Extra.(Briefs)

Americanized GT-R

When the Nissan GT-R goes on sale next month in the United States, it will have stiffer mounts for the engine and the transaxle, as well as stiffer spring rates and softer shocks, chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno said at a recent GT-R drive event at the Estoril Grand Prix circuit in Spain.

Further changes, as yet unspecified, will take place before the European launch. Mizuno said development on the car will be done "continuously'' throughout the GT-R's life span.

AC Off Again

AC Cars has hit trouble again and ceased production of Cobra replicas at its factory in Malta after making only a handful of cars during the past few years. According to reports in the Maltese press, AC has failed to pay back a $900,000 loan from the Maltese government, despite court actions to force repayment.

AC and its South African owner, Al Lubinsky, also have been linked to two other ventures that appear stalled. In the first, AC had planned to open a production plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to make a new range of V8-powered roadsters and coupes.

The second venture was to restart production of the Smart roadster in Britain. Lubinsky had agreed to license the AC Ace name to the car's maker.