Photo: Nissan
Nissan’s new GT-R chief engineer, Kinishi Tanuma, who replaced recently-retired boss Kazutoshi Mizuno, wants the Japanese supercar to became more of a volume car.
Speaking to Automotive News, Tanuma said the company is looking to increase GT-R production, even though a boost is hard to achieve due to the vehicle’s hand-built engine and limited number of engineers that are qualified to produce the powerplants.
“This is my task. But I can't talk about our planning at this time. We use hand-built engines in a method called takumi. Takumi are master craftsmen. That's part of our value. It's very important for our DNA. To be a takumi master requires a class-by-class training. Only his fingers understand the quality. And if you don't reach the right skill level, you cannot be a takumi. Today we only have four of them. We are training another guy,” said Tanuma.
Nissan sold 1,188 GT-Rs in the United States last year and 952 in 2013. The current GT-R delivers 545 HP and cost more than $100,000. A Nismo-prepped version is scheduled to be launched in 2014, while the next-generation car is expected to arrive in 2016.
Story via AutoNews
“This is my task. But I can't talk about our planning at this time. We use hand-built engines in a method called takumi. Takumi are master craftsmen. That's part of our value. It's very important for our DNA. To be a takumi master requires a class-by-class training. Only his fingers understand the quality. And if you don't reach the right skill level, you cannot be a takumi. Today we only have four of them. We are training another guy,” said Tanuma.
Nissan sold 1,188 GT-Rs in the United States last year and 952 in 2013. The current GT-R delivers 545 HP and cost more than $100,000. A Nismo-prepped version is scheduled to be launched in 2014, while the next-generation car is expected to arrive in 2016.
Story via AutoNews
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