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Nissan GT-R designer admits he drew inspiration from the timeless Porsche 911
By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS 8 November 2007
NISSAN chief designer Shiro Nakamura has revealed that the timeless nature of the Porsche 911 was a guiding force behind the look of the all-new R35-series GT-R supercar.
Speaking at last month’s recent Tokyo motor show, Mr Nakamura said his goal with the GT-R was to achieve a “stand-alone” look that expressed modern Japanese culture.
He singled out the Porsche 911 as a great example of automotive design that has withstood fashions and trends throughout its lifetime while evolving with the times.
“The Porsche 911’s design vocabulary is stand-alone, so it does not look old,” Mr Nakamura said. “So I had a similar mindset.”
“With the production model, we wanted it to look less decorative (than the 2005 GT-R Proto).
“Simpler is better. Design-wise the GT-R was very much designed by the wind tunnel. (Its) aerodynamics are very good – it looks boxy but (actually) it is very good.”
Mr Nakamura said that despite the divergence of GT-R and the more mainstream Skyline models, Nissan did not consider switching to a mid-engined arrangement for its premium sportscar.
“There was an opportunity to do that but I think the GT-R has a long history, a long heritage... it is the sixth-generation GT-R – and even though we have taken the ‘Skyline’ name out, it (must) still be very practical, and not just very fast – a four-seater 2+2,” he said.
According to Mr Nakamura, ultimate useability was (and always will be) one of the main criteria central to the GT-R’s cause.
“We could have made the cabin much tighter, like a sportscar, but we didn’t, because even though it is one of the fastest cars in the world, at the same time we wanted to make enough space to drive everyday,” he said.
“We didn’t want to make a car that you could just use once a month... (but) a car you could take your friends in. That is, for us, much more Nissan.
“We want people to use the GT-R – and that is why it is at an affordable price. That’s why the pricing is amazingly low... you can use it for daily life, anywhere and anytime.”
Mr Nakamura defended the latest GT-R’s public six-year gestation period that saw an early design proposal known as the GT-R Concept unveiled at the 2001 Tokyo motor show, followed by a second – the GT-R Proto – four years later.
“I don’t think there is nothing new or old about the GT-R,” he said.
The Nissan designer was unconcerned about claims that the GT-R’s look – especially around the nose – has already been seen in rival manufacturers’ products (notably compatriot Mitsubishi with its new Lancer Evo X) as a result of displaying concepts and prototypes years before the production GT-R saw the light of day.
“The design of the GT-R itself – I don’t think anybody else can copy it, (or) that the design (could) work for anything else other than the GT-R,” he said. “I think it is so unique.”
Having finalised the GT-R’s design three years ago, Mr Nakamura believes that if he had tried to make the R35 more contemporary, it would then quickly date.
To illustrate this, he admitted that the earliest GT-R proposal has not stood the test of time well.
“The (2001) GT-R Concept looks very weak to me,” he said. “I don’t feel the power. It doesn’t show enough energy on the inside. It looks nice... but I cannot feel the three-dimensional energy coming in on the inside.”
Nevertheless, despite the 911 acting as an inspiration for design longevity, Mr Nakamura is adamant that the new GT-R is nothing like any rival past or present.
“We want to be nothing like a Ferrari or a Porsche, and we don’t want to be in the design trend, or in the mainstream,” he said. “For example, when we design a normal car like a hatchback, we have to be in the design trend, because (the small-car market) is not very standalone.
“But with the GT-R, we have a lot of heritage, and performance, and we want to express modern Japanese culture,” he said. In fact, Mr Nakamura underlined that modern Japanese culture was core to the GT-R’s appearance.
“It is not a normal design for a sportscar – it is rather boxy, and has a lot of creases, and it looks very mechanical,” he explained. “These for me is very important.
“Clearly no other car can use this design. So although it is already a six-year-old design theme, we are very confident.”
Mr Nakamura said that he took his time with the GT-R because, as one of only two Japanese production ‘supercars’ to have ever been created for production, history or precedent did not weigh it down.
“We don’t want to take the same approach as European manufacturers,” he said. “In some ways we are more flexible, because we do not have a long history.
“With GT-R, for example, compared to a Porsche or Ferrari, we have an opportunity to do something different.”
As far as creating a supercar model above the GT-R, Mr Nakamura said that the Nissan brand could not reach such heights – yet – but would not be drawn as to whether Nissan’s luxury Infiniti brand could.
“A midship car would be nice... but I don’t think this is (the direction that Nissan) should go.
“Maybe in 10 or 20 years’ time,” he joked.
