German Car Forum

Just a reminder, GT5 Prologue will be available for download on the 20th. The GT-R should be included in there.

It's for Japan only on the 20th, the rest of the world might get it next week.

Here is a link showing you how to set up a japanese PSN account, feel free to make stuff up, it just checks the validity of stuff like email address (sign-in ID) and post code. I have had a Japanese store account since January and can download any item that is free (and if I had a mastercard I could get the stuff that costs money too).

- How to Create a Japanese PS Network Account and Download Mainichi Issyo

^Yeah, I've thought about creating a japanese PSN account, but since I don't really want to deal with games in Japanese I just let it slide. LOL

First Drive: 2009 Nissan GT-R

Driving Nissan's Ambitious GT-R
By Jason Kavanagh,

Three diagonal gray stripes in a circle granted me permission to click the
2009 Nissan GT-R's left paddle shifter twice in rapid succession and floor the throttle. No, it's not some kind of hallucination. This symbol, when posted on the shoulder of Germany's autobahn, represents the unrestricted portion where all speed limits are removed.

The speed starts piling on like a roller coaster that's been pointed down Niagara Falls. As the tach needle nearly impales itself on a big 7, I give the right paddle a flick and keep the throttle buried. The engine note is barely interrupted and the falling sensation begins anew, at a rate that seems impossible at velocities this high.

I'm driving a "PT2" iteration of the 2009 Nissan GT-R, a right-hand-drive preproduction car with black diapers masking the styling of the nose and tail. There's black tape covering the door handles, the headlights, even the GT-R badge on the steering wheel. No one in the world has driven a final production version, because at this point the final production version doesn't exist.

Despite the risk associated with letting such a rare breed run free, Nissan handed the GT-R's keys over to us with barely a shred of paperwork. The 'Ring was temporarily off-limits, so we did what you would do. We headed to the autobahn and then plied the web of sparsely traveled two-lane country roads in Nurburg's surrounding locale.

Few, Fast and Fuss-Free
There are just three PT2 GT-Rs in Nissan's stable, and all three cars are currently stationed in Nurburg, Germany, home of the famed Nürburgring racetrack. Two of the cars are devoted to track duty and the remaining one is used by the company for development on Germany's public roads, including the autobahn.

In the automotive equivalent of a peep show, a vinyl sheet with a little window for each switch and button has been fitted over the GT-R's entire dashboard and center console. I search for the red engine start button on the console and give it a poke. The VR38 engine starts with a muted, bassy thrum that sounds more special and guttural than Nissan's series-production VQ engine.

Maybe it's the divided intake that splits the flow paths for each cylinder bank, or the turbos that act as muffling devices, but I swear the GT-R speaks in a more cultured tongue than the last Infiniti G37 we tested. The GT-R sounds unstrained, as if it's never working hard.

Once underway, it is immediately apparent that no concessions to drivability have been made on the altar of high performance. Tilt the steering wheel to gain an unobstructed view of the center-mounted rev counter and the entire instrument cluster pivots with it. Visibility through the upright windshield is expansive despite a fairly tall cowl, and the GT-R's seats have more adjustment options than a Mr. Potato Head. From the steering to the brake pedal, all of the control efforts carry precision and appropriate heft over a vast range of speeds.

Twin-Turbo V6
Roll into the throttle at nearly any engine speed and the GT-R drenches you in thrust. Turbo lag from the VR38 3.8-liter V6 is essentially nonexistent, so the immense torque arrives immediately. Indeed, the engine's punch is strongest in the midrange, where the GT-R delivers 434 pound-feet of torque from 3,200 to 5,200 rpm.

Being turbocharged, the VR38 doesn't have to rely on insanely high revs to generate its goods. That's what boost is for, and the GT-R's twin IHI turbos generate between 10.1 and 11.6 psi (depending on ambient conditions) to deliver peak power of 473 horsepower at 6,400 rpm.

