Revealed: Nissan's New Gt-r

[funkymonkey]

And this is based on ????????

Obviously they've gone for a more plush interior to appeal to a wider market, but how do you know it's a money grabbing excercise .... so personally I think (on paper) it's a great car for the money.

The R32 had high expectations before it was released, there was no secrecy about the fact that it would inherit the ATTESA of the bluebird which came out well beforehand, and a strengthened larger capacity RB engine from the R31/Z31/cefiro. It delivered.

What I meant in my sweeping statement (and I make a lot of those ) is that the GT-R used to be a purpose built car for winning races. It was the thoroughbred of the Skyline stable.

This new GT-R just seems so emotionless. Its been built to capitalise on the following of the old GT-R, the history and the tradition... look at the demographic that's buying them... they're not people who are deciding between a Porche or an R8, they're ex GTR owners, or people who have heard about and wanted this "GTR" but have never been able to own one because it didn't meet their countries standards (talking about the US). If you're going to sever the link with the Skyline family, why call it a GT-R? why not call it the 380Z? After all, that is Nissan's longest standing globally available sports model.

Don't get me wrong, I'd hit it. Its a marvellous car, any car that can stick it to Porshe and the Z06 etc for that price is an awesome car... I just don't like the mentality behind it.

[sh@un]

Dunno, how long have they been developing this car... it's been coming for years

Exactly

Why spend years and years and years on R&D and countless laps around the 'Ring benchmarking the car against Ferraris, Porsches, Lambos etc, if all you intend on doing is turning out a luxo-barge like a Lexus coupe?

Get some perspective ppl- Hardly anyone in the market for a Euro car would be content to sit inside some Jap car as shithouse as R32/33/34's interior wise, regardless of how fast it was.

[simpletool]

Looks better than th e proto i reckon. should look good in the flesh!!!

if they can take ~100kg out of it and add 50hp, it'll be a real goer.

A real manual is essential to take Porsche buyers too, as they are one of the few who still buy manuals.

[zebra]

I think it will be a long time before anything after-market is available for them.

Look at RX-8 and 350Z.....not much avaliable for them and theve been out for years.

Good luck getting an after-market ECU that will run that gearbox!!! plus all the other unnessicary BS that Nissan have cramed into it.

[funkymonkey]

350Z's got heaps of aftermarket support... RX-8's not so much, but there's progress on the renesis front.

rumour has it mines is already working on some aftermaket goodies, and impul on a luxury package to complement it as well.

[NISMO]

350Z's got heaps of aftermarket support... RX-8's not so much, but there's progress on the renesis front.

rumour has it mines is already working on some aftermaket goodies, and impul on a luxury package to complement it as well.

exactly the 350Z after market support is MASSIVE. There are more 350z/G35 drivers in the US than there are skyline drivers in Aus. Because of their price there not that popular here and a little more exclusive. Twin turbo kits, single kits, supercharger kits, stroker kits, suspension galore and every other after market part you could think of.

As for the GTR, I'm happy to bet a cool $100 that every major tuning house in Japan will have a GTR on their stand come TAS in Jan 2008. There will literally be a stampede to develop after market parts for the car. So you can count on HKS, MINES, TRUST, TOP SECRET and the rest to have parts ready to go pretty much instantly

[Absent]

^^this is the exact person that nissan are NOT targeting with the new GTR

its not in the same vain as the R32/33/34 and its not targeting the same type of person that likes the R32/33/34 skylines, eg the person above who clearly wants a machine that they can mofidy to the shithouse and wants no luxury/high-class features in their racing machine

i expected a general shun from SAU because of this reason, so i'm actually surprised at the generally good reception that the pics have gotten so far..

as metnioned, the target is porsche and other high-end buyers with a free 100k to spend on cars. this is <0.01% of SAU forum members

^^I agree.. and remember that If they sold R34 GTRs brand new locally they would have been similarly priced to the new GTR (prolly a tad less)

ppl who don't like it because its not manual or will be hard to modify.. it will have at least 350kw and mid-high 11 quarter.. modify it to 400-500kw? and there will be plenty cosmetic mods especially from the US

Whats not to like?

[GTR R35]

People seem to think that Nissan must make a track car to wear the GTR badge.

