Background Like many of you, I have been a fan of Nissan Skyline GT-R since the very beginning. The first time I knew about this car was from a Japanese car magazine, but I did not realized its superiority until seeing it blasting Ford Sierra RS500 and BMW M3 away in the 1990 Macau Guia touring car cup. The GT-R was the most sophisticated production car at the time. It featured computer-controlled 4-wheel drive and 4-wheel steering system and a twin-turbo 24-valve straight-6 capable to be tuned to 1000 horsepower in extreme cases. Even in standard trim, it was the first production car lapping Nurburgring Nordschleife in under 8 minutes. Such results shocked Porsche and other European sports car specialists. The original R32 GT-R evolved to R33 in 1995 and then R34 in 1999 without radical changes but they still managed to improve things bit by bit. Unfortunately, during the late 1990s Nissan got into financial trouble as a result of the burst of bubble economy. Huge losses led to its sale to Renault. New CEO Carlos Ghosn decided to concentrate its limited resources to those money-making volume models and cut other non-essential models. As a result, Skyline GT-R was sacrificed. As the last R34 left production line in 2002, Nissan no longer had a super performance model sitting on the top of its tree.
However, Ghosn knew that the GT-R used to be profitable. He also saw its powerful image could help Nissan, so he openly promised that a new generation GT-R would be built. The problem is, the development phase took much longer than we expected, because Ghosn wanted his men to work out a profitable business plan and to make sure it is good enough to stun the world. A small team of dedicated engineers led by Kazutoshi Mizuno started the development from clean sheets. They designed a new V6 to replace the old straight-6, a new transaxle gearbox and 4WD system, new chassis and new suspensions. In short, the R35 shares no genes with its predecessors. They tested it extensively in Nurburgring Nordschleife and benchmarked it against Porsche 997 Turbo, which is arguably the best road-going production sports car to date. They kept improving it until they are sure that it is better than the Porsche. Finally, the R35 was released in late 2007. R35 GT-R The new GT-R is difficult to be classified. As before, it offers comparable performance to Porsche 911 Turbo and superior handling to the Porsche yet it costs about half the price - US$70,000 in USA or £55,000 in UK, while 911 Turbo asks for US$120,000 or £100,000. It offers a large boot and a pair of rear seats capable of accommodating small adults, so it is as practical as grand tourers. Production volume is set at 12,000 units per year, which is a lot for this kind of super performance cars, yet the latest forecast is demand will outstrip supply. Ghosn predicts it will make good money for Nissan, although it won't enjoy a profit margin as high as Porsche.
At first glance the new GT-R is surprisingly big, even somewhat bulky. Tape measure confirms that it is really big - 55 mm longer and 110 mm wider than the R34. A wheelbase of 2780 mm is almost too long for a super performance 2+2, while the 1370 mm height is a massive 70 mm taller than 911 Turbo. To offset the bulky profile, chief designer Hiroshi Hasegawa injected some spicy flavors to its styling, such as a radical black mask, "aero blade" front fenders, blackened A-pillars and a slopping roofline. The styling theme was inspired by Gundam, the space-age military robot in Japanese anime, so it has strong resemblance to an armored Japanese Samurai as well. This design may not endure the test of time, but it does link to the Japanese culture and has a unique character. Unexpectedly, this aggressively-looking shape actually returns the lowest aerodynamic drag coefficient I have ever seen in a performance car - 0.27. For comparison, 911 Turbo is 0.31, Ferrari 599 GTB is 0.34, Aston Martin DB9 is 0.35… Only Bristol Fighter (0.28) and Chevrolet Corvette (0.29) come close. This must thanks to the smooth undertray as well as the sloping roofline. The low drag helps it to achieve 310 km/h (192.6 mph) top speed, which means this is the fastest ever Japanese car ! New engine: VR38DETT
Following the retirement of RB26DETT, Nissan developed a new VR38DETT V6 for the GT-R. Compare with the old straight-6, the 60-degree V6 is shorter and benefits weight distribution of course. This engine is loosely based on the VQ series engine but thoroughly modified – not only added twin-IHI turbochargers and intercoolers, but also converted to hybrid wet/dry-sump lubrication (to withstand high g-force) and closed-deck construction (to increase stiffness). Cast iron cylinder liners have been replaced by a thin layer of plasma coating (Nikasil) in order to reduce friction. Sadly, the variable valve lift mechanism found on VQ37VHR was not used, while the continuous variable cam phasing is limited to intake camshafts only. However, with 3.8 liters of capacity and twin-turbochargers boosting up to 0.7 bar, its output will never disappoint – 480 horsepower is achieved at 6400 rpm, while 433 lb-ft of torque is available continuously from 3200 to 5200 rpm. The former matches Porsche 911 Turbo, although the latter trails that car a little bit (457 lb-ft from 1950-5000 rpm). The old R34 was good for about 330 hp and 293 lb-ft, so the new car is massively more powerful. Our only disappointment is the IHI turbochargers. Reason one is that they do not have variable vane geometry like Porsche 911 Turbo. This explain why the engine feels less responsive than the Porsche under 3000 rpm. Reason two is that they are made of stainless steel instead of the previous car's ceramic. Although stainless steel turbines are lighter and quicker to spool up, they are less resistant to heat than ceramic turbines. This mean the new GT-R has less space for power tuning. Besides, the turbochargers are now integrated with the exhaust manifolds, so replacing them requires a great deal of work and money.
