Max_ST-R

Not bad, but too boy racer for me, I think Nissan nailed it with the original design. As a matter of fact I hope they don't destroy it with any forthcoming face-lifts. The Japanese have a habit of this though. For example (and I know it's a totally different car) the Honda Accord Euro. The original was a beauty...a very clean design.....then came the facelift, with chintzy chromy front girlle , busy looking wheel design and funny squarish body kit- basically they 'riced' what was a perfectly classy car.

Hey I saw that very car today on Ferntree Gully road at about 10.30am!! To be honest, I rprefer the black shiny factory paint, but it certainly did look tough in the matt, maybe this particular car was a bit too grey, if it had more black to it, like the photo LSX-438 had posted perhaps? BTW this is only the 3rd GT-R I have ever seen in the metal...and it has been said before, this car has REAL supercar presence on the road!

Hi all, FYI, the 2010MY GT-R for Australia has just been announced by Nissan. There is a $3,000 price increase however there are a few spec changes. Now you get Sat Nav, bluetooth connection, ipod/USb connection,data logger function, automatic headlights and speed sensing front wipers as standard. Price is now $158,800 for the 'base' model and $162,800 for the Premium. Metallic paint is now $1,495 (previously $1,750). So it seems they have added a reasonable bit of spec for a smallish price increase, what i don't know is whether this is just a local model change with some more spec or the next GLOBAL model year change or series update that will see mechanical refinements and upgrades.

Notwithstanding that I personally believe the link between man made carbon dioxide emissions and supposed man made global warming is a load of crap, the work performed on the Willall GT-R is as usual excellent, and with increased performance...who could argue otherwise!

...everyone knows a'friend' like that..and nearly 100% of the time these people are NO WHERE. I know I guy who has the 'the BEST XE fairmont' in Australia...and is looking to buy the 'Best VP Calais' in Australia and we should be in awe..... Then he tells us how often he drives one of his clients Ferrari Testarossa and except he REALLY knows how to drive it. ....actually a bit like that beardo violin playing loser on Kath 'n Kim who was briefly 'Sharron's' boyfriend.

I think you are being a bit cynical Kojotk, to be fair the R35 GT-R is so far removed from the current skyline/infiniti range that it well and truly deserves it's own model designation. Previous GT-R's WERE indeed Skylines and the GT-R was the top dog. ...and with all due respect to previous GT-R's, the R35 well and truly moves the game forward in terms of Stylng, fit, finish and interior presentation. The GT-R name is iconic and I don't see anything wrong with Nissan taking this and taking it to a new level. Pricing in Australia is a bit on the expensive side compared to overseas, but it's still a bargain and it's still a 911 Turbo competitor that's priced below a Cayman S. Supercar performance and engineering...for sports car money.....says it all really..

Do you reckon that is true? To some some extent you'd have to say yes....but I think the R35 is a lot more 'exotic' in appearance (more 2 door coupe than 2 door saloon) and much more upmarket inside than previous generations Globally I think the GT-R has found more than a few homes which includes or even REPLACED a Porsche. You certainly need Porsche money to buy one and I at least know of one customer in Oz who cancelled his 911 order to make way for the GT-R...

Just got my latest MOTOR magazine where they did a track test at Wakefield with various cars. The GT-R went up against the new 911 GT3. I thought this would be a walk in the park for the GT-R , yet the GT-R was comprehensively beaten by the GT3! Even in a straight line the GT-R was slower than the GT3! GT-R 0-100 km/h in 4.46 seconds! That's the slowest recorded time I have seen, the GT3 did 4.39 secs. then there was the lap time, 0.7 secs slower than the Gt3 and it was raining! (105.8 vs 105.1). They can't explain it, perhaps there was a block of wood under the accelerator of the GT-R? or a spark plug was unplugged? Why is the GT-R so consistatnly dominant in European/American/Japanese road/track tests, yet here results vary wildly? Motor also allude to the $120K price difference being swallowed up bythe GT-R's maintanance, is a GT-R so much more to maintain than a Porsche 911? esp a GT3?