THEY HAVE

The ammount of time they spend in Germany going around the ring 5,000 times was not for beer drinking and sightseeing. they took a Porsche Turbo and used it as a benchmark and acomplished something that only the Japs can do. They took a great car (Porsche Turbo) Sanitised it and made it better, just like the did with Mercs when making the Lexus.

I can assure you the GTR will be one of the best drivers cars this country has ever seen. Worrying about the DSG gearbox is like living in the 90's. If the Nissan engineers thought this car needed a manual, it would have one, or at least have an option for one. It is not like Nissan do not have AWD manual gearboxes that would do the job.

People need to look at this car and admire the 5+ years of development, engineering and styling. While the front, roof, wheel nuts, may not be to your particular tastes, I can assure you it will be the best car you may get to drive PERIOD.

[kksh]

U.S. buyers will get the 2009 Nissan GT-R late next spring.

By MARK VAUGH

Yes, it lives up to all the hype!

The coming Nissan GT-R is a world-class supercar: Top speed of 193 mph, 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, a 473 hp, 433 lb ft twin-turbo V6 mounted in the front and driving all four wheels through a rear-mounted transaxle. Take a breath. Okay, continue. And a dual-clutch six-speed automatic you can operate via paddles on the steering wheel.

After a full day driving it on the Nurburgring, the Autobahn and up and over numerous little German country roads we can easily say this is one car that was not over hyped. It is truly a world-class supercar on par with, if not just ahead of, the iconic Porsche Turbo. (They had a Porsche Turbo on hand, too, and we thought the GT-R felt better tied down.)

But it's one thing to put a license plate on a race car and call it streetable. Chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno said the new GT-R was designed and engineered as an all-around, all-season, all-weather car that is comfortable to drive every day, even at normal speeds on a normal day.

During the few minutes we drove at what could be called a "normal pace" that day we'd have to say we agree with him. But given only a few hours at the wheel of this, the most highly anticipated supercar in years, we were only in "normal" mode for very brief spurts. The rest of the time we were at some level between "pushing it" and "hammering on the mutha'."

Our first time behind the wheel was on the A48 autobahn in Germany somewhere out around Koblenz or Koln or some other K-town where the German socialist government had not yet succeeded in adding those awful 120-km-hr speed limits. It was like Bonneville with elevation changes and guardrails. The only limitation out here was aerodynamic. Hence, we were obliged to go all-out whompin' fast the whole time.

Rolling right out of the autobahn rest stop where we rendezvoused with the Japanese engineering support crew, we nailed the throttle to the floor and man did the throttle respond. The 3.8-liter VR38 V6 is "an evolution" of the award-winning VQ engine family. It sits up front, with two of its six cylinders forward of the front axle and four aft. Two bagel-sized IHI turbos sit right at the exhaust manifold for quick response. The 433 lb ft of torque rails across the tach from 3200 to 5200 rpm. Peak 473 hp comes at 6400 revs.

A carbon fiber prop shaft ("Good damping and stiffness") runs back to the transaxle, incorporating the clutch, transmission and transaxle altogether. The shifting is done via a direct, twin-clutch system. One clutch handles the odd gears and another clutch handles the even ones. Shifts take 0.2 seconds. There are BorgWarner triple-cone synchronizers for all gears. Another shaft runs forward from that transaxle to send power to the front wheels. Below 25 mph the torque split is 50/50, above that, under normal driving, the split is 40/60. But it can split up to 2/98 under hard acceleration, which was what we were giving it.

Our car rode on 20-inch wheels wrapped by Bridgestone Potenza RE070s, 255/40 in front and 285/35 rears. Front suspension was upper and lower A-arms and the rear was a five-link.

It's always fun to go from zero to warp factor in a right hand-drive car using a jet-lagged left hand-drive brain, trying not to turn on the windshield wipers when you think you're hitting the turn signal.

The GT-R lists quarter-mile time at 11.7 seconds and entering the Autobahn we had no reason to doubt that. The turbo boost was, as promised, very progressive, with little or no discernable lag, just smooth, even power delivery.

