Nissan Distances Itself From Rogue GT-R Ring Racer Video | The Truth About Cars Nissan Distances Itself From Rogue GT-R Ring Racer Video Yesterday, the new 2012 Nissan GT-R landed on rank 10 of the fastest Nordschleife lap times. The only problem is: Nissan knows absolutely nothing about this record run. As far as Nissan is concerned, it doesn’t exist, and there is nothing to say. The entry appeared in the all-knowing crowd sourced Wikipedia, along with a pointer to a video on YouTube (above). The video looks very professionally made. The Japanese intro is, as TTAC’s consultant in cross-cultural matters, Frau Schmitto-san, assures me, a little heavy on advertising speak and a little short on information. It basically says that the GT-R ran around the Ring on a set of Dunlop Zero Pressure runflats. The video shows a credible GT-R cockpit, and the timer dutifully stops at 7:21, then the video fades to black. Slightly suspicious: The lack of fractional seconds, which often become the deciding factor in the race against the clock. If that video is to be believed, then the new GT-R shaved off a few seconds from the 7:24.22 achieved in October 2010, but remained shy of its self-declared goal of “less than 7 minutes 20 seconds.” Not to mention that the unofficial record stands at 6:48. A check of the Nissan press releases found no official statement. On Sunday, I called my media contact at Nissan, who sounded honestly astounded: “Never heard of it. And I should. I will look into it.” On Monday, Nissan spokesman Nobukazu Tanaka assured me that yes, in October there had been GT-R test runs on the Nürburgring, “as part of the many tests for the final trial of the 2012 model year GT-R.” But no, there was no record attempt. “In other words, we have no official announcement of a time trial or the results of the test run at the Nürburgring Nordschleife,” Tanaka said. He implied that at least some of the footage in the video is legit: “Video scenes which had been taken on the circuit had been broadcasted through CGM.” In the trade, CGM is used as an acronym for consumer generated media. Whether this video has eloped the Nissan studios in Yokohama, or whether someone with a copy of Adobe Premiere had made it, we’ll never know. This adds another twist to the many turns of the Nordschleife lap time saga. Manufacturers spend lots of money and countless man days running cars around the Ring, but there are no independent time takers. Professional race drivers risk life and limb, but officially, there is no race. If a manufacturer makes a statement, then it’s usually just the time, and rarely the rank. The score is kept on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. The term “production, street legal vehicle” remains undefined, and when I ask manufacturers for a definition, they shrug their shoulders. Because there are no rules for a race that officially does not exist, the race can easily be gamed. For years, the non-existent podium of the non-existent race has been monopolized by faux “production, street legal vehicles.” According to its owner’s manual, the Radical SR8, which occupies the two top spots of the list, needs to be started “with a laptop connected to the ECU so that all engine parameters can be monitored during warm-up.” The recommended warm-up time for the top-ranking alleged “production, street legal vehicle” is 45 minutes. No idle-stop here. It needs its engine rebuilt after 30 hours, the drive shafts need to be replaced after 20 hours, and the brake discs must be inspected/replaced after 10 hours. Some production vehicle.
It gets faster an faster every year. On the other hand, the M3, today being the same as it first came out in 2007, still did not get beaten by its more young rivals.
