| Show Preview | 2008 Geneva Motor Show | Nissan at the Show |
The more polite visitors to the
Geneva motor show will be saying 'Gee...' when they come to the Nissan stand, as the Japanese firm will be showing off its new GT-R supercar for the first time in Europe. Alongside the GT-R will be the all-new Murano, as well as the Pivo 2 concept car.
We'll have to wait till March 2009 for the GT-R to go on sale in the UK, but Nissan has promised to announce pricing at the show. Geneva show-goers will be wowed by the 3.8-litre V6-powered 472bhp supercar, which comes with a paddle-shift dual clutch sequential gearbox and full-time four-wheel drive.
Nissan has developed the GT-R on Germany's Nurburgring and the car has a number of settings that allows the driver to tune it to suit different conditions. The gearbox, suspension and traction control can all be varied on the car to the driver's preferences.
The all-new Murano retains the style of the original model, but Nissan says every panel is different. The front end is the most obvious change with the new car thanks to a bolder grille and headlights that sweep further into the centre of the bumper.
Other changes for the Murano are more interior space and a revised CVT (continuously variable transmission) that reduces friction to increase economy and lower carbon dioxide emissions. Nissan also states the new gearbox has quicker responses.
The Murano will also be the first car in Nissan's range to come with 'Scratch Shield Paint', which is more resistant to minor scuffs and can even 'heal' over scratches thanks to an elastic resin in the paint that lets its stretch. After the Murano goes on sale in October this year, the Scratch Shield Paint will be offered on all of Nissan's new models.
One Nissan we won't see on the road but we will see at Geneva is the Pivo 2 concept car. It's a zero emissions concept that uses electric motors mounted in each wheel, which allows the Pivo 2 to easily change its direction of travel. To help with this, the entire cabin swivels through 360-degrees.
Alisdair Suttie - 8 Feb 2008