Despite the late-morning hour and the mid-week day, there were still a few cars in the way. When we eased onto the 15.2-inch ventilated cross-drilled Brembo brakes from well into triple-digit speeds the car slowed without drama. But then traffic would clear out and the GT-R resumed its high velocity chase with ease.

There are three settings for the Bilstein Damptronic shocks: R, Sports and Comfort. We went out in Sports.

Top speed is listed at 193 mph but with traffic the best we could do was 176. You wouldn't try that in any country but Germany, where you can usually assume everyone else is paying attention. There was a Japanese engineer riding shotgun over on the left whom we dubbed "Bushido engineer-o" or brave engineer. He thought that was pretty funny.

While the coefficient of drag is an impressive 0.27, more than almost any production car, the GT-R also produces downforce at each axle, something very few production cars can claim.

"Cd is more important than downforce on a G35," said chief designer Hiroshi Hasegawa. "But in the case of the GT-R we have to make downforce."

At 193 mph you might appreciate that philosophy.

The first time we went out, the right front wheel felt just a little out of balance, so we came back in and they changed all four wheels. They're efficient, these guys. After that the car was smooth as well as stable and safe, due in equal parts to the German roadway and the Japanese engineering.

The whole car sits on the new PM platform, PM meaning Prime Midship. It's an evolution of the ubiquitous FM platform that sits underneath everything from 350Zs to crossover SUVs. The PM incorporates what Mizuno-san called a "hybrid superstructure body." There is carbon-injected material in the front end and carbon composite material underneath for aerodynamic downforce. There's even some polypropylene in the body, too. In any case, it's not just another FM variant.

We truly enjoyed the Autobahn experience. This is the perfect car for such a top-speed run-it gives such a sense of control at those speeds that you feel like you could do anything.

Next on our agenda of "anything" were some miles of country road. We were able to drive the GT-R back-to-back with a Porsche Turbo.

"Okay now, please enjoy," said the Nissan technician as we exited the company compound down the street from the Nurburgring.

After "much spirited driving," we can say the Turbo had a good deal more lag and more dive and squat than the GT-R. But once the Porsche got spooled up, achtung, baby. It felt lighter and the steering felt quicker, too. The biggest difference between the two was that the Turbo demanded more of its driver while the GT-R was easier to handle, flatter and more stable. We'd be happy with either one, if you're considering a birthday present or anything.

Next up on this Disneyland of a day was Der Nurburgring. This is what all those teenagers whose parents have not taken away their Playstation access really want to do: drive an actual GT-R around the actual Nurburgring as fast as grip, guts and gasoline allow.

Man-oh-flippin'-man. The real deal is about 100 times more thrilling than any computer simulation, even those with the little plastic steering wheel and feet pedals attached.

This was the new Nurburgring, too. Nissan wasn't foolish enough to turn this small squadron of car writer hacks loose on the narrow, blind, crazy-dangerous Nordschliefe. At the time of our drive there were only three prototype GT-Rs extant in the world, and all the apologizing on Earth wouldn't bring one back if you crunched it.

The new Nurburgring is faster, with wide, sweeping turns bordered by runoff areas so huge that even the most no-talent buffoon could likely stay on the pavement. So we did.

All the Japanese engineers and executives had been telling everyone that there was a 35-mph speed limit in the pits, but in all the excitement we kind of forgot about it and nailed the throttle right out of the parking spot right there in pit lane. The wide, low, squealing run-flat tires laid down long patches of black rubber as we launched past the closed garages, pulling back on the right paddle to shift the rear-mounted dual-clutch six-speed transaxle every time the engine got close to its 7000-rpm redline.

In no time at all we were roaring onto pit-out near the end of the straight and directly into the low, evening sun. By the time we got fully out on the front straight and were shifting up from four to five or so, the sun was directly in front of the GT-R and streaming into the windshield; we were trying to remember if that first right-hander came at this rise or just past it. It was just past it, but we'd already started braking and downshifting, the GR6's "synchro-rev control," which perfectly matched each downshift with a throttle blip much better than we'd ever have been able to match it.

Tiptoeing through the first couple turns to avoid the infamy of the run-off gravel, the car felt perfectly safe and willing. So we hammered it up through the gears down the hill and to the far 180-degree turn and started to feel more confident. By the end of the first lap we were flat out on the front straight, roaring up through all six gears for all it was worth.

