2009 Nissan GT-R Preview

Nissan has already shown off the production version of its worldbeating GT-R sports car at the Tokyo Auto Show earlier this year. But Los Angeles was the jumping off point for the U.S. version, driven onto stage by none other than Nissan president Carlos Ghosn. What’s not to love about this car? A powerful twin-turbo engine, all-wheel drive, purposely aggressive styling, and Nürburgring-record breaking performance all wrapped in a package that will cost half as much as a Porsche 911 Turbo.

By Keith Buglewicz Photo Credit: Nissan

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Any fast car matters, for the simple fact that someday we’ll all be driving electric golf cars that can barely heat up your toast, longing for the day that we used to burn dead dinosaurs to get ourselves to and from work in a glorious display of ecological indifference. OK, kidding about that. The real reason is that Nissan is promising a fast, great handling car at a relatively low starting price of $69,850, before dealer greed that is. It's also officially bringing its performance flagship to the U.S. for the first time as well.

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Twin-turbo six cylinders are as much a part of the GT-R tradition as flat-sixes are to Porsche. However, up until now they have been inline-six cylinders. Today’s GT-R sports a 3.8-liter V-6 engine, a permutation of the VQ line now known as “VR.” Output is outstanding: 473 horsepower and 433 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s routed through a dual-clutch auto-shifting manual transmission (think Volkswagen DSG on steroids) and ultimately powers all four wheels through a sophisticated rear-mounted all-wheel drive transaxle.

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The GT-R looks a little bit like an Infiniti G37 coupe, a little bit like a 350Z, and a little bit like previous GT-Rs, especially from the rear. Few will think it’s a beautiful car, but it wears its sheetmetal with the intensity of a prize fighter. The blackout nose, swept headlights and flared fenders all point to the car’s purpose as a high performance machine, while its signature round taillights and oddly formal roofline hearken back to when the GT-R was a high-performance two-door variant of a somewhat middling sedan.

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By today’s standards, the GT-R’s austere interior borders on Spartan. The driver sits behind large clear gauges, a center stack with the usual array of audio, climate and ancillary controls occupies the middle, and the passenger sits in front of a black expanse of dash. There are no fancy backgrounds, no decoration for decoration’s sake. The use of metallic trim is restrained, and the leather work on the dash, doors and seats looks high quality without being ostentatious. A high-quality non-distracting environment is just what we like in a high-performance car, and this one delivers.

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Nissan is understandably unreserved in its enthusiasm for its new standard bearer. For example: “[Nissan’s] all-new Nissan GT-R, which offers advanced high performance for secure and enjoyable driving by minimizing the effects of climatic, road condition or driving technique limitations. The Nissan GT-R offers ultimate performance for virtually every driving situation – whether it be the Nürburgring circuit, to snow, rain or urban areas – all manageable by the GT-R driver through advanced technology and driving dynamics.”

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We, like a great many people, are chomping at the bit to get behind the wheel of this car. Nissan has unabashedly displayed it for almost a year now, driving it conspicuously on public roads, testing in broad daylight on well-known tracks, and even participating with one in the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It’s great marketing of course, but whether the car itself is worth the hype remains to be seen. We remain hopeful. After all, anything with nearly 500 horsepower for less than $80,000 is bound to be fun.