance.

The Nissan GT-R Nismo will be available in Japan, Europe and North America in 2014 where it will carry a 2015 model year designation. The GT-R Nismo will arrive shortly after the GT-R and will be a 2016 model year car in Canada.