Nissan GT-R review: Track the giant killer

Nissan’s “Godzilla”, a cut-price Porsche in performance terms, has had 77 million test-drives — on PlayStation.

2016 Nissan GT-R.

IT’S hard to believe the same company that makes the humble Nissan Pulsar hatchback also builds one of the wildest cars on the planet.

The Nissan GT-R, Japan’s fastest supercar to date, is a hero for a generation that can’t even drive yet.

More than 77 million people have “driven” a new GT-R, the car dubbed “Godzilla” for its giant-killing ability — that is, if you count test drives on the Sony PlayStation Gran Turismo computer game.

2016 Nissan GT-R.

The virtual world is as close as most of us will get, given it’s by far the dearest car to wear a Nissan badge — it’s likely to start at a cool $180,000 when it arrives in local showrooms in September.

It’s either an insanely expensive Nissan or, if you believe the hype, a cut-price Porsche.

Nissan initially made bold claims, stating the GT-R was quicker than a Porsche around the famed Nurburgring, the perilous 21km ribbon of racetrack in the mountains northwest of Frankfurt that has become the peak measure of performance for the auto world.

More than a little worried, Porsche was one of the first in line to buy the sixth-generation GT-R when it turned up in Europe in 2007.

And then Porsche dropped a bombshell. After exhaustive tests, the German maker was not able to match the claims made by Nissan about the performance of its prized GT-R. It turned out, as physics might suggest, less power in a heavier car is in fact not faster than a $400,000 Porsche 911 Turbo.

Since then, few have matched the Nissan GT-R’s claim for the 0-100kmh dash, which has varied from 2.8 seconds to 3.2 seconds depending on the model and how bold Nissan was feeling at the time.

Such small differences are a big deal in the car buff world.

Which is why this GT-R is more important than Nissan’s eight other updates over the past 10 years.

The GT-R has come in for one final overhaul before the next generation arrives in 2020, or perhaps even later. Nissan’s not saying.

The promise: more power and better performance for its final fling. So we took a satellite timing device to the other side of the world to test the new model.

ON THE ROAD

2016 Nissan GT-R.

Despite the hype, first impressions of the new GT-R are underwhelming. Whether at suburban or freeway speeds it still feels heavy, which is hardly surprising given it weighs almost as much as a Holden Commodore.

The interior is pretty dated, too, even if Nissan has reduced the number of buttons from 27 to 11 and added a higher quality leather option in a bid to spruce it up.

2016 Nissan GT-R.

The cabin is cramped, the navigation controls are not user-friendly and, despite its high price the paddle-shifters on the steering wheel are still made of a flimsy plastic, not lightweight metal as in other supercars.

Of greater concern, though, the new GT-R initially doesn’t feel fast. In automatic mode, there are situations when a Toyota Corolla would be more responsive.

A 65km/h, floor the throttle to overtake and it takes an age for the twin-clutch transmission to shuffle its way down the gears. When it does, it grabs third when second would be better.

To find out just how slow the new GT-R really is, I hook up the timing equipment, put the three driving modes into “race” position, hold the brake, floor the throttle and then let it go.

What I utter next isn’t fit to print. Suffice to say the GT-R accelerates like a mortar shell.

The engine holds its revs momentarily, I let my foot off the brake and we’re off with a lot of noise and, in my case, a lot of confusion.

2016 Nissan GT-R.

The numbers told the story: 0-60km/h in an astonishingly quick 1.7 seconds on the way to 100km/h in 3.3 seconds. Just 0.1 seconds slower than Nissan’s current claim.

Beginner’s luck, I think. So I try it again. And again. And again. The first four runs are identical. Incredible.

The fun eventually ends after half a dozen launches; a warning light advises that the car needs a rest.

It also burns a lot of fossil fuel to deliver this performance — forget the rating label claim, the GT-R guzzles a mind-boggling 25.0L-50L/100km in extreme driving. We need to refill the 74L tank after 12 laps of Belgium’s legendary Spa Francorchamps racetrack.

But, wow, is the new GT-R fast. Once you get to know it.

Never in my experience has a car been so deceptively quick. Even in normal “auto” mode it clocks a breathtaking 4.5 secs for the 0-100km/h sprint.

With more time behind the wheel, other changes became more apparent.

2016 Nissan GT-R.

The steering feels lighter than before but there’s less wriggle in the wheel at high speeds. What impresses most is the accuracy with which I can position the big wide beast in any corner.

The responsiveness of the throttle — when in manual and “race” modes — makes the GT-R feel much more nimble than physics ought to allow.

In a corner, the nose tucks in the instant I ease ever so slightly off the throttle. Midway through a bend, squeezing the pedal forward a fraction, I feel the car climb out of the corner with unearthly grip and power.

The updated engine delivers extra power and torque in the middle of the rev range, where I can put it to good use. What a pity there aren’t more induction and exhaust noises to delight the senses.

Among other improvements, the heavy-duty gearbox has lost its clunkiness. As one Nissan executive says with a grin: “A lot of motorsport-inspired noises are gone.”

And the suspension is — finally — more comfortable over bumps. “Now family members won’t say, ‘I don’t want to ride with you after lunch because your car is too harsh’,” the Japanese chief engineer says in a candid moment.

Go figure. The Nissan GT-R is no longer just a driver’s car, it’s also a car for passengers — if you can hold on for the ride.

VERDICT

2016 Nissan GT-R.

The new GT-R isn’t faster than, or as consistent as, a Porsche 911 Turbo. But it delivers 99 per cent of the enjoyment for less than 50 per cent of the price.

AT A GLANCE

PRICE From $180,000 plus on-road costs (est)

WARRANTY 3 years/100,000km

SERVICING COSTS 4 free inspections over 3 years. Basic 10,000km service is $400 but 40,000km service is $3000

SERVICE INTERVAL 6 months/10,000km

SAFETY 6 airbags, not tested

ENGINE 3.8-litre V6 twin-turbo, 419kW/637Nm

TRANSMISSION 6-speed auto; AWD

THIRST 12.0L/100km

DIMENSIONS 4710mm (L), 1895mm (W), 1370mm (H), 2780mm (WB)

WEIGHT 1752kg

SPARE None; run-flats

0-100KM/H 3.2 secs (claimed), 3.3 secs (as tested)