If you were planning on picking up a brand-new R35 GT-R but were simply waiting for the requisite amount of pennies and farthings to accumulate in your wallet, you’d better get prepared to wait just a little bit longer.

That’s right, citing "increased raw materials costs," Nissan has decided to raise the GT-R’s MSRP by just under seven thousand Yankee dollars - $6,990 USD, to be exact. That brings prices to $76,840 for the base model, and 79,090 for the Premium. Granted, its still nowhere near as expensive as its arch-nemesis, the Porsche 911 Turbo, but then again any price increase is a bad one, right?

While it’s an unfortunate bit of news for prospective GT-R owners, the price hike probably won’t make a lick of a difference to Nissan USA - around 70 per cent of the USA’s allocation of R35’s is already spoken for and the rest are bound to be snapped up by well-heeled enthusiasts intent on getting their mitts on the first ever officially imported GT-R.

Press Release - Nissan today announced an interim price adjustment on the 2009 Nissan GT-R due to increased raw materials costs. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices (MSRP)* of $76,840 for the GT-R and $79,090 for the GT-R Premium model are effective immediately. Destination & Handling (D&H) is $1,000. The adjusted prices do not apply to customer orders already in dealer hands prior to September 5. The initial GT-R pricing was established nearly a year ago.

To date, approximately 70 percent of the first year allocation of GT-Rs for the United States market have been sold as part of a pre-sale program that has been underway since February 2008. The first customer deliveries of the limited production Nissan GT-R supercar began on July 7, 2008. The GT-R is available only through officially certified Nissan dealers that have met a number of strict sales, service and facilities commitments, including dedicating a master technician to GT-R service. A searchable listing of the 663 GT-R Certified Nissan dealers is available to consumers on nissanusa.com.

All 2009 Nissan GT-Rs are equipped with a standard 3.8-liter twin turbo V6 producing 480 horsepower and 434 lb-ft of torque, backed by an all-new, paddle-shifted, dual clutch rear transmission and a world’s first independent rear transaxle ATTESA E-TS all-wheel drive system.

[Source: Nissan USA]
[Image: Nissan]