Yet this mill remains perfectly mannered whether it's being thrashed mercilessly or just lugged around town. If you left the transmission in automatic mode and only used one-quarter throttle, you'd never guess that this car could suck the doors off nearly anything on the road.

Holding a conversation with the Nissan engineer riding shotgun even during a 250-kph (155 mph) cruise barely requires raised voices, and the locked-down high-speed stability inspires me to pick up the pace. Alas, there are too many other cars on the autobahn to push much beyond this speed.

More Than Just an Engine
As heroic as the engine is, the six-speed dual-clutch automated manual gearbox is a key contributor to the GT-R's personality. The paddle-shifted gearbox, mounted between the rear wheels, changes gears seamlessly with astonishing speed. Shifts are claimed to take just 0.2 second from the time the lever is pulled until the clutch is fully engaged.

In full automatic mode, the transmission calls up 6th gear even at low speeds in order to maximize fuel economy, but will downshift without delay when the throttle's dipped.

The GT-R's stability and unrelenting acceleration even from autobahn velocities owe much to the car's aerodynamics. A slippery 0.27 drag coefficient allows the GT-R to use its engine's power to accelerate the car rather than just overcome speed-sucking drag. The GT-R's body develops significant downforce on both axles at speed.

Exiting an uphill right-hander in 3rd gear, the 1.5-way limited-slip differential (which locks aggressively on acceleration but less so on lift-throttle) is briefly overwhelmed by my heavy right foot. The momentary wheelspin can be felt in the steering wheel, yet the traction available in the all-wheel-drive GT-R is prodigious. It's easy to drive the GT-R fast. Dangerously easy, if you value maintaining a valid driver license.

Suspension damping can be adjusted among three positions by a rocker switch on the center console — Comfort, Sport (the default position) and R ("Race") modes. The difference between Comfort and Sport is subtle, though neither one could be considered plush.

There's nothing subtle at all about R mode, the damper setting that's best for balls-out driving on roads free of blemishes. During aggressive driving on smooth tarmac, R mode's body roll control rules with an iron fist.

High Density
We slow to a crawl as we enter a small hamlet. The GT-R feels at once substantial and confident, just as the jagged styling suggests. Its 3,836-pound curb weight is borderline obese for a performance car, though it carries its weight well, since most of the heavy bits like the engine don't hang near the extreme ends of the car.

Many weight-saving measures were taken. Aluminum was used in the doors, fenders, deck lid, suspension, front shock towers and front subframe, and carbon fiber is found in all six driveshafts and the bolt-on front crash structure.

Still, it's fundamentally a big, steel-chassis car packed with a lot of equipment including enormous 20-inch wheels, 255/40 front and 285/35 rear run-flat tires and the largest brakes this side of a Peterbilt. All that stuff adds up.

The first GT-R is a starting point. Even at this early point, future iterations promise further weight reduction and more power. Nissan is mum on the particulars but insiders have confirmed the existence of an even hotter GT-R, and it isn't far away.

Bright Future
Even in this preproduction state and among the nonstop hype, it's hard not to be impressed by the Nissan GT-R. The car's performance envelope is as broad as Texas, and it is as perfectly content creeping along in rain-drizzled traffic as it is smashing the Nurburgring lap times of some of the world's fastest sports cars. It demands little sacrifice from its owner, offering all-weather capability in a truly practical package.

And it's devastatingly fast.

Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.

First Drive: 2009 Nissan GT-R

^i belive its time for me to admit..
i so badly wanted this car to look good..and the concept was one of the hottest car ever..
so therefor after the realease of the real deal..ive been fooling my mind into making this car look good..
but i have to admit..the TOTALLY ruined the front..
and with that the whole car..
its not even attractive to me anymore..

and im sad about it

^ Nonsense Artist... all that boxing's made you a little soft in the head

I didn't care all that much for the concept's "tiger-striped" front. This looks much better and more consumer friendly. It'll also work better with a variation of colours; not just silver. I'm thinking white GT-R - anyone? (Stuck record again eh?)

