First Drive: 2009 Nissan GT-R
Story and photo by John LeBlanc
RENO, Nevada - Although it hasn't gone on sale yet, by now some of you may have already heard of Nissan's new high performance two-door coupe, the GT-R.
First seen as a concept in 2001, GT-R fans have had to settle for driving virtual versions in video games like Gran Turismo or watching L.A. street racers abuse gray-market import versions in the Fast and the Furious series of films. That is until this July, when the real-life, 2009 production version finally goes on sale in Canada at certified Nissan GT-R dealers in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.
The U.S. market will get a base GT-R. But Canadians receive only one model that will be offered in six colours and will include an 11-speaker "customized" Bose audio system, standard navigation and Z-rated performance tires.
Some of the coupe's numbers speak for themselves. An all-new, hand-built 3.8-litre twin turbo V6 makes 480 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. Nissan says this allows for a rock-your-world 0 to 96-km/h-acceleration time of 3.5 seconds.
By the way, that's quicker than: a $91,685 Chevrolet Corvette Z06; $99,600 Dodge Viper; $139,000 Audi R8 -- and the car that Nissan engineers drew a large circle around as their performance bull's-eye, the $158,300 Porsche 911 Turbo.
Thanks to its pizza-pie-sized 380 mm Brembo front and rear vented disc brakes, equally important is the GT-R's braking credentials of 100-0 km/h in all of 36.9 metres. Nissan claims that's better than any European supercar and officially stands as the best braking performance of any car subjected to Japan's compulsory type approval tests.
The other number that tips the performance value scales squarely in the GT-R's favour is its $81,900 asking price. The only option is a "Super Silver" exterior paint, for $3,000, and yet-to-be-priced snow tires.
Like alien-looking body builders with muscles that seem ready to rip right off the bone and veins nearly popping through their skin, Nissan's designers favoured function over drop-dead good looks when it came to the GT-R's carbon-fibre, die-cast aluminum and steel exterior.
From the front fender's sharp top crease, to the rear roof pillar's subtle creases, the GT-R's body has been painfully sculpted by almost two years in the wind tunnel. The reward is a very slippery 0.27 drag co-efficient plus down force at both ends of the car.
The same dedication to function caries over inside. Multi-adjustable, leather sport buckets, a high centre console and driver selectable toggle switches in front of the gearshift for three different settings for the transmission, suspension, and vehicle dynamic control dominate the driver's perspective. All the important driver info has been placed in circles for what Nissan says delivers "maximum information, minimum distraction." Secondary controls, like the nav screen, are in four-sided forms.
The interior design comes across as jarring, even retro, at first. There are no sweeping curves or superfluous lines. But it all functions intuitively. And it doesn't mean the GT-R is some stripped down, track-day special. Feature wise, it won't have luxury customers feeling deprived.
Standard features include automatic climate control, Bluetooth, keyless entry/start and a driver-configurable monitor that measures various aspects of the car's performance. The monitor was developed in consultation with (guess who?) Polyphony Digital, which by no coincidence, are the creators of Gran Turismo.
Designed for long distance driving, Nissan is touting the practical aspects of its supercar. There's plenty of room for those up front, and although it's a tight pinch for two adults in the back (especially with the vertically stacked Bose speakers sandwiched in between), it's two more seats than most of its supercar rivals offer. And apparently two golf bags will fit in the GT-R's trunk as well.
Standard safety features on the Nissan coupe include those massive Brembo brakes with ABS, front-seat side airbags, roof-mounted side curtain airbags, and a stability control and traction control system Nissan dubs "Vehicle Dynamic Control."
Nissan Canada hasn't posted fuel economy ratings yet. They can confirm the GT-R will not be saddled with the fed's over-13L/100 km fuel levy, and the car is rated as an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle.
The one-day preview event started in Lake Tahoe with a morning drive on twisty mountain roads leading us to Fernley-Reno Raceway for an afternoon of hot lapping.
Our relatively short track configuration for the day limited the GT-R to only using up to fourth gear. The Nissan is no lightweight. At an estimated 1,740 kg, it's the heaviest of all the above-mentioned competitors. Two left, then right, off-camber series of turns highlighted how comprehensively all of the GT-R's complex technologies work together to help manage that avoirdupois and keep the car going in the right direction.
Despite its explosive acceleration, pinpoint steering, near-perfect 53:47 front/rear weight distribution, and seatbelt tightening braking, all was calm and quiet inside the GT-R's cockpit. In fact, first impressions of driving the GT-R were eerily surreal.
With its two turbos blowing on the V6, all-new six-speed dual clutch transmission with paddle shifters, and Nissan's latest version of its ATTESA ET-S AWD system, the big Nissan coupe was pretty easy to get in and drive, as its performance-minded engineer's planned for. Maybe too easy.
Encouraged by its forgiving nature -- in my case -- a brief off-track excursion while at the GT-R's helm highlighted the Nissan supercar's capabilities are well above mine.
More surprising: as capable as the GT-R is as a track star, it can equally play the role of composed grand tourer on public roads. The transmission's automatic mode is relatively civil, and when the suspension is dialed for comfort, its ride won't have you booking an appointment with your chiropractor.
Many enthusiasts will ask, "Where's the stick?" And tuners will start shopping for aftermarket enhancements, well, just because. But in truth, for such a complete package, it's hard to complain about the GT-R as Nissan has currently crafted it (although rumours suggest an even higher performing GT-R Spec-V is in the works).
Nissan says there will only be 12,000 GT-Rs available worldwide this year; 150 for Canada, depending on availability.
If you're interested in turning your previous virtual Nissan GT-R dreams into reality, my suggestion is place your order, like now.
PREVIEW SUMMARY
Here are the salient points and overall rating of this new model, as established by our reviewer:
Overall rating: 9.0 / 10
Pros
Missile-like acceleration
Balanced ride and handling
Performance value
Exclusivity
Cons
No pretty face
No manual
Feels heavy in tighter transitions
Comments
3 Responses to “First Drive: 2009 Nissan GT-R”
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