Space shuttle on wheels
IF NASA and superyacht designer Wally Power were to design a car together, this would be the result. Staring at the rear end of the GT-R is like looking at the space shuttle. There are four exhaust pipes, each with a similar girth as a prize-winning marrow, and above them are four tail-lights which, when lit, resemble rings of fire. And you should see it from the front.
When I take it into town, the car park attendant waives the ticket and personally offers to watch it while I’m away. Meanwhile, work has halted on the new offices overlooking the car park. This is the kind of reaction this automotive missile evokes. Tumbleweed wouldn’t be out of place.
Its 485bhp means that it is ferociously quick – 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds quick – but it’s the way the power is fed from this machine that will blow your mind. From first gear right through to sixth using the super-fast manual paddle-shift, driving the GT-R is the closest I’ve come to being in a video game.
To back this up there’s a screen in the centre of the dash that allows you to select one of several custom readouts showing torque split, oil pressure and whatever you feel the need to be aware of while you’re on the road. On track you can select your lap time telemetry for even better lap times, next time.
The GT-R also offers incredible agility. In all-wheel drive there is a seemingly infinite amount of torque and you can take corners at speeds that defy the laws of physics. The whole GT-R experience is unquestionably Japanese, brutally styled and all about performance.
As an everyday car, it can be a civilised tool too. Reversing takes a bit of getting used to as the aft-wing slightly obscures good vision and you have to consider the size of that butt when manoeuvring, but you can forgive it everything when this much insane driving pleasure is on offer for a shade under £60,000.
The rambunctious roar of the V6 is the icing on the cake of this weapon and the more you use it, the more you want more and more of it. It invites you to dig deeper into your own comfort zone and explore not just the limits of this raw supercar, but your own self-imposed settings.
THE VERDICT
DESIGN
PERFORMANCE
PRACTICALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
THE FACTS:
NISSAN GT-R
PRICE: £59,400
0-62MPH: 3.5SECS
TOP SPEED: 193MPH
CO2 G/KM: 298G/KM
MPG Combined: 22.8