Also, I have a feeling that this isn't the last we've seen from the GT-R in terms of detail features. Look at those rather tame looking strakes in the lower bumper beneath the headlights - surely a hint of something more "venty" to come for even more performance orientated models. V-Spec, Spec Nur... Surely Nissan has its sights set on even more bombastic iterations of this new car in the future?

^i hope your right.. i hope some other colour or a high end modell will look better..

According to the rumors there will be 2-3 versions, so perhaps they are saving some of the eye candy for the high end version.

Yup, I am hoping they are saving the nice bits under the headlight for the V -spec.

highres images, even a red and white skyline is here

NISSAN GT-R Press Room

Hot pics. Not the most beautiful car in the world, but it does look brutally purposeful, if you know what I mean. Like the Enzo.

M

Erm, if you ask me that's is like comparing your beautiful Ursla (Nissan) to most ugly car Aztek (Enzo).

It's confirmed: a high tech, Dual Clutch transaxle, all-wheel drive drivetrain. The first of its kind ever... Wonders never cease. How'd they do it? [inserts frothing-at-the-mouth smiley]



I've never seen anything like it. Two propshafts! How'd they keep the weight down on this thing? Mindblow! Thud.

Lol. You remembered her name!

M

This car got the power, advanced stuff but Im not sold on the design. I love the rear but the rest need to get used to. Its scandal that blue color isnt available

Sure thing!

So the car they called Godzilla is back?

It is indeed. We’ve been waiting for Nissan’s supercar scarer to return since the concept was unveiled back in 2001. And when the GT-R Proto teased us with near production car styling in 2005’s Tokyo show, we hoped it’d be with us before too long. But even though the GT-R goes on sale in Japan this December, it now won’t reach the UK until March 2009 according to Nissan UK.

This time, however, big changes are afoot. Yes the new GT-R looks as brutally functional as the old R34 Skyline, and it’s still got twin turbos and four-wheel drive, but the GT-R’s straight six engine is gone, as is the old four-wheel steer HICAS system and the manual gearbox. New for this generation is a transaxle, a six-speed auto gearbox and a V6 twin turbo. And the GT-R will finally go international, left-hand drive models coming on stream in 2008.

Most surprising of all, the Skyline badge has disappeared, Nissan wanting to distance the GT-R from the base Skyline models (Infiniti G models in the US) that still exist in Japan.

Talk about ripping up the rulebook…

Exactly. When we visited Nissan’s Hokkaido test track in Japan during the final stages of development, engineer Akira Nagai told CAR that the old 2.6-litre RB26DETT engine couldn’t meet upcoming emissions regulations, but countered that the new engine is smoother, more instantly responsive from low down and much more economical.

It’s also far more powerful, with 473bhp delivered at 7000rpm compared with the old model’s 320bhp or so – R34’s always making more than the claimed 276bhp. Peak torque is 433lb ft and all of it's on tap from 3200rpm to 5200rpm, although the 1740kg kerbweight does rather spoil the power-to-weight ratio.

The 3.8-litre V6 is distantly related to the naturally aspirated VQ engines found in the 350Z and Infiniti G37. Codenamed VR38DETT, the cylinder bores are plasma-sprayed to keep temperatures down, the turbos are by IHI and – long-standing internet rumour has it – Cosworth played a large role in the engine’s development.

Don’t tell me, it’s bulletproof?

Time will tell, but it would appear that the GT-R has been exhaustively tested and impeccably engineered. It’s been refined on various circuits, pounded remorselessly around Nissan’s Arizona test facility in 110 degree F heat at 180mph, and subjected to cold-weather testing in Scandinavia.

There’s a high-pressure radiator and a high-capacity water pump while radiators cooling the engine oil and the turbos help deal with hot conditions and enthusiastic driving. Elsewhere, a scavenger pump ensures oil flow to each turbo under extreme cornering.

So if you manage to break the GT-R, Nissan’s test department might well have a vacancy for you.