First Drive: 2013 Nissan GT-R Track Pack Japanese Spec - Motor Trend In case you haven't been paying attention, the Nissan GT-R just received yet another power boost to its 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-6. At 545 hp and 463 lb-ft of torque, it's just 15 hp and 15 lb-ft more than before. That's a smaller jump than the 45-hp increase from 2011 to 2012, but it's still significant. Thanks to the extra power and some additional mods, the 2013 Nissan GT-R is now said to be capable of a high 10-second quarter mile, on a leaner gas mixture to boot. Unless you've got an eagle eye like the lads from "CSI: Miami" and happen to be a hard-core GT-R fanatic, you'll be hard-pressed to see the aesthetic revisions made to the 2013 model year car. The narrow brake ducts built into the front lip spoiler and the unique Rays alloys on the Track Pack special edition are about it. Inside, mod-spotting is a little easier as the Track Pack gets specially fitted slip-resistant seats and, well, no seats in the back. Spring rates at all four corners have also been modified to generate a more compliant ride while delivering even flatter cornering potential. To sample this latest Godzilla, we headed 230 miles north of Tokyo to Sugo Sportsland raceway. Arriving in the pits, we were greeted by five of these new GT-Rs, sitting there like a bunch of road-going F-15 Eagle jet fighters. Strapping ourselves in and heading out onto the track, we noticed a difference in the ride. It is still firm for sure, but there is less harshness and crashing as it rolls over bumps in the tarmac. As we approach the 7000-rpm redline in second, we start to feel the presence of the additional torque, particularly past 4500 rpm. With the throttle planted, it almost feels like you've got an extra turbo engaging as power overflows all the way to redline. More significant than the extra power is the beefier top end response, which makes the GT-R feel faster in every gear. What was a blisteringly quick car to start with is now just about unrivaled. After we get some heat into the tires, we kick it up a notch by heading towards redline in third before using the Brembo brakes to tuck the nose into a long right-hander, then gun it on the way out. The extra rigidity built into the steering column is noticeable by virtue of even sharper response and improved pinpoint accuracy in the corners. We notice that the cornering g meter on the dash reads 2.3 g, and are not surprised to see a figure of 1.6 g pop up as we stomp on the brakes for a tight hairpin. We later hear that chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno's team has recorded a maximum of 2.8 g in the corners and 1.9 g under full braking at the Nurburgring. Even with racing experience at the German track, the cornering limits of this new GT-R are so high that they necessitate a recalibration of your brain. It goes into a corner faster than anything we've driven, holds a faster cornering speed than any rival, and can deliver a quicker exit speed from any type of corner. The specially rated 20-inch run-flat Dunlops have the most unenviable job in the world of grip, but deliver traction levels like no other mass production tire. We then headed to the specially prepared and coned-off section of the track to try out the GT-R's new sprinting ability. Launch control is enabled by switching the three buttons for drivetrain, suspension, and traction control to R-N-R. Then, with our left foot firm on the brake pedal, we push the throttle into the floor until the engine hits its 4000 rpm preset, remembering to remove the left foot from the brake in under 3 seconds to avoid entering the power-down mode that temporarily starves the engine of power. As the rear tires fight for grip, the GT-R hunkers down before throwing us hard back into our seat as it launches like an F-18 catapulted off the deck of an aircraft carrier. Without even trying to maximize turbo spool-up or optimize gear changes, we still manage a 2.95-second time from 0-to-60 mph, but don't quite have enough straight track to set a usable quarter-mile time. Back at the pits we learn that Mizuno's team, using 96 octane gasoline, set a 0-60 time of 2.7 seconds and a quarter-mile sprint of 10.8 seconds, both significantly quicker times than the previous GT-R's 3.1 and 11.1, respectively. Unlike the U.S-spec model, the right-hand-drive Japanese-spec model we're driving gets a world-first asymmetrical suspension setup. Designed to counter the unbalanced nature of the right-hand-drive car caused by the right-side mounted transfer case and driveshaft (something Mizuno wanted to address from the beginning), this trick setup increases the front left spring rate while reducing the right rear rate to generate a flatter, smoother ride. This spring rate tweak actually makes the front end feel firmer and more responsive -- especially on a high-speed right-hand turn. Don't expect to see this setup on the left-hand-drive U.S. spec car, as Mizuno doesn't think it is needed, likely because the left-seated driver offsets the weight of the drivetrain components. Interestingly, the GT-R felt marginally flatter through Sugo circuit's twisties, but displayed a slight tendency to oversteer near its stratospheric limits, something it was less prone to do in the previous model. It is readily controlled by a quick dab of opposite lock. If delivering ultimate thrills, mind-bending performance and handling -- all for under $100,000 -- is what the GT-R is all about, then the 2013 GT-R accomplishes its mission even better than before. When a Kuwaiti sheik orders three GT-Rs on the spot after a test drive in Abu Dhabi, you know Nissan must be doing something right.