New transaxle and GR6 gearbox To optimize weight distribution, Nissan not only lengthened its wheelbase but also moved its gearbox and center differential to the rear axle. This mean the whole transaxle now consists of gearbox, clutches, center and rear differential. Placing the transaxle near the rear axle helps balancing the 250 kg engine up front and improves front-to-rear weight distribution to 54:46. Still not an ideal figure, but should be better than the old car. The engine send the power through a carbon-fiber prop shaft to the gearbox, then the center differential split the power to two paths, one goes straight towards the rear differential and one goes back to the front differential through another driveshaft. As before, the center differential of the ATTESA E-TS four-wheel drive system is computer controlled. It employs multi-plate clutches to engage the front axle according to needs. Under normal driving the GT-R is basically rear-wheel drive, with only 2 percent power sent to the front wheels. This is why it is as engaging to drive as traditional sports cars. On the other hand, in fast cornering it gets the advantages of all-wheel drive. When the computer senses that it needs more traction up front – either to neutralize oversteer or to enhance overall traction – it could send up to 50% power to the front wheels. Basically, the ATTESA E-TS works the same way as the one used in R34. The only difference is the addition of a yaw rate sensor and the integration with VDC stability control.
Nevertheless, a picky motoring writer like me may criticize a couple of things. Complaint One, the rear limited slip differential has been downgraded from active LSD to a mechanical LSD. Will it affect the cornering prowess of GT-R ? Complaint Two, the old car's Super HICAS 4-wheel steering has been ditched. It used to be a remarkable tool to stabilize the car and sharpen steering response during cornering. Strangely, Nissan has just reintroduced 4WS to Fuga and Skyline. Why did the GT-R overlook this technology ? However, judging from its wonderful real world handling - as you will see later, there is little need to miss those old goodies. The combination of a stronger chassis, improved balance and well-tuned 4-wheel-drive program is good enough to make active rear LSD and 4WS superfluous. The biggest improvement to the drivetrain of R35 is the new GR6 gearbox. This is a twin-clutch 6-speed gearbox made by BorgWarner – the same supplier to Volkswagen's DSG. As you know, twin-clutch design allows pre-selection of the next gear, so the gearshift is quick and seamless. GR6 offers automatic mode and sequential manual mode, the latter allows the driver to shift through either paddles or conventional gear selector. You can select 3 gearshift mappings: Normal, Snow (slower) or R modes (which takes 200ms). The twin-clutch gearbox will put GT-R in a superior position against Porsche 911 Turbo until the latter launch its own version later this year. Chassis, suspensions and others The R35 is built on a new platform called "PM" (Premium Midship). Its chassis is primarily a conventional steel monocoque but with aluminum subframes and suspensions. The door frames are cast aluminum. The front bumper is made of lightweight polypropylene. The front cross-member and radiator support are made of carbon-fiber to strengthen the structure. Rear diffuser is also carbon-fiber. Many body panels are made of aluminum sheets, such as bonnet, boot lid and door shells. Ridiculously, the GT-R still weighs as much as 1740 kilograms, some 155 kg more than 911 Turbo. This is the price it pays for the sheer size and sophisticated drivetrain.