What’ll she do mister?

Nissan is claiming a 3.5sec dash to 60mph, a 194mph top speed and some seriously impressive lap times. As well as testing at the pretend autobahn that is Hokkaido, Nissan has also spent time at the ultra-demanding Sendai circuit in Japan and covered over 3000 miles at the Nordschleife. Other racing circuits were avoided, chief vehicle engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno dismissing them as ‘too easy’.

Nissan’s original aim was to knock the 911 Turbo off its perch but Akira Nagai tells us the GT-R has given the hugely expensive Porsche Carrera GT a good run for its money at the Nurburgring. And while they haven’t beaten that car’s 7min 32sec lap time, it’s said to be not far off.

But there’s an altogether slower figure that Nissan is keen to push: the 62-0mph stopping distance of 36.9 metres. That’s claimed to be better than any European supercar and officially stands as the best braking performance of any car subjected to Japan’s compulsory type approval tests. Thank the 380mm Brembo front and rear vented discs for that.

What’s the thinking behind the transaxle?

Nissan has incorporated the gearbox into the rear axle in the name of superior weight distribution. It’s a first for the GT-R and further distances the Japanese supercar from its Skyline origins. The GT-R employs two carbonfibre propshafts to reduce vibration and power loss. One feeds torque to the front differential from the rear transaxle, the other connects the engine to the rear transaxle. (Here is your answer martin, they used the good stuff)

The six-speed transmission is designated GR6. It’s Nissan’s own work (with race division Nismo lending a big hand) and it shifts in just 0.2secs thanks to odd number gears being pre-selected when even numbers are engaged and vice versa – much like Volkswagen’s DSG system. Drivers can choose one mode for aggressive semi-manual shifts (the paddleshifters are fixed in place so you know where you are when things get frantic) or select the soft-shifting auto mode for cruising around town. It’s all part of Nissan’s bid to make the GT-R more user-friendly.

Did you say user-friendly? Has the GT-R lost its edge?

It definitely won’t be as raw as the R34, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun. Like last time, the four-wheel drive system is mechanically operated but computer controlled and, while the GT-R is predominantly a rear-wheel drive car under normal driving, it can shift up to 50 percent of drive up front when things get tricky. This time, though, it’s faster acting, so it won’t slip into satisfying drifts as the R34 was so keen to do.

But while the four-wheel drive system is revised, the four-wheel steer system has been ditched altogether. That’s probably a good thing, Nagai explaining that it makes for purer, more intuitive driving dynamics.

Ugly looking thing, isn’t it?

The GT-R certainly isn’t beautiful, but then that’s not the idea. ‘We didn’t want a nice elegant shape – we wanted an original shape,’ comments design director Shiro Nakamura. ‘I see it as a car influenced not by feminine beauty, but by masculine beauty – it is strong, well toned, well muscled.’

Form definitely follows function here, the body surfaces sculpted to best direct airflow for aerodynamics and handling. So while the GT-R can boast a highly slippery 0.27Cd drag co-efficient, it also generates high levels of downforce over both axles, greatly aiding high-speed stability.

It’s safe too, the body consisting of carbonfibre, diecast aluminium and steel to ensure a high level of rigidity and crash protection. In fact, it was the quest for better crash and pedestrian protection that led Nissan to tweak the GT-R Proto’s front-end styling for the production car – to the dismay of some hardcore fans.

Let me guess. It looks good, it’s great to drive, but the interior’s a letdown…

Not so fast. Nissan has made a huge leap forward with the GT-R. The seats feature plump, luxurious-feeling leather; the plastics (in the more noticeable areas at least) have a quality, squishy feel to them and aluminium trim lifts the ambience. Make no mistake, the GT-R’s biggest weakness is a thing of the past.

Not that the spirit of R34 is entirely vanquished: the steering wheel looks similar and it’s still pleasingly thin and tactile. Best of all, the digital central screen – complete with g-force readings and dials showing the engine’s vital signs – remains. This time, though, life imitates art: the graphics have been designed by the people who brought us Gran Turismo.