My hats off for all those in Nissan who haven't sat on their laurels. In order stay on top (or at least near the top), constant improvements are a must.
Surprisingly that's been done in a very tasteful manner. The gold-plating of the grille looks like bull horns. That interior is fantastic! Very nice, very nice.
This just got me wondering, why do some car makers intentionally under-declare power figures? How does it benefit them?
I think so they rather have customers be pleasantly surprised than disappointed with the performance.
^Yup. It instills some confidence in the product, that the manufacturer is delivering at least the stated power, if not a bit more. We have seen the opposite (old Ford Mustang Cobra and some Mazda products) that didn't deliver as advertised, and this left a bitter taste in the mouth of enough consumers to become something of a PR nightmare; some customers cared enough to sue the company. In the case of the GT-R, there were accusations after early press tests that it made more power than claimed. Such accusations are pretty hollow when you can say "Well, so what? Customer cars actually make more than the stated claim too." If anything, it's actually the torque that is being markedly underreported, with many customer cars reporting on chassis dynos what they theoretically make at the crank.
There's just no such thing as a bad day at the test track with Godzilla. Jaded much? Not after you see a Nissan GT-R lay down numbers that just shouldn't belong to a 3,900-pound car. For 2013, the GT-R gains another 15 horsepower and another 15 pound-feet of torque, plus yet more transmission refinements and a retuned suspension. As you'll see, these modest updates didn't translate to better straight-line performance compared to the 2012 GT-R Black Edition we tested last year (although, our 2013 GT-R Premium test car proved more finicky, shutting down its launch control when it decided its drivetrain bits had gotten too hot). But this car is still as quick as the last 911 Turbo we tested, even if the Porsche logs a faster trap speed. Similarly, the suspension retune didn't net any measurable improvement in the slalom. But how many other cars can beat its slalom speed? Let's see: Dodge Viper (74.2 mph), Godzilla Black Edition (74.7) and 997 Porsche 911 GT3 (75.3). In short, this car is still incredible. Acceleration 0-30 (sec): 1.3 (2.3 w/ TC on) 0-45 (sec): 2.0 (3.2 w/ TC on) 0-60 (sec): 3.1 (4.3 w/ TC on) 0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 2.9 (3.9 w/ TC on) 0-75 (sec): 4.4 (5.7 w/ TC on) 1/4-Mile (sec @ mph): 11.1 @ 123.3 (12.1 @ 122.1 w/ TC on) Braking 30-0 (ft): 26 60-0 (ft): 106 Handling Slalom (mph): 73.7 (73.7 w/ ESC on) Skid Pad Lateral acceleration (g): 1.01 (0.99 w/ ESC on) Acceleration: Fast but finicky. Sometimes would lose power after the 1-2 shift, and after 5th or 6th run, refused to activate launch control. But when it works properly and makes full power, it's alarmingly quick. Launch control brought revs to 4,000 rpm. Quickest run in "A" letting the computer make its really fast shifts itself. A great launch meant all four tires spinning. Manual shifting via column-mounted paddles. Blips throttle on downshifts. Will hold gears to rev limiter. Braking: Erratic stopping distances, but incredibly stable and secure stops. Pedal is firm but expected it to be even firmer. First stop was 111 feet. Best stop was sixth (out of seven) at 106 feet. Worst was third stop at 113 feet. Skid pad: Lots and lots of grip here. Oddity that clockwise direction was just ever so slightly quicker than counter-clockwise. Modulating throttle didn't do a whole lot to alter the car's attitude. Slalom: Downright amazing through the slalom. Quick, precise steering and lots of grip. It's almost easy to go this fast. Getting on the throttle early around the second-to-last cone would bring the tail out nicely. "R" VDC mode with some ESC ability proves just as effective as turning it all off.