To handle the mass, the brakes are monster-size Brembo, 380mm ventilated discs all round, 6-pot front and 4-pot rear monobloc calipers. The suspensions consist of double-wishbones up front and multi-links at the rear. Bilstein electronic adaptive dampers are used. It offers 3 stiffness modes – Normal, Comfort and R – for the driver to select. GT-R offers two choices of tires: Bridgestone Potenza RE070R is more sticky, thus is the one it used to set Nurburgring record. Dunlop SP Sport 600 is more durable and comfortable for highway cruising. Both have run-flat capability thus no spare is required. The front tires are 255/40ZR20 while the rear tires are 285/35ZR20. On the Road Now the most important question is: can it beat Porsche 911 Turbo in real world ? Enter the cockpit may give you some ideas. This is a no-nonsense place. Everything is practical rather than desirable. Although most surfaces are covered with leather, the in-your-face dashboard design is rather tasteless, the plastic switches and fake alloy finish look cheap. Nevertheless, what keen drivers really need are all available – a multi-functional steering wheel, a pair of nice-touching gearshift paddles, a supportive bucket seat and an initiative center console through which you can select the 4WD setting (normal, snow or R), damping setting (normal, comfort or R) and VDC stability control setting (on, off or R). Besides, like R34, there is a big color LCD screen located on the top of center console to display advanced data like g-force, steering angle, lap time, torque split, boost pressure, water temperature etc. in digit or live charts, so you can download them afterwards to improve your driving skill. Did your Porsche ever tried to be so serious ?
Start the engine, the noise and bottom-end response may disappoint. The exhaust note of the turbocharged V6 is no where as characterful as the boxer engine of 911. By supercar standards it is even quite boring. The output isn't laggy, but under 3000 rpm it doesn't feel very strong. The paddle gearshift feels a little tight compare with DSG. The quick steering (2.5 turns lock to lock) feels nervous on rough pavement. In traffic you'll notice the width of the car and the shocks the run-flat tires sent directly to your pants. Even with the adaptive suspension in Comfort mode, the GT-R rides harder than a Porsche GT3, let alone the comfort-biased 911 Turbo. The initial impression is not very keen indeed. However, once you drive the GT-R into Autobahn, it starts showing its talent. When the tachometer needle get passed 3000 rpm, it surges forward with the same vigor as 911 Turbo. The lightning gearshift in R mode transmits the power to seamless acceleration. In an eye blink, the GT-R exceeds 150 mph. The smooth body generates little wind noise. The suspension works well on smooth surfaces. The directional stability is superb. You start believing it were born in Germany… How fast is it ? A 911 Turbo Tiptronic is claimed to do 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds (manual is slower). Nissan claims 3.5 seconds for the GT-R. This sounds somewhat unbelievable base on its less torque and higher kerb weight, but the Nissan has a faster GR6 gearbox and better weight distribution to make better use of 4-wheel traction, so it is every bit believable. I also believe it could match the 911 Turbo to 100 mph at about 8.0 seconds. You will need a Ferrari 599 GTB to beat it in straight line !
But even more impressive is how well its big body handles in corners. The electronic 4-wheel drive makes sure it steers so accurately into and out of bends. The chassis feels rock-solid. The steering is quick and meaty. Tremendous traction and grip keep it on rails. Body control is rock-steady. Roll, pitch and dive are almost non-existent. Almost everything is on a higher level than 911 Turbo ! We used to be highly satisfied with the Porsche, but after experiencing the GT-R, you will suddenly realize that the Porsche is actually a rear-engined machine. It is far easier to unsettle and needs bigger steering correction to get back into shape. In contrast, the Nissan is better balanced and better controlled. The only areas the Porsche feels better are braking and steering feel (apart from ride quality), yet they are only better by a whisky. No wonder the GT-R could ignore its 1740 kg kerb weight and set a new mass production car lap record at Nurburgring Nordschleife: 7 minutes 38 seconds. That is 2 seconds quicker than the time Walter Rohrl managed in 997 Turbo. Only 3 production cars have ever been faster: Pagani Zonda F Clubsport (7:27), Porsche Carrera GT (7:28) and Porsche 997 GT2 (7:32). Of course, all of them are very exclusive and expensive sports cars. In this way, GT-R is once again a giant killer that every European sport car specialist afraid of. As its chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno said, it is a classless vehicle. On the one hand it offers supercar performance and handling. On the other hand it offers grand-tourer practicality and Japanese reliability. Yet most shocking is all these are available at a price equaling a base 911 Carrera. It sounds like a dream come true ! Our 6 years wait is worthwhile. |
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| The above report was last updated on 13 Feb 2008. All Rights Reserved. |
Specifications
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adaptive damping |
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