NZM.031, by your own deifinition a Porsche 911 Turbo would not be a supercar either?. It too is quite practical, userfriendly, reliable, safe to drive, quiet, well built and incredibly fast. ..(.& I guess the reason that a GT-R is seen so much as a threat as it closely follows the Porsche formula) . As for the 911 Porsche, I think It looks fantastic, sure, but a 458 Italia or Gallardo is WAY wider, lower and more exotic by comparison. Personally I lump the GT-R as a supercar (along with the 911 Turbo & Corvette ZR-1). GT-R still looks very radical and most importantly is built and engineered like a proper supercar. I guess you could argue is whether it is a true exotic. A Pagani Zonda for example is way more exotic than a GT-R for sure and if that's your yardstick, the GT-R can't be considered exotic, but for me a GT-R is more 'exotic' than say any BMW or Mercedes (except SLS) or Porsche Boxster/Cayman and most cars available on the Australian new car market.

I bought the dark red one and my 2 year old boy lost it in 3.5 secs!! never seen again!

Easts, Officially, the current Australian domestic market GT-R is known as a 2009 model year. It is the 2nd series that had various electronic, transmission and suspension upgrades. The 1st Series are the vehicles being grey imported and are JDM. I guess if they were imported by Nissan Aus, they would have been known here as a 2008 model year. Forget US model year naming convention, the third series or update (probably a better word) will come to Australia as a 2010 model year..unless the vehicle doesn't arrive until much later on in the year then it may be known as a 2011 model year. Personally I would be waiting for that (unless I could get a REALLY good deal on the current 2009MY). It seems that with each model year/update there are useful improvements. From the 2008MY to 2009MY a video (posted on this site) showed an improvement of about 2 seconds on a timed lap (putdown to the improvements) From what I have read amongst the improvements for 2010 my (3rd update) will be suspension refinements, supposedly giving the GT-R a better ride.

I definately agree on that, the R35 seems to me more along the lines of a Porsche rather than a traditional Skyline GT-R (in terms of its execution). I have seen a few Youtube clips where owners have fitted aftermarket exhaust systems and the GT-R sounds quite remarkable, truly exotic. Perhaps this is the missing piece of the puzzle and gives the car the added character at more normal speeds?

...adding to that, hoons seem to be attracted to speed bumps, then you'll have the dickheads doing burnouts and donuts in your street or front of your house. chicanes are a good idea IMO, slow people down and don't give these VN driving bogans reason to bag 'em up in the middle of the night.

Hey Siks, never actually owned Countach or Diablo, just speaking in general terms there!!! As for confusing Murcielago & Gallardo, no drama's, both are incredible machines That orange convertible looks sensational, you won't be forgetting that in a hurry! Closest I have come to driving Italian Exotica was when I got married in 1998, my wife and I headed for Hawaii and I hired a Ferrari 328 GTS for 24hrs. Drove it around the entire Island of Oahu. It was certainly a Buzz, but nothing compared to that Gallardo of yours!

Beat me to it Fungoolie! Krudd Govt reckons anyone on $50,000 p.a + is "rich". The LCT increase was a shameless tax grab. 33% is outrageous. At least they stuck to their import tarriff reduction to 5%...but where is the price drop for the GT-R?. Nissan have made no announcement on price changes, but to put this in perspective Porsche have announced revised pricing because of the tariff reduction. Now I can tell you Porsche increase their prices every year regardless. In August Sept they do their model year change, but they have cut the price on every model. This is the before and after price of the Cayman S 3.4 manual coupe. Previous RRP (excluding on-roads) was $157,300, the new RRP (becuase of import duty drop) is $146,000 exactly (a drop of $11,300) would be nice if the GT-R pricing moved in a similar fashion!