2013 Nissan GT-R Premium Full Test and Video Sometimes change is good. Other times change is for the worse. And then there are those rare occasions when change amounts to, well, squat. That's the story with the 2013 Nissan GT-R Premium — squat. And by "squat" we mean it's virtually unchanged from the 2012 model — at least when measured solely by the cold, unforgiving hundred-units-per-second standard set by our test equipment. Fortunately, there's more to a sports car — especially one this unique — than can be gleaned from sheer ones and zeros. "The GT-R is boring to drive" and "The GT-R is easy to drive" are statements trotted out by the Internet infidel crowd so often they've become trite. Quite apart from the fact that one must actually have driven a GT-R to make such an observation authentic, these claims are simply no longer true. And they haven't been for nearly a year. New Year, New Updates There's a simple reason for this. For the 2012 model year, Nissan brought about a sea change in the GT-R world, adding 45 horsepower, bigger brakes and refined suspension tuning. And for 2013, the changes keep coming. Nissan told us the 2013 GT-R would feature "a number of engine and suspension refinements...all designed to enhance its already legendary performance." This is in addition to last year's dramatic changes. Who could blame us for being excited? But after putting the 2013 Nissan GT-R through our test regimen, we won't waste precious bandwidth waxing on about how this fifth-year GT-R is a much better machine than last year's. But we will tell you this: It's still awesome — even if its performance numbers have changed no more than a fraction of a second. More Power, Same Thrust The GT-R's otherworldly goodness begins with its incredible 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6. For 2013 this hand-built all-aluminum engine has been massaged yet again. Engineers improved the effectiveness of the intake, enlarged the air intake ducts for the intercoolers and increased the efficiency of the exhaust emissions. Output jumps from 530 horsepower to 545 hp at 6,400 rpm. Torque increases 15 pound-feet as well, now at 463 lb-ft from 3,200-5,800 rpm. But when we got to our test track, this pre-production GT-R proved slow — anywhere from three-tenths to a full second off last year's 3.1-second run to 60 mph. Launch control (race mode start in Nissan speak) appeared to be working properly, as it would hold revs at 4,000 rpm before we'd release the brake. But it couldn't spin the tires, and twice it balked just slightly after the 1-2 shift. So we let it cool down, and then on the first run back (seventh overall), suddenly all was right in GT-R land. A dramatic all-four-tires-spinning launch netted 60 mph in 3.1 seconds (2.9 seconds with a 1-foot rollout like at a drag strip) and finished off the quarter-mile in 11.1 seconds at 123.3 mph, identical to the 2012 model, other than that car's slightly higher trap speed of 124.1 mph. But Where's the Sound? The 2013 Nissan GT-R is a blast to drive because it's so fast and so capable. And, yes, a four-tire-spinning launch is something to experience, but there's no pretending the GT-R offers the orchestra of tones offered by a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Corvette Z06 or a Porsche 911. In fact, intake noise so dominates the GT-R's twin-turbo V6 that it sounds like the world's fastest vacuum cleaner. And between the paddle shifting and the all-wheel drive, the GT-R can still, at times, seem clinical. But remember, with this antiseptic nature comes immensely accessible speed and control. Speaking of the GT-R's six-speed dual-clutch transmission, it's been dinged from Day 1 for its noise and clunkiness. The engineers addressed the noise issue with a stiffer shift fork arm and a stronger fixing bearing for the flywheel housing. They also made motorsports-level differential oil standard. If there's a difference, it's barely perceptible. There's still a decent amount of clatter from the transmission, and it can still be clunky, especially in stop-and-go traffic, in full Automatic mode. We're not weenies, so we usually kept full control over the gear selection using the leather-covered steering-column-mounted magnesium paddles. Upshifts are ridiculously quick, and the downshift throttle blips are perfect every time. It's a Stiffie The GT-R development team stiffened up the car's structure for 2013, including reinforcements around the engine bay and dash panel to "create a better sense of grip from the driver seat." We asked for more specifics, but we were told that "the GT-R is a very closely held development process." Along with the body reinforcements came slightly stiffer spring