The new Nissan GT-R may well be the most accomplished and technologically advanced high performance car ever made. One of the world’s fastest vehicles (including a production car lap record at the famous Nürburgring in Germany), it is also probably the world’s easiest and most secure high-speed car to drive fast. The multi-performance supercar Nissan GT-R raced through the Nürburgring circuit - where the condition of the most feared high-speed corner, “Kesselchen” was wet - with a record time of 7m38s. It can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds. The new Nissan GT-R is also striking value, offering much better performance - in acceleration, cornering power and braking - than all equivalently priced sports coupes.

Like previous versions of the legendary race-winning GT-R, the latest model is a showcase for Nissan’s engineering talents. Features include an advanced full-time four-wheel drive system that improves traction and cornering power. This four-wheel drive system uses an independent transaxle 4WD (a world first) for greater agility. There is a brand new 480 horsepower V6 twin-turbo (VR38DETT) engine that combines exhilarating power with an ultra-low emission exhaust (Japanese regulation) and the best fuel economy in its sector. The lightweight body, which uses a new package (Nissan’s ‘Premium Midship’), features diecast aluminum, carbon fiber and advanced steel and has a class-leading aerodynamic Cd of just 0.27. There’s a new dual-clutch paddle shift transmission that offers exceptionally fast gear shifts and the facility to drive in full automatic mode, improving ease of driving. The big ventilated Brembo disc brakes offer immense stopping performance.

Unlike previous versions of the GT-R, this one will be sold in both right- and left-hand drive around the world, including the North American and mainland European markets.

Engineers describe the Nissan GT-R as a ‘multi-performance supercar for the 21st century.’   It inherits the DNA of past great GT-Rs and packs it with the very latest and best technology. The key factors are the utilization of the earth’s natural forces and the high technology for human-machine interface, developed to control the ultimate performance.  The objective was to create a flagship model to promote Nissan’s technology and to develop a new type of supercar. Supercars have traditionally been aimed at drivers with advanced skills. But the new “multi-performance supercar” can be driven fast and skillfully by just about anybody in just about any road condition.

Despite the extraordinarily high level of technology, the GT-R has some old-fashioned sports car features, not least that much of the assembly of the car, made at Nissan’s Tochigi plant. Each engine is hand assembled by a single engineer (at Nissan’s Yokohama factory) and so is each transmission.  Its design bears a close resemblance to the GT-R Proto shown at the 2005 Tokyo Show and, in turn, has much in common stylistically with the 2001 GT-R Concept.

The look is uniquely Japanese—definitely not European or American fast car.  Designers wanted to highlight the functionality of the GT-R—that it’s a car that’s easy to use and to drive, while nodding to the GT-R heritage.

The new Nissan GT-R is a muscular, distinctive looking car. Chunky, edgy, wide shouldered, ground-hugging and flat-sided, it is also one of the most aerodynamic cars in the world (Cd 0.27) as well as being one of the most distinctive.  The style is based closely on the GT-R Proto shown at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show to great critical acclaim. The only significant styling difference - apart from small details - is to the front styling, changed mostly to allow for superior crash test protection.

This is the first GT-R not based on a mass-volume Nissan vehicle (the last GT-R was based on the Skyline). That gave design director Shiro Nakamura, product chief designer Hiroshi Hasegawa and their team a great deal of freedom to create Japan’s ultimate supercar.

Overt functional touches include the kink in the rear pillar that helps with rear airflow while giving the GT-R an unusual roofline.  The side front fender air scoops also improve the car’s aero performance by improving airflow around the tires.  They also help cool the massively powerful twin-turbo V6.

The new car also continues the proud GT-R design lineage.  It’s quite square and edgy at first glance although full of interesting curvatures and subtle shapes when you look closer. Like all great design, the closer you look, the more you see. 

The pillars are quite upright, emphasizing that this is not an impractical low-slung supercar. There are the four round tail lamps mirrored in the four chunky round exhausts directly below. Specific styling cues, borrowed from great Nissans of the past, include the edgy boxy shape of the PGC10 GT-R of 1969, the four round tail lamps of the KPGC110 GT-R of 1973 and the long thin slit grille opening of the R34 GT-R of 1999.

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