Tuesday, September 30

Legendary Nissan GTR


Where do I start with the Nissan GTR.. I have been lucky enough to meet an owner of a GTR several months back in a Bed & Bath parking lot. Who knew we would have a chance to have lunch and chat further.

The fastest cars I have either driven or sat in were Supras, Porsches, Turbo Hondas, ISF, etc. Well, there is a new king in town. Although I was lucky enough to spend more time with this GTR, I was not so lucky to sit in the rear seats. Let me tell you, the rear seats are for insurance purposes only. I literally had to sit diagonally across to clear the roof. Inside the leather interior feels less of a Nissan and more like an Infinity. The seats are deep buckets that really hugs tightly. The dash is simple and all business. For me the steering wheel is abit clunky, the design could have been cleaner. The monitor that displays the Grand Tursimo looking read-outs is easy to operate by a knob and a dial on the left. It displays, Acceleration, Braking, Steering, Gear Position, Fuel Economy, Time Recorder, and Driver notes. Total you can have up to 4 customized screens. You can also save display layouts per driver. 

The climate control looks almost too simple. I personally would like to see a second monitor underneath for all the climate controls and radio activities with full touch screen ability. That can help eliminate many of the switches. Just underneath is the 3 switches you will play with most; Transmission, Suspension Dampening, and VDC traction mode. The GTR has a harsh suspension in normal mode. Once you activate the R-mode the ride becomes even more serious. Switching between the different modes on the fly can give you the realization of the technology and time spent to perfect this car. Something you may not know is you can actually hear the tranny shift between gears inside the cabin. It sounds like tiny gears clicking between each shift or change in driving characteristic.  In fact, Nissan makes every owner sign a wavier about the tranny. Basically not to worry without any defects.  The car is all business.

After lunch we took a simple joy ride around town. Cruising at 45 mph, we opened up the turbos and the tires broke loose. The car is so responsive it is absolutely scary. Nissan lists the car at 480 hp and I believe it is over 500.

From the outside, the GTR is a big car. Pictures do no justice with the GTR. Once you are humble next to this legendary car, you can start to examine and study why this car is capable to defeat almost everything on the road. Posting better lap times than the Porsche TT is a huge task.

The car is edgy and chiseled. The front nose aggressive and angry but sleek and elegant. The roof line is long like a 350Z but without a hatch. The rear of the GTR carries the same feel from the G35. Taillights are Ferrari inspired and the quad tips are 5" inches each. Can you imagine running 4 Apexi Dunk exhausts on your Civic..

Nissan chose Brembo for the braking department. 15" inches of rotor front and back with 6 piston calipers and 4 piston rear. These brakes bite hard. 

I will continue my research on the GTR. But one thing is for sure, I have seriously grown to like this car after each visit with this unbelievable automobile.

Nissan has truly built a supercar for anyone, to be driven anywhere and anytime.

More to come.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Did you get a "hard-on" from writing this?