Remember when the GT-R was a bargain, offering supercar performance with a price tag in the five digits?

Well it still offers supercar performance, but now these days it comes with a supercar price tag as well – or at least much closer to exotic territory.

The Japanese automaker has announced pricing for the updated 2017 Nissan GT-R Nismo, which comes in at a whopping $174,990, in addition to the $1,595 destination charge that puts the as-delivered price at $176,585. That’s a substantial premium over the “standard” GT-R, which for 2017 carries a sticker price of $109,990 (or $111,585 delivered) – or about $25,000 more than what Nissan charged for the GT-R Nismo just last year.

That price difference alone could put a couple of Versas in your driveway, or cover most of the base price of 370Z. It also closely matches the sticker on Porche’s 911 GT3 RS ($175,900 pre-delivery), and fairly evenly splits the difference between the 911 Turbo ($159,200) and Turbo S ($188,100).

For all that scratch, the 2017 Nismo GT-R still packs the same 600-horsepower 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 as last year, but benefits from a stiffer chassis, retuned suspension, and the revised styling applied across the GT-R range.

The pricing was announced upon the GT-R Nismo’s US debut this weekend at the Japanese Classic Car Show, held in the shadow of the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.

Photo Gallery