rates, while the shocks have newly designed bypass valves. A Nissan official told us the goal was to "make the car more drivable in the real world without sacrificing performance." But on the road, the GT-R rides as harshly, or harsher, than ever — even with the cockpit-adjustable Bilstein DampTronic shocks set to Comfort. Just how stiff is it? Check out the photo of our test car lifting its inside front tire off the ground at the racetrack — no curb needed. To our seat-of-the-pants sensibilities, the suspension changes make the 2013 Nissan GT-R more lively than ever, with a new willingness to rotate under drop-throttle or braking in medium-to-high-speed corners. It's engaging and genuinely controllable — a combo not often found in cars this quick. The changes, although seemingly conflicted for making the GT-R more drivable, had little influence on handling from a pure numbers standpoint. Its slalom time of 73.7 mph was actually a smidge off the GT-R Black Edition we tested last year, although it's still in the very upper echelon of sports cars. Same story on the skid pad, where it turned 0.99g with ESC off (slightly worse than last year), while its 1.01g with ESC on is better. Translation: The GT-R has outrageous grip. Stopping Short(er) Last year's GT-R received larger front brake rotors: 15.4-inch Brembos up front clamped by six-piston calipers. For 2013 everything remains the same, including the 255/40ZRF20 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT 600 tires up front, with 285/35ZRF20s at the rear. Still, the 2013 GT-R stopped 2 feet shorter from 60 mph (106 feet) and a foot shorter from 30 mph (26 feet). Stops were incredibly stable and the pedal has a firm feel, but distances were quite erratic, varying by as much as 7 feet. Don't Confuse Awesome for Uninvolving Early GT-Rs were built to understeer. It was a sad but true reality designed to keep owners on the road and alive. This conservative tuning strategy might have preserved a few GT-Rs (and possibly their occupants), but it consumed front tires at a rate that made owners question this car's value equation. Because of its conservative chassis tuning and the fact that it produced only 480 hp, it was difficult to drive with the throttle. As Nissan has added power and livened up the suspension tuning, it's become ever easier to achieve power-on oversteer exiting corners. And with 545 hp the GT-R's attitude changes awfully quick if you get greedy with the throttle, so you'd better be ready to catch it with countersteer. In fact, everything about the 2013 GT-R is immediate and carries a welcome degree of edginess. Steering is quick and precise and the GT-R is wonderfully communicative. And we love the fact that it is no longer the stubbornly planted machine it was originally. It now has some sass while it hauls ass. It's like a Mitsubishi Evo on 5-hour Energy when driven on twisty back roads. Still, everything about the 2013 Nissan GT-R is designed to keep you on the road. You can hate Nissan's engineers for making this car so capable for so many drivers. Or you can appreciate and stand in awe. Which is what we generally do. Still Phenomenal There has to be a difference for there to be a difference. Granted, we didn't drive the 2013 Nissan GT-R back-to-back with the 2012. And physics being physics, 15 extra horses should make little to no difference in a car weighing almost 4,000 pounds. And it didn't. And so it is that, despite a few changes, the 2013 Nissan GT-R performs pretty much identically to the '12. Is that a problem? Not for us. We drove our pre-production GT-R some 400 droning highway miles from Phoenix back to Southern California. Then we put it through our instrumented testing, drove it around town, trundled in traffic on the 405, did hot laps at a racetrack and absolutely destroyed a couple of gnarly back roads. It proved equally adept at all. The GT-R remains what it was when it entered the market five years ago: an engineering masterpiece of a supercar that you can drive every day, in the vein of the Audi R8 and Porsche 911 Turbo, albeit for considerably less money than the Germans. And with each year's evolution, minor as this one might be, the 2013 Nissan GT-R becomes ever more capable and, more importantly, fun to drive. Sure, the numbers this year might not add up to squat, but Nissan knows what's most important. What Works (pros): Neck-wrenching acceleration, phenomenal handling, (more) power, everyday drivability. What Needs Work (cons): Overly stiff ride, engine lacks any audible soul. Bottom Line: Changes to the 2013 GT-R didn't improve its performance envelope much. We don't care, as it remains one of the most capable sports cars ever created.
