Nissan GT-R : THE RETURN OF GODZILLA

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The Nissan GT-R reprises a legend that can be traced back to the iconic Skyline GT-R of 1989. This time round, it's coming equipped with a whole lot more power. Andy Enright reports

Tucked away amongst the beet fields of Hokkaido, Japan's north island, is a tiny piece of Germany. Signs point to Koblenz and there are perfect replicas of autobahn rest stops. The road surface is Germanic and if you wait a while you might hear the keening roar of a turbocharged Porsche 911 flying past at three miles a minute. Think of that as bait for what Nissan has straining at the leash in a nondescript lock up garage.

To understand the significance of Nissan's GT-R, a little historical perspective is required. The GT-R badge can be traced back to 1969, when it appeared on the squared off rump of a Skyline powered by a 24-valve 2.0-litre straight-six, although it gave few clues as to what lay ahead. Fully twenty years would elapse before the Skyline GT-R legend would be realised. The Skyline R32 GT-R was a truly breathtaking achievement, truly the first Japanese supercar. With computer-controlled all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, a 2.6-litre straight-six with twin ceramic turbochargers and 276 horsepower, it created a template that lives on today. The Japanese media dubbed the car Obakemono-monster but perhaps a more charismatic nickname came from, Australia, where news of its unprecedented racing success saw it christened `Godzilla'. The Skyline GT-R got bigger and heavier in R33 (1995) and R34 (1999) guises but it's back, albeit with the Skyline badge deleted. The 2008 Nissan GT-R hasn't just evolved. Like the scaly dinosaur that grew from a post-atomic Japan, this Godzilla has radically mutated.

"In the GT-R, Japan has its own performance legend."

For years Nissan played lip service to the Japanese `gentleman's agreement' that limited its cars to 276bhp. When the company claimed to have set a sub 8 minute lap of the NÃ¼rburgring in the Skyline GTR-33 back in 1995, whispers suggested this car was packing closer to 350bhp and few Skyline owners left their cars standard. The reason for this was that the GT-R was a heavy old lump and compared to a Subaru Impreza or Mitsubishi Evo, 276bhp just doesn't cut it. With the 2008 GT-R, the gentleman's agreement has been torn up, shredded and burnt, the 3.8-litre V6 now churning out 485PS which is enough to power the car to 60mph in 3.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 194mph. Unofficially, Nissan's engineers claim a 7:38s lap of the NÃ¼rburgring, which makes the GT-R quicker than the latest Porsche 911 Turbo - the benchmark rival in terms of dynamics. Twin turbos are built into the exhaust manifold, the engine is set back behind the front axle line for better weight distribution and it even boasts a four-wheel drive, double clutch transaxle. And carbon fibre propshafts. Even the ATTESA E-TS all-wheel drive system is now sharper and faster. The GT-R is an astonishing piece of engineering, of that there is no doubt. The attention to detail is stunning. The dashboard display has been designed by Polyphony, the people who brought us the Gran Turismo Playstation games and displays g-force, drive distribution, speed, braking and acceleration pressure and turbo boost amongst many other functions. The drag coefficient is 0.27, which is virtually as slippery as a Toyota Prius. Weight distribution is a perfect 50:50, helped by the transaxle setup to separate the weights of engine and gearbox/differential. The twin-clutch paddle-shift gearbox, similar to Audi's DSG system, shifts incredibly quickly and throttle blips on downchanges. The brakes are enormous Brembo units with five pistons at front and rear that will stop the GT-R from 100km/h in 36.9m. In Japan's type approval tests no car before the GT-R had ever stopped in less than 40m. Downsides? Well, the car is hardly what you'd call pretty with that squinty face and broken back roofline. Weight has crept up to 1,740kg and Nissan's electronics gurus have created what they think is a tamper-proof ECU to dissuade aftermarket tuning. A decent size boot and rear seats that will hold a couple of kids make the GT-R halfway practical too. Just don't call it a Skyline. Nissan's suits get very tetchy if you drop the `S' word when describing this car, claiming that the GT-R is a stand alone model in its own right rather than a hotted-up Skyline saloon or coupe. In fact, the Japanese domestic market Skyline coupe is on its way to the UK but will be badged as an Infiniti G37. This GT-R runs on a different platform to the Skyline, which uses a version of the Nissan 350Z's chassis. Equipment levels have yet to be finalised for the UK market but there's clearly been a greater commitment to interior ambience than was the case with earlier GT-R models. The leather is well finished, the dash hangs together quite well and there are even some interior switches that look as if they've been lifted from an Audi R8.The contra-rotating speedometer and rev counter dials take a bit of getting used to but one suspects Nissan has spent the money on the bits that really matter. The GT-R formula has traditionally been using complex engineering to make rapid driving easy and as radical as the current GT-R appears, it does not divert from that philosophy one jot. Badge snobs may deride it as a hopped-up Nissan or reject it as an adolescent fantasy but the GT-R presents a very real challenge to the Porsche 911, the BMW M6 and even the Audi R8. The fascinating thing about a car that carries this weight of history behind it is that the GT-R has always been about what it can do, rather than what it represents and this 485PS car does incredible things. A well finished coupe that can do 0-60 in 3.5s and run onto 194mph is always going to grab the attention, especially when priced at under £60,000. Germany has its Porsche 911, the US has the Corvette. In the GT-R, Japan has its own performance legend.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Nissan GT-R
PRICE: £56,795 - £59,395 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
CO2 EMISSIONS: tba
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 194mph / 0-60 3.5s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 23mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: front, side and curtain airbags, ATESSA ET-S four-wheel-drive with traction control, ESP.
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/height (mm) 4650/1895/1370