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After six years of teaser concepts and prototypes and a week of embarrassing media leaks; Japan's newest supercar took its official bow at the Tokyo Motor Show.
“The GT-R meets the three key requirements to be a supercar, a power to weight ratio of better then 4kg per one horsepower, top speed of more than 300km/h and a sub-eight minute time at the Nurburgring; but it is much more than that,” chief vehicle engineer for the GT-R project, Kazutoshi Mizuno, said before the official show launch.
“What we wanted was a supercar for all seasons; a multi-performance supercar that an owner can live with all year."
“This car is the technological flagship for Nissan; the new craftsmanship of the 21st century is embodied in the GT-R.”
While Mizuno's ebullience is that of a proud parent; he has worked on the project for almost a decade and is known within Nissan as the father of the GT-R, there is little about the car that doesn't support his enthusiasm.
The long-rumoured 3.8-litre bi-turbo V6 powerplant is a reality; with 353kW at 6400rpm and 588Nm of torque in a band from 3200rpm to 5200rpm.
That gives the GT-R a 0-100km/h sprint of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 308km/h. Nissan is claiming consistent seven minute 50 second laps of the Nordschliefe but will also admit to a single flyer of 7:35 with a specialist 'Ring' driver at the wheel making it one of the quickest road car laps of the famous circuit.
Every engine; along with its 6-speed double clutch automatic transmission which is built to Formula One-like tolerances in a 'clean room' with a single worker building each engine and transmission from the ground up.
Every body panel on the GT-R is triple-stamped, according to Mizuno, to ensure tolerances of 0.1mm.
“The first stamping is for shape, the second to harden the steel and the third for precision,” Mizuno said.
“This car is a piece of work rather than just another manufactured good . . . it is as a Swiss chronograph made by craftsmen is to a mass produced battery watch. There is no comparison.”
Drive is from a trick, all-wheel drive system made more complex by the transaxle gearbox, so positioned to give the GT-R it's preferred weight distribution.
The transmission has three selectable modes snow, normal and racing with shift times through the steering column-mounted paddles as fast as 20 milliseconds.
Body stiffness is ensured by the extensive use of carbon-fibre, aluminium and high-strength steel.
The suspension is a Bilstein Damptronic package with electronic continually adjustable damping, the parameters of which are set by the driver at either comfort, sport or race.
Braking is handled by a huge set of Brembo stoppers with floating calipers on 380mmx34mm drilled front discs and 380mmx30mm ventilated rears.
In what will be a surprise to many, the GT-Rs are shod with asymmetrical run-flat tyres; 285/35 R20 rear and 255/40 R20 front from either Bridgestone (Potenza RE70) or Dunlop (SP Sport), going against the trend of other performance manufacturers such as BMW, which uses run-flat tyres on its 'normal' cars but eschews them for the performance M models.
Nissan says the run-flat choice is considered both a safety and a practicality issue, brushing aside suggestions that the stiffer walled tyres will compromise what ride comfort the low profile rubber offers.
As a recognition of the technical complexity of the GT-R and the performance premium owners put on the badge, Nissan will sell the car with a unique service program that offers a once-yearly uber-performance tune for the first three year of the warranty.
The no-cost racing car-style service will offer a full chassis and suspension balance and precision tune and balance of the engine.
The GT-R is a genuine '2+2' coupe with a pair of sculpted rear seats described by Mizuno as for 'occasional' use.
Up front, however, the treatment is far more generous with deep bucket sport seats, strong bolstering and extended seat squabs for better support under lateral load.
The dash treatment is clean and modern, featuring plenty of brushed metal and technical finishes. The instrumentation consists of clearly read dials placed high and close to the driver's eyeline to reduce time not spent looking at the road.
World-wide demand for the GT-R is expected to create supply shortages almost immediately from the time the car goes on sale in Japan in December. Australia has already been told not to expect its first cars until late in 2009; a situation the locals are not taking lying down.
“It is not final,” Nissan Australia boss Shinya Hanna says. “Such a long delay from launch until we get the car for sale here poses some serious potential problems and we are looking at several possible options.”
The most immediate problem would be that grey importers could have low-mileage 'second hand' GT-Rs as much as 18 months ahead of the car's official import date, soaking up much of the fairly limited target market for the cars.
“That is certainly one of the issues,” Hannya says.
Nissan Australia sales and marketing manager Ross Booth, concedes that sales numbers for the GT-R in Australia will not be high but says it will provide a wonderful halo for the brand.
“The numbers are not going to be big at all, but there is a great affection for the car in Australia." "As a niche product it has tremendous potential for the brand and that is certainly one reason why we feel we have to have it as son as possible.”
Fast facts
Nissan GT-R
Price: $120,000 est
Engine: 3.8L bi-turbo V6; 353kW/588Nm
Transmission: 6-speed double clutch automatic; constant all-wheel drive
Performance: 0-100km/h 3.7secs, 308km/h top speed
Economy: 8.2L/100km (Japanese test figure)
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