Thoughts on the new Nissan GT-R

As many of you now know, the new Nissan GT-R is coming out late this year at a price around 70-80k with staggering performance figures. Nissan has done a great deal of R&D with the new GT-R, from replicating parts of the Autobahn at their test track in Japan, testing the car around the 'Ring, to spending a year in the wind tunnel. They even bought a 997TT for testing, seeming to use it as the "standard" by which they should be competing. This car seems to be surpassing it's badge on the front of the car - leaving those who say it's "Only a Nissan" running for cover when this car is released later this year. Good - only 1500 are being imported to the U.S. annually, keeping it somewhat exclusive. Bad - Huge markups (20-50k) from dealers for this first year.

 

Is anyone planning on purchasing one of these cars?

 

Or what are your thoughts on the new GT-R? Is this simply another Plastic mess-06 or will it hold its own?

 

Should Porsche re-think a few things, such as their HUGE markups? http://www.leftlanenews.com/report-porsche...00-per-car.html

 

 

Nissan GTR's has always been regarded as a serious race car disguised as a street coupe. Those who thought "only a Nissan" are not familiar with its heritage at all! And it's the GTR badge that they should be looking at, not the Nissan. True that many North Americans have little knowledge about the GTR's, or more precisely, the Skyline GTR's until the "Fast & Furious" movies. Skyline GTR's are circuit icons at many parts of the world especially the R32 onwards models with the RB26DETT power plant.

 

The new Nissan GTR is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it's now a "world car" and we in North America finally can enjoy a fully legalized non-gray-market GTR. But it's a Nissan GTR, NOT a Skykine GTR --- something like the end of an era on the air-cooled Porsche 993 vs. the liquid-cooled 996/997; both being victims of the new emissions regs. Former GTR shares the same chassis with the Skyline range but not so for the R35 GTR. It's more or less a standalone model from the rest of the current Skyline range (Infiniti G35/37 range in North America). The famed RB26DETT in-line 6 has been replaced by the VR38DETT. All in all, the new car only WEARS the GTR badge but shares little from its now-distant Skyline cousins as well as the heritage that all former GTR's carry.

 

Performance-wise, it needs to succeed from an engineering stand point and, more importantly, a marketing stand point. And GTR had always used various versions of 911's as benchmarks. The original idea starting with the BNR32 Skyline GTR was to build a domestic car (as in Japan) to out-perform a German exotic (back then a Porsche in Japan is considered an exotic) at a much less price and with more versatility/daily use which Nissan had succeeded. No doubt the new GTR will also succeed. But also like the Porsche 996/997 which has less of the "proper feel" as the 993, the R35 GTR would likely to be more "civil" and less "proper feel' than its R32, R33 & R34 predecessors. Also like Porsche, it's now more of a GT than sportscar. From a marketing standpoint, it should go that way; but from a hardcore car enthusiast's p.o.v., the new car may be tarnished a bit. One thing for sure, the new car is far uglier than the one it replaces. And being so spankingly new, I would wait for Nissan to get all the bugs out first. (The car is available for immediate delivery in Japan now.) Like a post that I have made before, it would be interesting to see what the tuners can do with the completely new GTR. Even better, what NISMO is currently doing and will be doing to it as it takes the GTR to races. But for now, IMO, I still like the BNR34 better. And if I can have it my way, I'll take a NISMO BNR34 GTR Z-tune any day!

 

GTR's, 911's & Plastic mess-06 (and even the upcoming ZR-1) are three very different automobiles each having its own pros & cons & fans. The may share & compare performance figures but the engineering and concepts between the three are almost mutually exclusive. Neither manufacturer had to worry about each other.

Lots of potential, its fugly though.

The GTR is not the most beautiful car to come along. Certainly the styling could improve....but it isn't far away either. Just a few nip and tucks here and there and most everyone will sing a different tune. Just a better paint job on the nose will work wonders imo. Over time, I'm sure upgrades/restyling touches will occur. A really nice set of wheels and I'd take it as is.

 

I wish the car was badged an Infiniti. Not that that would put it in the super car status but it would be somewhat better.

 

From all that we read, it appears performance will be worth it's weight in gold. They're even talking about plans for extracting more from the engine in the years to come.....like they planned to start off fast then get faster. This is a car for enthusiasts. Not for sitting in a garage just to be looked at. The Skyline GTR history is about dominating the road. This new GTR seems to understand that. I predict success.