We’re told there’ll be one trim level for the UK, with a 350Z-style GT pack offering a better quality stereo (our demo car had an 11-speaker Bose set-up) and trim. Whatever the truth, the interior is a huge step forward.

When can I get one?

With the engines being hand-assembled in Nissan’s Tochigi production plant (a facility shared with Infiniti, Nissan’s upmarket off-shoot), production is limited to around 1000 cars a month. So you’ll need to get a deposit down now to guarantee delivery in 2008, such is the expected demand.

No doubt the enterprising souls out there will try to ship some early Japanese examples to the UK, but we’d hold fire; you’ll no doubt pay a premium to get hold of a GT-R so early and, because genuine UK cars will be readily available in due course, these early imports will only be attractive to the next buyer at knock-down prices. We don’t blame you for tying to jump the gun, though.


Nissan GT-R full details - First Official Pictures - Carmagazine.co.uk


M

The prize for the most surreal pre-show show went to Nissan, which unveiled the new GT-R in a hastily modified underground car park. So much has already been said and written about this car that the unveil was hardly a shock, but project chief Kazutoshi Mizuno still had some interesting nuggets to share. Plus, we got the see the supercar in red.

Much is being made of the car’s laptime at the famous Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany. Mizuno claimed a time of 7min 38sec, compared with 7:43 for a Porsche 911 GT3 and 7:32 for a Carrera GT, but he was anxious to point out that there had been “two wet patches on the circuit”. Indeed, he mentioned the ‘wet patches’ so many times that you wondered why Nissan simply hadn’t waited for a dry day.

Mizuno reckoned that a time of around 7:30 should have been possible in the dry, but that going much faster would have required hand-cut slicks, which isn’t ‘real world’. Bizarrely, Nissan admitted to having different test drivers for different lapping. While chief test driver Toshio Suzuki operates in the 7:30 – 7:40 range, his right hand man is a 7:40 – 7:50 man. It’s amazing how much the ‘’Ring vernacular’’ has entered the Japanese psyche.

The GT-R engine will be built in a clean room by a single craftsman, which will limit production to just 1000 units a month, split between Japan, Europe, the US and the rest of the world. Given that the GT-R promises 911 Turbo performance for Carrera money, we expect to see some frustrated customers at Nissan dealers when the car goes on sale in the US in June 2008. “Instead of asking why our cars are so cheap, ask why our competitors are so expensive,” said Mizuno, who revealed that the first GT-R had already been delivered to Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.

The old R34 GT-R was famed for its easily-accessible oversteer, but all the videos of the car from the ’Ring suggested a balance tuned towards understeer. “You cannot compare the old with the new,” Mizuno told me. “We have a new control logic to turn the car. This is a supercar you can drive in the snow and the rain. When there were wet patches on the Nurburgring, there was no sawing at the wheel. This is not a maniac car for a limited audience.” Whether this has compromised one of the old car’s more amusing characteristics remains to be seen.

One other intriguing snippet of information came from the GT-R’s chief designer, Hiroshi Hasegawa. I asked whether there had been any plans to produce an Infinity GT-R and his answer wasn’t totally dismissive, admitting that, “going forwards there might be some discussions.”

Hasegawa also revealed that the blacked-out A-pillar and sloping cabin are “a symbolic theme” that we’ll see on other future Nissans. – Alistair Weaver, European Editor

Straightline - 2007 Tokyo Auto Show: 2009 Nissan GT-R in Red

M

argghh its so great..and everything..
but damn that front..
WHY???

Sexy promo video here:

http://www.germancarforum.com/sound-v...tml#post244321

after looking at some IRL shots, I really like the design. Much better in IRL shots then the official company ones.

I still have issues with it's front end. This is probably the only car I would probably put on one of those bra thingies to make it look like the spy pics or may be just get a black one.