Nissan lists lateral g's at 0.99, and we certainly bumped up against that in many a Nurburgring corner.

We only got three full laps and no one was timing us, so you'll just have to assume we set the lap record. Earlier, Mizuno-san had offered some lap times from the Nordschliefe for various cars driven by the German magazine SportAuto. Those times are driver-dependent, track-knowledge-dependent, weather-, traffic- and bunny-crossing-the-track dependent. But Mizuno suggested the GT-R could get anywhere from 7:44 on up, with most laps coming in between 7:55 and 7:58. So he suggested the GT-R's strong suit was that it offered "the best cost per lap time." For whatever that's worth.

The GT-R will be worth somewhere in the low-$70,000 range, which does make it perhaps the best cost per lap. We'll know for sure when it enters U.S. showrooms in May or June. Japan will get first crack at it, we get second and the Europeans, who did such a great job of getting out of our way during our Autobahn drive, will have to get it third.

SPECS: 2009 Nissan GT-R

On Sale: May/June

Base Price: Low 70s

Drivetrain: 3.8-liter, 473-hp, 433-lb-ft twin turbocharged V6; awd, six-speed automatic

Curb Weight: 3792 pounds

0-60: 3.5 seconds

Fuel Economy (EPA Combined): 21 mpg (mfg. target)

[sik14]

lovin the interior and the rear looks good but the front looks a bit too much like a celica??? not tough enough in the front for me.

[leb]

My dad is looking at a new car... He said no

[okaythen]

SPECS: 2009 Nissan GT-R

On Sale: May/June

that means on sale May/June of 08 right? for USA

[Wink]

kksh can I get a link to that article?

[zebra]

350Z's got heaps of aftermarket support... RX-8's not so much, but there's progress on the renesis front.

rumour has it mines is already working on some aftermaket goodies, and impul on a luxury package to complement it as well.

exactly the 350Z after market support is MASSIVE. There are more 350z/G35 drivers in the US than there are skyline drivers in Aus. Because of their price there not that popular here and a little more exclusive. Twin turbo kits, single kits, supercharger kits, stroker kits, suspension galore and every other after market part you could think of.

As for the GTR, I'm happy to bet a cool $100 that every major tuning house in Japan will have a GTR on their stand come TAS in Jan 2008. There will literally be a stampede to develop after market parts for the car. So you can count on HKS, MINES, TRUST, TOP SECRET and the rest to have parts ready to go pretty much instantly

Geez I never realised that there was so much support for the V35/Z33 I guess cause i dont own one I dont really go searching for aftermarket stuff for them.

Will be interesting to see if the stock BOVs make there way onto our "lowly GTS-Ts" Much like RB26DETT BOVs do now

Hopefully Sombody Local will be able to crack the ECU (like LS1 Edit which was apparently un-crackable)

I guess time will tell.

My Question Is How long will it be before sombody Strips it out - and starts chasing 51-52 secs at Tsukaba...Those Guard looks like they could take 1 hell of a wheel tyre combo.

[heyhey!]

is it confirmed no manual????

if so i wasted a portion of my life even looking at this thread...

[sh@un]

Why do I keep seeing this thing called "The 2009 GT-R" when it goes on sale in Japan in '07, and the U.S and everywhere else in '08??

Good luck getting an after-market ECU that will run that gearbox!!! plus all the other unnessicary BS that Nissan have cramed into it.

Who's to say it doesn't have a seperate control unit, like the ATTESSA computer in RB26 powered GT-R's?

[sh@un]

Just checked the U.S price of a 911 Turbo- $129,685

That means the GT-R should come in at comfortably over $150k here.

[Wink]

Why do I keep seeing this thing called "The 2009 GT-R" when it goes on sale in Japan in '07, and the U.S and everywhere else in '08??

Didn't they say only on sale in Aus early 2009?

is it confirmed no manual????

if so i wasted a portion of my life even looking at this thread...

If you read more you would've seen most likely a 6-speed manual would be offered. Enjoy going slower than the DSG!

[sh@un]

But hey- At least he'll be able to say he got to change his own gears while losing the race

[rev210]

Those numbers are still pretty optimistic.

is your glass half empty then?