I was looking for a pure weekend sports car (to buy in the next year or two). My friend is buying a Lotus Elise and I REALLY don't want to have a matching car. Exige is quite small. I thought of the GT-R - but it seems quite expensive to run (very expensive tires with little treadlife). Which is why I was comparing the GT-R to the 996TT or the new M3. (even considered getting an E46)...

The GTR is not the most beautiful car to come along. Certainly the styling could improve....but it isn't far away either. Just a few nip and tucks here and there and most everyone will sing a different tune. Just a better paint job on the nose will work wonders imo. Over time, I'm sure upgrades/restyling touches will occur. A really nice set of wheels and I'd take it as is.

 

I wish the car was badged an Infiniti. Not that that would put it in the super car status but it would be somewhat better.

 

From all that we read, it appears performance will be worth it's weight in gold. They're even talking about plans for extracting more from the engine in the years to come.....like they planned to start off fast then get faster. This is a car for enthusiasts. Not for sitting in a garage just to be looked at. The Skyline GTR history is about dominating the road. This new GTR seems to understand that. I predict success.

 

A sharper, sleeker nose would help immensely --- like retaining the GTR Proto shown 2 years ago. Carbon Fibre highlights like the Proto also helps. The side profile resembles too much of a Mustang.

 

Interesting that you mentioned Infiniti because it had a long fight with Nissan on exactly what you said. At the end, the parent company decided that dropping the Skyline name is already a bold enough move. Making it "not a Nissan" will detach it too far from its roots; and they parent company wants an unified badge for this car as there is no Infiniti in Japan (at least not yet).

 

As afore-said, the performance is guaranteed for this car as this is a matter of the nation's pride --- the GTR is considered to be one of the "National Treasures" of modern industrialized Japan (along with others such as the Nikon F, Sony Walkman, Casio G-shock etc...). Whether this car will reach iconic status remains to be seen because it had deviate so much from the R32-34 era. We should know very soon about any performance enhancements --- at least as a start --- like by next week because the annual Tokyo Auto Salon will be held. It's sort of like SEMA so every tuning house will have their own show piece for the new current favs --- the GTR. I am still waiting for what's coming from Nissan's own hot rod division: NISMO.

 

The Elise is an immensely fun to drive car and the Exige even more so. Yes, they are small but they are nimble and void of the many electronic nannies. They perform exactly what the driver is capable of. A great weekend-only car IMO as it's not comfortable at all as a daily drive. For a weekend fun car, the Elise/Exige is hard to beat. The GTR is too big, too heavy and too gadgetry. It is also too new to earn fair judge. The Elise /Exige is probably as simple as today's car can get. The Mini Cooper S is nice too but not sure if it's enough performance for you (even with all the Cooper Works mods) if you are interested in the GTR/Exige territory.

 

This looks much better front....If I ever get one Im replicating this front...Imho the black under the headlights were what drew me to the original shape....Other wise it makes you notice the unprettiness of the rest of the car...

 

I hate that weird roofline

I actually prefer the newer design without the running Mascara

 

 

 

Slightly old perhaps but I still like this one more.

Man if I could get one I would. But I heard they are VERY hard to get ahold of....

Skyline GTR's are circuit icons at many parts of the world especially the R32 onwards models with the RB26DETT power plant.

 

And if I can have it my way, I'll take a NISMO BNR34 GTR Z-tune any day!

 

The R32 is one of my favorite cars, I had one for a bit before I got an FD.

 

Importing a R34 is easier than finding someone welling to sell a Z-tune hahah

 

Also as of know I think MINES tunes there skylines the best, also MCR has a sharp R34. NISMO does very good work, the engine work they do is amazing. A friend of mine has a NISMO tuned RB26DETT engine and wow is it good

Well, slightly off topic but if anyone wants to experiment with a new front on a R35, give the owner of this one a call.

Probably the 1st crash of a production/sold R35.

I have a dealer willing to sell me one at sticker. Do you guys think I could buy it and sell it to make some quick money. or are they going to be making enough of these things that they will not be commanding premiums?

I have a dealer willing to sell me one at sticker. Do you guys think I could buy it and sell it to make some quick money. or are they going to be making enough of these things that they will not be commanding premiums?