In relation to Mercs, on another motoring blog someone mentioned to me from personal experience that the lifters for the SL roofs are a problem. From what I was told apparently a common fragile point over time and replacement cost in the region of $10-12K with very limited availibility of the part, could be wrong, but that's what I was told. I have heard of various problems on E and S Class as well. A KEYLESS go problem on an E-Class (a friend of my dad) was an $8,000 fix. The days of yore are long gone when Mercs were indestructable, but from all accounts they are addressing quality woes seen over the last 10 years. New S and CL Class look and feel just outstanding if their quality/reliability is a match for their presentation then that would be something. Myself personally I'm keen on a Lexus LS or GS. Not saying any car is perfect, but for the average wage earner wanting prestige motoring a much safer bet than an older BM or Merc. I love the BM's and Mercs, don't get me wrong but I reckon they'd be big money pits associated with many sleepless nights...

To the original question, Lamborghini without doubt, just so more special and the newbies are genuine userfriendly drivers cars. My beloved Countach and Diablo were wonderful machines but from all accounts good only in very small doses, uncomfortable, hot (poor ventilation) and downright scary. Also an F430 is ferrari's entry level car and far from their most beautiful, Murcielago is Lambo's flagship. However have I missed something here? That amazing looking orange Lambo is infact a Gallardo, not a Murcielago!!

Bit late on this one but seems to be a manufacturing fault or faulty part(s), rather than intrinsic design fault. With just about every car you are bound get a story like this. As long as the faulty part/component is replaced by the manufacturer, this is most important. I remember a demonstrator Toyota Avalon at the Toyota dealer I worked at having an engine failure at about 3,000kms. It was the fleet managers car, an older fellow who drove the car very sedately, just a freak occurance. Generally speaking IMZ-FE is a very reliable engine. Obviously being a GT-R with such high profile, these things tend to be a big deal. Anecdotely I've heard a few stories of Ferrari's, Maserati's, BMW's, Mercs, Alfa's etc having catestrophic component failure (engine/tranny)- for no apparent reason. Not typical, but does happen.

I have a similar question. I spoke to a friend of mine this week (works at a Nissan dealer) who told me that R34 GT-R's can be bought for as low as $22K AUD in Japan, before the compliance and registration process in Australia. Can anyone confirm this? How much would this R34 GT-R be on the road in Aus?.....and then of course goes, what of the ownership of such a vehicle in terms of maintanance, reliability, insurance etc? Any help appreciated...

Kujotk...you must also add SS ute drivers (with Chevy badges) and XR ute drivers to that list...I just shake my head at these guys sometimes...

just a rumour I heard from a friend from a friend of a friend!!

Kujotk, being of Italian background, I can translate for you. When he went past the guy in the Audi R8 he literally said "have a look at this!"..obviously said in such a way that suggests "have a look at this idiot"

A bit harsh! At least they gave the GT-R equal 1st! Have a look at Drive car of the year and Australia's Best Car, where they judged the GT-R VERY harshly. In DCOTY the BMW 135i ended up taking the prize for best performance car over $60K. Once again, they found the GT-R to be too harsh for everyday living...now compared to the BMW 135i fair enough, but compared to the GT-R's performance rivals like the 911 Gt3 , Gallardo superleggera and the other supercar competitors, I'd have thought the GT-R was much more practical by comparison. Drive also went to great lengths to criticise the mitigated launch control which I thought was also wrong, they overstated the transmission failure problems. As we all know it's only the first gear and only when seriously abused. I'd bet my bottom dollar that any of the GT-Rs competitors would suffer premature wear of clutch or transmission components if they were constantly launched in brutal fashion to acheive optimal 0-100 km/h times. For example I happen to know that a BMW Aus press car suffered a transmission failure (an M5), replacement cost was $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!

yeah whatever Kujotk, i'll really be losing sleep tonight becuase of what you think of me!

Personal attack? where? ...Ironic how you then say it's just the internet and to cheer up, & not be so serious in your other post, then call me a wanker, then say your gonna forward my reply...hang on..you're gonna forward my reply to friends!...bloody hell and you're telling me to get over it! No I don't know you, or birds, but what I DO KNOW is neither of you have any blog etiquette, that's quite obvious. BTW I asked you a question about your car....it wasn't a personal attack...I was just trying to figure out why you (and birds) would have a go at me over a straight forward post about Corvette ZR-1/Viper.... sounds like you were both in a bad mood.