Nissan GT-R, An Amazing Four Wheel Drive Supercar
A supercar from Nissan? 470 bhp and massive acceleration, to put most Porsches in the shade? Well, that's the Nissan GT-R.
Sounds a bit unlikely, until you remember that the Skylines have been pretty hot cars in the past. In fact, the Skyline was the sporty star of the Prince Motor Co, before Nissan bought it out about 50 years ago, and ever since
Nissan has been trying to do something with it. Well, here it is: a supercar for anyone, anywhere, any time, or that's what they say. The credentials are good: the GT-R is powered by a twin turbo version of an enlarged version of Nissan's lusty V-6 from the 350Z pushing out 473 bhp that's a lot of power. To handle it – and justify the 'anyone' tag – the GT-R has four-wheel drive.
Any everyday supercar for anyone
Nissan's engineers make much of the fact that most supercars only go out when it is fine, but that the Nissan GT-R can go out and behave well in any conditions, including snow and ice – and there is plenty of that in northern Japan, so it was easy for the engineers to test in these conditions.
Also, the GT-R laps the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit consistently in under 8 minutes and has lapped at 7 minutes 38 seconds compared with 7 minutes 32 seconds for the 600 bhp Pagani Zonda F. Holy mackerel that is very, very fast. Clearly, the Nissan GT-R is a very fast supercar.
Does it look the part? Well, purposeful rather than elegant fits the shape. It has a strong wedge line, with a low fastback roof and at the front there is a two-tier grille ands laid-back headlamps. In the sides are big air outlets rather like on the Lexus IS-F, which are a bit of a cliche really. The high back end has a big wing and the four exhaust pipes are in pairs at the sides.
Not bad, and certainly a car to turn heads. There is more to it than that. It has a completely flat underside, with an upward sloping rear panel to get the air away from beneath, and this all adds up to very low drag a Cd of 0.27 which is as good as anything I know.
Nissan GT-R twin-turbo V-6 with 473 bhp
But wait till you see what is beneath this skin. The power house is the 3.8 liter V-6 with twin turbos giving no less than 473 bhp at 6,400 rpm – definitely supercar territory – and 433 lb ft (588 Nm) torque at 3,200-5,200 rpm.
This spread of torque, courtesy of the modern turbos, is what gives the car everyday driveability. Both to reduce weight and improve response, the turbo turbine housings built into the exhaust manifolds.
It is an aluminum engine, with four valves per cylinder, of course, but to save weight and improve efficiency, the cylinders are plasma sprayed. This coating provides a hard surface just 0.15 mm (0.006 in) thick. The engines are built by hand, and almost all components are special to the GT-R.
There is a combined wet and dry sump, which prevents oil starvation during fast cornering, and also a small intermediate fuel tank which ensures that the engine cannot suffer from fuel starvation on long fast corners. You can see that these guys have really thought about the problems of supercars. Not only that, but they say the fuel consumption is very good at the low to medium speeds used in everyday driving.
Engine well back, transaxle at rear
The most remarkable thing about the Nissan GT-R is the unusual layout. First, the engine is well back in the body, and secondly the gearbox is mounted at the rear, forward of the rear axle, and in unit with the axle gears. This means that there is one prop shaft going back to the gearbox, and another, offset, going forward past the engine to the front axle gears.
To be sure, this arrangement gives the 49:51 per cent front: rear weight distribution you want, but at a cost in weight and complication. But the good weight distribution is the basis of the car's handling potential, and is a distinct advance on the Nissan 350Z which is a bit nose-heavy.
This is not just any old six-speed gearbox, but a twin-clutch sequential design, following in the footsteps of the VW DSG box. The advantages are sequential shifting through paddles, very fast but smooth shifts, and good fuel consumption.
Like the DSG, this box have manual and automatic modes, with M and R modes – R is the sharpest – in manual. A hill start assist is included.
The four-wheel drive sends more torque to the rear wheels, but adjusts the amount of torque sent to the front wheels from zero to 50 per cent according to the conditions. This system should ensure enjoyable but safe driving whatever the conditions.
It is backed up by Nissan's stability control, an electronic traction control, and a limited-slip differential. Stopping power is provided by large Brembo brakes, with 15 in (380 mm) discs.
Outstanding power train
Clearly, this is an outstanding power train, sitting in a body which has an unusual structure, with carbon fiber used for the front body structure and radiator mount, while the suspension towers and rigid cross brace members for both front and rear suspension are diecast aluminum, as are the door inner panels. in hybrid structure
Nissan fell short of producing an aluminum structure, or even going for the aluminum front and steel rear of the Audi TT, and so the car is heavier than it might be at 3,832 lb (1,740 kg), but nothing like as heavy as some supercars, such as the Mercedes-Benz SLs, which are just two-seaters.
Double wishbone suspension
Nissan has been using double wishbone front and multi-link suspension on the 350Z, which handles well, so we expect the GT-R to handle very well indeed. The special Bilstein dampers have three adjustable settings, from comfort, through normal to sporty handling with much firmer settings.
The tires are 255/40ZRF20 front and 285/35ZRF20 rear – Nissan could not resist adding the weight of the largest diameter tires it could get – should give plenty of grip. However, these are run-flat tires which generally do not provide the same level of handling as normal tires owing to the way the tire is designed so it can run flat. Normally, the difference is quite small, though.
There is a lot more to the GT-R, including an innovative instrument system for minor instruments, wide-beam headlamps and a navigation system. Even so, what sets the Nissan GT-R apart is its potential for pure fun and excitement just what you should expect from a supercar.