 

Too risky, IMO. This is not a limited production car. There might be the initial hype in this part of the world but as far as Nissan HQ is concerned, this is just another model in the line-up. It's all marketing in North America because it's the first time that a GT-R is available as a non-grey-market car through a Nissan dealership. Accordingly, each dealership is to get 1-3 cars only. But there are a lot of Nissan dealerships. Also, the dealership will have to purchase a completely new set of tools & machines to service this car so it will be a while for the dealership to recover the cost. Maybe that's why your dealer is willing to sell his quota to you at sticker just to "get rid of it" and move on with their "regular" sales. I don't see how this car can commend a premium so high that selling a couple of them would recover the tooling costs --- rumoured to be around $40-50k. And Nissan took a big gamble and pour a lot of $$$ into the R&D on this car. It has to recover that to make both Renault and the shareholders happy; from Nissan HQ's perspective, the only way for cost recovery is by sales in volume.

I dont think flipping a nissan is a good idea, I don't plan to if I take delivery of one @ MSRP, dont count on much over its sticker value by the time the hype dies.

That's what I was thinking. Thanks for the confirmation guys.

I have heard rumor over at a few GT-R forums that Nissan will void any warranty if it is 'flipped' within a year after sale.

 

Alot of Japanese are already selling their GT-R's by the dozen and making money - so it might work!

 

Here are some things that I found from the NA GTR Owner's Club:

 

* Schedule Point Check Maintenance: 5,000 JPY ($43 USD) - undertray multi point check

* Car Inspection: 200,000 JPY ($1727 USD)

* Oil Change: 25,000 JPY ($216 USD) - 100% synthetic oil

* Oil + Oil Element Change: 29,000 JPY ($250 USD) - include oil cooler service + undertray multi point check

* Transmission & Differential Oil Change: 100,000 JPY ($864 USD) - include undertray multi point check

* Brake Pad Change (all 4): 400,000 JPY ($3500 USD) - pad change + rotor service

* Tire Change (all 4): 460,000 JPY ($4000 USD) - specially developed 20" run flat tires

 

Expect Porsche/BMW prices with some of it verging on Ferrari-level, eg, transaxle. The cost to run the car is going to be very high. Probably even on the cheap, a set of tires will be $2000. An alternator or starter motor will more than likely be double retail that of Maxima or G35 parts, eg, $350-$500+ for each piece.

 

Purchasing the car isn't the big deal, however these costs could be an issue for me...

I like it, and the tuners are going to make HUGE power from this car. Give it about 3 years, and this has the potential to be the new Supra.

I have a dealer willing to sell me one at sticker. Do you guys think I could buy it and sell it to make some quick money. or are they going to be making enough of these things that they will not be commanding premiums?

 

IF you are interested in the car and would not have a problem with keeping it, I would say go for it!! If you can't flip it quickly then just keep it for yourself. However IF this is only a chance to make a quick profit I would consider it much more closely as you don't want to get stuck with it.

 

Famous Japanese tuner Mines has taken to the Tsukuba circuit for a time attack in their brand new Nissan R35 GTR, managing a time of 1m 3.1s around the track. This places it in front of the Lamborghini Gallardo, which manages a 1m 3.6s time around the same track.

 

This car has a reputation to live up to as the old Mines prepped R34 GT-R model achieved a 57.7s time around the circuit. But we’re sure that this car has great potential. Apparently the car was run with the VDC in the R setting instead of turned off and the car’s traction control was affecting its performance on the day.

 

According to a poster on NAGTROC, the final version of the Mines prepped car will feature an upgraded ECU, high-flow air filter and exhaust, an adjustable suspension package with Mines’ Eibach spring kit, uprated brake rotors and pads, a new air scoop, carbon-aero mirrors, high-capacity fuel injectors and carbon canards on the front spoiler.

 

Unfortunately, there’s no word on any estimated power figures or if the turbochargers will get an upgrade. One thing’s certain, we can expect to see more boost!

 

PS. The same R34 GTR that got 57.7s at Tsukuba circut still hold the Willow Springs full track course time attack record.

 

 

source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/coupes/...s-to-the-track/

Slightly old perhaps but I still like this one more.

 

 

me too, its a beast. I drove a modified with 550hp in Tokyo a couple of years ago...fun car.

For those who haven't seen it yet....

 

I'm awaiting what the boys from Top Gear say about it. And really interested to hear what Tiff Needell thinks about it. They always put an interesting twist on a car.