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The Making of a Mass-Produced Supercar
Given its limited production numbers and stunning performance, you might think the 2009 Nissan GT-R would get its very own assembly line, a place where a small group of technicians work in near silence, slowly piecing together individual cars like craftsmen in a hot-rod shop.
That thought goes out the window the second you walk into the assembly area at Nissan's assembly plant in Tochigi, Japan, about 60 miles outside Tokyo. There, on various racks and conveyor belts, are GT-Rs all right, but they're mixed in among Infiniti G37 coupes and G35 sedans just like any other Nissan. They're all headed down the same production line and assembled by the same technicians.
So it's not what you might expect, but this doesn't tell the whole story of the 2009 Nissan GT-R's assembly process. There are areas where the GT-R does get special attention from dedicated technicians, but you have to take a few steps back in the build process to find them.
Yokohama's Finest
Nissan's Yokohama engine factory is where the GT-R gets the bulk of its special attention. It's here that a special clean room has been created to assemble the GT-R's twin-turbo V6, referred to internally as the VR38DETT.
This is the most powerful production engine Nissan has ever built, so each V6's assembly is overseen by a single technician who guides the process from start to finish. Watching these men at work, it's clear that the often frantic nature of an assembly line does not exist in this clean room. The techs are never in a hurry. They work quickly and efficiently in a room where both the air pressure and air temperature are precisely controlled to avoid contamination of the parts, the kind of environment usually seen only in the assembly of racing engines.
From start to finish, the entire build process takes 200 minutes. This works out to roughly 27 engines a day at the plant's current staffing level. Eventually there will be 20 technicians working on two shifts to meet the full production goal of 12,000 GT-Rs a year. If there's demand for more, additional workers will be added, but the allotted time to build the engine will not change, Nissan tells us.
When each engine is completed, it's test-fired and checked for power and torque on a dynamometer before heading to the Tochigi assembly plant where the whole GT-R comes together.
Smooth and Straight at 186 MPH
At Tochigi, the assembly of the GT-R's rear suspension surprisingly gets nearly as much attention as the engine. It's done by a small group of technicians away from the main line, and the centerpiece of the process is the hand-assembled Borg-Warner transaxle. Once complete, the entire setup is placed in a laser-equipped alignment rack to check all the tolerances.
Through an interpreter, one technician notes that the new suspension allows for adjustments that make it "a third more precise" than conventional setups. So either the 350Zs made here are hopelessly vague or the GT-R is extremely precise. Bet on the latter, as the GT-R is meant to deliver maximum stability and smoothness even at 186 mph.
Not Just Another Infiniti
Most of the body structure assembly and painting is done in areas of the plant Nissan doesn't want to show off. We suspect there are secret processes involved in joining together the GT-R's exotic mix of steel, aluminum and carbon-fiber parts, so it's no wonder Nissan isn't exactly forthcoming.
The tail end of the build process is much less guarded. It's here that the GT-R squeezes in among dozens of Infiniti G35s and G37s, and all receive the same level of attention. According to the line workers, installing the engine is the hardest part. The big V6 goes in from the bottom on a hydraulic lift and there's not much room for error. Once it's bolted down, they quickly assemble and connect all the various wiring harnesses. It looks like a haphazard rush of activity, but the workers don't look fazed. They could do it in their sleep, and probably have.
Toward the end of the line, each car is driven onto rollers where it's fired up and taken up to roughly 75 mph to make sure everything feels right. Then it's moved into a tunnel lit by fluorescent light, where each GT-R is given a thorough once-over, making sure there are no uneven panel gaps, scratches in the paint, or anything else that might suggest a less-than-perfect build.
From there it's on to the giant oval test track that surrounds the Tochigi plant, where a dedicated team of test-drivers gives each new GT-R a shakedown run. In addition to basic road tests, there's also a procedure for bedding in the brake pads of the GT-R's giant brakes. The test-drivers accelerate up to 3rd gear, and then get hard on the brakes while keeping varying levels of pressure on the gas pedal. It's the same process that you'd go through bedding in new pads (whether for the street or the racetrack), so the GT-R will deliver maximum brakeforce from Day One — probably a good idea in a 186-mph car.
Building GT-Rs for Fun and Profit
Though the 2009 Nissan GT-R provides a kind of halo for the entire Nissan product line, it still needs to be profitable. If not, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has promised to kill it as if it were just a slow-selling minivan. It's the necessity for economic viability that goes a long way toward explaining the mix of craftsmanship and mass production that goes into the GT-R.
Sure, the GT-R might be the closest thing to a Japanese-brand Ferrari, but its sticker price means there are compromises. You want a hand-stitched leather dashboard? Save up for the Ferrari. You want one of the fastest cars in the world for $70,000? This is how it's done
Video:
2009 Nissan GT-R: Inside Nissan's Tochigi Assembly Plant
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