America, this is your Nissan GT-R Track Edition

At last year’s New York Auto Show, Nissan unveiled the most significant facelift of the R35 to date. With more power, new looks and a different interior, 2017’s Godzilla had a little more life injected into it thanks to a softer, more premium outlook. For this year’s New York Auto Show, Nissan has put the harshness back in, keeping the R35 alive even longer. Until an entirely new generation GT-R arrives… at some point in the future.

Anyway, this one’s called the Track Edition, and is a tough game of spot-the-difference for Skyline enthusiasts. Yes, it still delivers 562bhp at 6,800 rpm, and 469lb ft of torque, so there’s no change to the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 attached to that brutally effective four-wheel-drive system and dual-clutch gearbox. A shame when there’s the 600bhp Nismo to pinch parts from. But there have been a few Nismo hand-me-downs.

First off, the titanium quad exhaust system from has found its way underneath the car, so you’ll hear the guttural mechanical mayhem in all its glory. The independent suspension has also been tweaked by Nismo, including weight saving (the Track Edition is 1.8kg heavier than the Nismo but 8.1kg lighter than the standard car) and more roll stiffness. You’ll spot the Nismo’s 20-inch forged aluminum-alloy wheels, track-honed tyres, front arches and carbon spoiler too. Inside, the Track Edition gets a flashy red and black colour two-tone interior with Recaro seats.

We’re told this GT-R has been glued together a bit better too, via additional adhesive bonding (glueing) in addition to the standard spot welding. This, says Nissan, helps increase body shell rigidity and stiffness while driving very fast. Something that’s not very hard to do in a GT-R.

Unfortunately, it’s for the American market only. And priced at $129,585 – smack bang in between the standard ‘Premium’ car at $111,685, and the $176,685 Nismo – it’s certainly worth thinking about. Especially if you think the current GT-R has gone a bit soft.