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Kinishi Tanuma took over as chief engineer of Nissan's GT-R sports car this year, replacing the man known as the "Father of the GT-R," Kazutoshi Mizuno, who retired.
Rumors circulated that Mizuno's departure meant the end of the low-volume Ferrari-fighter, which is powered by a handmade 545-hp turbocharged V-8 engine and retails for more than $100,000.
Not so, says Tanuma, who says he is working on a new mission for the GT-R, and looking for a way to build more. Nissan sold 1,188 GT-Rs in the United States last year and 952 through September.
Tanuma, 51, has been involved with the GT-R before. He developed a 2001 concept GT-R that featured left-hand steering -- a sign that Godzilla, as the car is called in Japan, would be exported.
He got the bug for powerful cars as a...