TWENTY years after the original ‘Godzilla’ driven by Jim Richards and Mark Skaife won its second Bathurst 1000, the fourth-generation GT-R arrives in Australia even more accomplished than ever.

The Japanese car-maker was determined to continually improve its all-wheel-drive supercar each year, like a racer rather than a road car, so its model year upgrades are generally quite significant.

For 2012, the GT-R benefits from a noticeable increase in performance – thanks to numerous refinements to the twin-turbo V6 – and a world-first asymmetrical suspension set-up for Australia (and other RHD markets) that counters the imbalance of having the driver on the same side of the car as the heavy propeller shaft that sends power from the rear-mounted gearbox to the front wheels.