FIRST DRIVE
Nissan GT-R - DRIVEN
A Porsche beater? That what the Japanese are saying!So what is it ? Nissan has launched the most powerful supercar that land of the rising sun has ever built. It is of course the Nissan GT-R supercar.
At the touch of your right foot you have close to 437bhp, that’s just awesome and 200bhp more than the GT-R’s predecessor. Do you need the lottery up to own one? No the GT-R will be priced from £63,000 when it comes to the UK in 2009. We here at www.independentmotoringnews.co.uk were invited to the Estoril race-track in Spain to test the car to the max. Can this GT-R really be a serious contender to the Porsche 911 Turbo?
Move into the inside of the supercar and you’ll find that the interior is a bit bland but surely it’s what under the bonnet and how this mean machine drives is what really counts.
The build quality looks first class, to the touch the stalks feel solid and there are no panel gaps. The Japanese workmanship is now right up there with the best of the German cars.
There’s plenty of kit to keep you happy, you’ve got climate control aircon, electric leather seats, and a very impressive data computer brilliant if you want to know exactly what the car is doing – it has readings on g-force, how the car is performing and you’ve also got launch control, sat-nav and a seven-speed gearbox that is mated superbly to the power plant.
Safety is a strong point on the GT-R, the car is fitted with Nissan’s Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with dual stage front air bags for driver and front passenger.
If needed the car is also kitted out with driver and front passenger side and curtain airbags while ESP and ABS are also installed. To keep the car in its rightful owners hands Nissan has fitted a Thatcham approved anti-theft system as standard.
Space inside the GT-R is at a premium as you would expect – but you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the room in the boot. This makes the car a practical choice that you could use every day.
“Mind-blowing” that what we uttered when we got out of the GT-R after lapping the the former F1 track in Estoril, Spain. The 3.8-litre V6 power plant produces a whopping 437bhp – this means you can get from zero to 60mph in a time of 3.5 seconds while if you’re lucky enough to drive on an auto-bahn or got a track nearby then you can take the car up to its top speed of 193mph.
At low revs the GT-R is not as responsive as its rival the Porsche 911 Turbo but press the accelerator and watch the needle pass 3,000 revs and the GT-R becomes a true supercar with power on tap.
The car has advanced four-wheel drive, adjustable dampers, traction control, plus a construction that features both aluminium and carbon fibre the GT-R takes corners with ease as standard – all this make the GT-R a dream to drive.
We were pleased with the weighting of the steering as it is weighted superbly and it provides a good amount of feedback to the driver. The Nissan hi-tech four-wheel-drive system also allows you to get on the power early. But there is a need to be careful as the GT-R has been set up to feel and behave more like a rear-wheel-drive car, - it tends to oversteer out of tight bends – at IMN we loved the sideways stuff.
But you’ll be pleased to know that this supercar is a well-balanced package and is very easy to drive.
| Name/Price: | Nissan GT-R /From £63,000(est) |
| Engine/power: | 3.8-litre V6/437bhp |
| Co2 emissions: | N/A |
| Official Combined fuel economy: | N/A |
IMN VERDICT
Buy one now, you can order yours from Nissqan now and the advice from IMN is don’t delay as they’ll not be around for long. Nissan has Porsche in its radar with this car the supercar sector of the car market has just become even more interesting with the arrival of the new affordable GT-R