Nissan GT-R news - GT-Revised - 2008

Kaizen isn't a word we’re familiar with here on Top Gear, but according to the guys at Nissan – whose Japanese is probably a touch sharper than ours – it means ‘continuous improvement’.

And it’s kaizen that Nissan has applied to the GT-R, which is set to launch in Europe next year with a whole bunch of small-but-important changes.

Changes to the power, for a start, which is up by 5bhp to a very sufficient 478bhp, thanks to some fine tuning of the electronics. Torque remains the same, but there are new tyres – Nurburgring-spec Dunlop Sports, if you’re into your rubber – and slightly revised suspension.

Perhaps more significant is this number: £1300. That’s the price hike of the GT-R, which is up to £58,095 – still a pretty reasonable amount of cash for something with 911 Turbo-defeating performance.

In fact, the only down-side is Nissan’s admission that anyone ordering a GT-R now will have to wait until mid-2010 to get their car. Who knows where kaizen will have landed the GT-R by then?