95spiderman

this is no doubt going to be a great car. 997tt for 1/2 $.

i just doubt these early numbers were hearing about. i remember crazy stats on the 1990's supra turbo before it was released that never materialized on production models. just too easy to dial up boost, gets publicity, then go back down when customer cars need reliability.

we'll see soon enought but still amazing nissan can release car with dsg before porsche or ferrari can.

Boston

Just returned from the New England auto show in Boston. Nissan flew in a Japanese spec GT-R, silver with black interior. It looks pretty awesome in person. What surprised me was the overall mass of the car; it's a substantial vehicle and seemed much larger in its overall dimensions than a 911. Can't wait to drive it!

naparsei

Before Ferrari?

jimhuber

Depending on the state the deal is put down in depends on refund however I have a firm deposit on both the chevy and the nissan. Both are fat. I will keep the one I like the most.

Jim Huber

opus

Thanks Jim. I called up a local dealer, who claimed they are the largest in the tri-state area. They said they are taking deposits at this stage. I'll try to go in on Saturday and talk about the details.

Anyway, I got in touch with corporate Nissan and did some reading off the web. It is not yet know which dealerships will be allowed to sell the GT-R. Also, corporate said they have not decided on how one can order. I am not sure what that means. Are the orders/deposit at the dealerships valid then?

There are some speculation that the GT-R will be available only via a direct purchase from Nissan.

jimhuber

No man the deal is the dealership needs to send a tec or two to Japan for a few months to be cerfified to sell the car and service. This service training will include the tec training for the new 380 that will come out soon as well. The transmission and the motor are all new. So the dealership will have to step up just like Ford SVT Dodge Viper and so on. You can get one and will not come from Nissan think about the stink that would cause and how no one dealership will service something the factory says they will not sell through dealership. I have seen numbers like 1500 for the first year. Above msrp will be the dealership greed in the way. I do not mind someone selling for market price however the dealership bull**** that I went through with my RS was just that BUll****. Have you seen the metal silver color about 3K option but very nice. All my information comes form a dealership and rep and the car will come and you must find the dealership that is inst in selling you a lot of cars over time not just the flash in a pan profit ****** that are every place.


Jim Huber

allegretto

pretty much the same here

dealer GM said that Nissan hadn't decided which dealers will have it, but i'm sure volume plays a role. and like the C-GT special training and equipment will be needed.

the first strike will be a nice sport coupe, but the follow up in a year or 18 mo will be the Bad Boy

gete3

http://www.topgear.com/content/magflash/0108/


Stig in the new Skyline GT-R versus Clarkson in the Scuderia Ferrari! Here is an excerpt:

"The GT-R hasn't just moved the goalposts, it's obliterated them."

"For all-round ability, I have no doubt the Nissan is the best car I have ever driven."

"The GTR turns in beautifully, whether neutral or under brakes, and grips forever - slippery surfaces seem to bring out the best in it. Time after time I left Turner (911 Turbo) behind as my four-wheel-drive system and traction control worked better out of wet corners - it wasn't just the fact that I could get on the power earlier. It was about confidence. The Nissan really is something special, and you get the impression that while a master driver could wring every last ounce of performance out of the 911, your mother could do the same in the GT-R..........................Does the Nissan's ability reduce the driving pleasure? Not at all. You can turn all the systems off if you so choose, and it's still supremely well balanced, no doubt a delight for a racing driver on a track."

"A bellow from the engine, a rush of revs, a gigantic accelerative force on my neck, bang the GT-R into fourth. A killing gear if ever there was one."

"Were in R (mode) now, and weve hit 100mph in about 10 heartbeats. No official performance figure exists for that increment, but expect an 8 second 0-100ph time. Its fast, alrite - 60mph comes up in 3.5 seconds, the standing quarter in 11.7 seconds and it goes onto 197mph."

"The GT-R is all aggression on the outside. To my eye, it is a phenomal-looking machine, distinct from everything else. Very japanese and very hard."

"Driving these two cars back to back, its not long before you realise that the Nissan makes the Porsche seem old-fashioned. The GT-R is truly extraordinary."

"For all round ability, i have no doubt the Nissan is the best car i have ever driven. Its a solid car you can rely on when the going gets tricky."
__________________

SpeedGeek

Pretty sure Ferrari has no plans to use a twin clutch system - too heavy. They have some ideas using electric motors to smooth the shifting on their existing paddle system.

leif997

My guy knows he is getting 3 for '08....

gete3

A first drive from AutoCar : http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/...3.8-V6/229393/

What is it?
Well for starters, it’s not the new Skyline GT-R. Instead it’s referred to merely as the Nissan GT-R. The name Skyline is no longer applicable because, according to the GT-R’s creators, this is an all-new ‘multi-performance supercar’ which just so happens to be faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo – but which also costs two thirds the price of Porsche’s icon; Nissan GB anticipates a price of no more than £55k when sales begin in March 2009.

It’s also the most exciting car to come out of Japan since, well, the last GT-R, the R34 Skyline GT-R of the late 1990s. There are almost too many technical highlights to absorb in one hit. As ever the chassis is four-wheel-drive and, as before, the engine is a twin-turbo six-cylinder unit. But this time it’s a V6 of 3.8-litres – the previous GT-Rs have all been straight sixes – and power and torque have risen accordingly.

