Frankly, I’m shocked to discover that no one has yet added any coverage to CarArticles regarding this new Japanese beast, so I couldn’t take it any more. I just have to say something about this incredible, 473bhp, four-seat 3.8 litre V6 monster. Granted, I haven’t driven one yet (there are only about 3 in the country to my knowledge, and it isn’t coming to the UK officially until 2009. However, I have driven a Nissan Skyline and this is the successor.
All they way back in 2001, Nissan released a concept of what their new supercar would look like. For those of you who don’t know, Nissan has a strong racing heritage and this would be something that they could use to fly the flag with. Anyone familiar with Gran Turismo will be able to tell you all about the Nissan Skyline GT-R with all of its’ onboard computers to keep traction and stop the car flinging off the track. This promised to be faster and meaner.
At the Tokyo Motor Show 2005, a car was revealed that is pretty much exactly the production variant that will be available in various territories from June 2008. This big coupe contains four seats and enough gadgetry to power most things in your house, along with a whole host of technical trickery that I’ll come to in just a moment. First though, the car itself.
The car is big – all round. This includes the power department, what with that shouty deep V6. It has twin-turbochargers to give you oomph all the way through the rev range, with no lag to speak of. The dual-shift auto gearbox will give you three modes, scary, very scary and insane. Well, surely you agree with those when you’re sitting in a large two-door motor capable of going from 0-60 in 3.6 seconds? To put that in perspective, that’s quicker than an Audi R8 or Porsche 911 Turbo.
So what is the exterior like? Well you can see from the picture. It looks incredibly hard, aggressive and distinctive. A Nissan Micra it ain’t. Those 20-inch wheels are particularly impressive. The paint is also promising to be particularly special, what with an ‘ultimate silver’ colouring (which looks liquid) being available for free from the factory. Aeroblade front wings and diffuser round off the car – making it look like one of the best road eaters out there.
The interior doesn’t have the wow factor of say an Audi – but then you’re not buying this car to be swathed in faux aluminium. You’re buying it in order to be sitting in a vehicle that is as close to mechanical perfection as possible – a car that is all about function, and this function is to provide the ultimate drive. As such, the interior follows form, with hugging seats, multi-CD changer, HDD storage system and LCD touch screen.
Of particular interest in the GT-R is the Multi-function display in the car console. This can be set up (along with the driver lap time system accessible from the steering wheel) to monitor your every driving input, from steering to G’s to breaking. You can then save this information and bore all of your mates with it. Or impress them if you’re a pro racing driver.
What about performance though? Well, everyone on TV who has driven it has seemed to be left a little bit breathless. I wonder why. Maybe it’s because when you’re driving a car that will do 0-100 in 8.3 seconds you’ll be left a little bit worried. And no doubt amazed. I’m satisfied that the ultra-trick diff and superbly set up suspension will make even the worst Sunday driver look like they are Lewis Hamilton.
For all around ability, I’m not surprised that the Nissan GT-R is proving to be a highlight of the week (if not month or possibly even year) for anyone who has been blessed enough to be in one. The sheer fact of the matter is that with all that know-how at Nissan, they have created something unique – a supercar for the Playstation generation that could swallow most everything on the road or indeed the track.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Nissan is the cost. Granted, whilst an estimated price tag of £55,000 is never cheap, compared to its most obvious rival the Porsche, it is quite reasonable. You see, for a brand new 911 Turbo you’ll be getting billed for almost double that. Now if that isn’t reason enough to buy one if you are looking for a vehicle like this, I don’t know what is. Granted, there might be some badge snobs out there, but if you can pull away from the lights that fast, who cares?
As a last note on the Nissan GT-R, the purchase price in Japan will be far lower than in the UK. A steal in fact, at only about £30,000. Of course there are some problems, like the fact that Nissan GB is refusing to service a Jap spec model or honour the warranty. On the other hand, there will be specialist dealers to do that, and I’ve no doubt that a huge fanbase will build up prior to the UK launch. However, the Japanese models will depreciate more than the UK counterparts. At the end of the day, you pays your money, you takes your choice…
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