On paper the GT-R develops 473bhp at 6400rpm and 433lb ft at 5200rpm, and it deploys its grunt via a six-speed semi-auto gearbox that has no fewer than 12 clutch plates, and manual paddle shifters on either side of the steering wheel. In reality, and despite the not-inconsiderable 1740kg kerbweight (thank the bombproof 140kg transaxle gearbox for that) what we’re talking about is one of the fastest, most complex road cars money can buy.

What’s it like?
If the basic headline figures aren’t enough on their own to make your eyebrows twitch towards the heavens (zero to 60mph takes just 3.5sec and the top speed is “at least 194mph”), then maybe the most intriguing claim made by Nissan’s engineers is the fact that “front seat occupants do not need to raise their voices to talk when cruising at a speed of 188mph.’ The point is, yes, the GT-R is a monumentally rapid machine in a straight line, but it’s also a refined, comfortable companion on a long journey. More like the world’s hairiest GT car, rather than an out-and-out road racer.

Except there’s rather more to the GT-R than an ability to cover ground as rapidly as possible. Nissan has developed this car to be as usable in the wet by a so-so driver as it is in the dry on the Nurburgring by Lewis Hamilton. The four wheel-drive system is so clever it makes rival systems appear crude by comparison, when they’re not. Called ATTESA E-TS, it uses a massively complex transaxle arrangement at the rear and probably has sufficient computing power to bring down a Space Shuttle at 20 paces.

In practice it means you have more traction and stability across a wider range of surfaces than in any other competitor, plus a level of grip that will make even an experienced driver’s eyes water. Nissan claims the GT-R pulls over 1.3g through a dry corner, and nearly 1.0g on a wet one. The steering, too, is deliciously precise, while the huge brakes are similarly mind boggling.

And what about the ride, always the one and only dynamic weakpoint with all previous GT-Rs? Difficult to tell whether Nissan has entirely sorted the GT-R’s refinement considering we drove it only briefly on Japanese roads and mainly round a Japanese circuit, but the news is not exactly great. The GT-R is stiff in the extreme over rough roads, even with the dampers set to their most comfortable option. But given that Nissan still has over year to sign the UK GT-R’s suspension off, you can only hope it listens to the critics now.

As for the interior, it makes you wonder just how heavily Porsche relies on its reputation to charge as much as it does for a 911 Turbo. The GT-R is as well made if not better than the Porsche inside, has much more space front and rear, more equipment to play with (including a flat screen display that imparts info abut everything from the wind direction to the level of torque at the front axle at any given moment), and a hugely bigger luggage compartment. True, the GT-R is still only a Nissan, and the 911 Turbo is one of Porsche’s finest recent moments. But that’s still no justification for adding nigh-on £30k to the price.

Should I buy one?
In a word, yes, but if you want one you’ll need to be quick. Nissan GB is only talking about bringing 600-or-so GT-Rs into the country each year and, as of last week, the first 250 had (unofficially) already been sold.

On this evidence, it’s not difficult to see why.

964C4

Right now for us, consumers, the market is very interesting, but also confusing ! There are so many incredible cars, it's not like in the 70's or 80's, when comparing a Porsche against a Nissan was night and day...

We might have the money to put a 997TT, we have dreamed of owning a Porsche Turbo during our whole life, at least in my case

But even though we have the money, we have to be objective at one point... If we can get the same performance from a GT-R that I believe will have bullet proof reputation as most japanese cars, high tech as Skylines always have been and a price 2/3 of a 997TT... Why buy a 997TT instead ?

There are other factors that I take into the equation:
- Labor in Japan cheaper than in Germany, but not worser quality
- US$ very weak against Euro, making european products even expensiver and making us consumers pay more
- The depreciation of new cars, being equal for most cars, but proportionally relative to each car's cost. Loose 20% the first year on any brand new car, more in US$ on a 997TT than in a GT-R, but same percentage

Hmmm.... I'll take a GT-R !

triode

I'm sure it's fast and all, but there's no way a 3800 pound car w/slightly less power than a TT does 3.5 sec. 0-60...plus, it's fugly as hell - looks like some video game caricature of a car. I'm sure that the Fast & Furious crowd will be happy campers.

When you buy a Porsche, you're also paying for the looks, refinement, history, etc. Some people don't care to pay for those things, and for someone who just wants cheap horsepower, there are plenty of choices, the Z06 and new 600 HP Viper first & foremost. I guess this Nissan will be joining that crowd.

allegretto

Oh, I'm sure some dealers are more equal than others

Anyway, notice how all the rags are talking about how good it is in the rain. Even the pseudo-Icon Sport Auto or whatever had to say their lap times at the Ring were on a damp track. Wait till we see the tests by the Usual Suspects!

Where's Nordschifte? He's right, just look at the pictures don't read the mind-numbing prose. It's all Marketing!!!

axhoaxho

I wouldn't worry too much about GT-R touches the 997TT customers (used 996TT customers, may be), but the GT-R sure would make those potential E92 M3 customers think twice

Regards,