Nissan GT-R Godzilla 2009 Review

Despite best efforts to hold the price line on the most anticipated new car to hit the Australian market for years Nissan has added $7000 to the GT-R's bottom line before the first of the new-generation Godzillas reaches an Australian garage.

"Unfortunately it is an economic reality that has to be recognised," Nissan's Jeff Fisher says. "However, we are still going to hold the initially announced price for anyone who has a firm order or puts in an order before April 1 and has for a car delivered before June 1."

With almost 150 pre-orders held that means that most of the first year's allocation of cars will change hands at the original $148,800 for the GT-R and $152,800 for the GT-R Premium.

While the price increase is not good news for Nissan it was not unexpected in a market where the Aussie Dollar has slumped some 45 per cent again the Yen over the past six months.

The good news is that even those who miss the boat and have to stump up for the new price are unlikely to be disappointed.

"The new Nissan GT-R is an extraordinary car," says Nissan CEO Dan Thompson. "It is a technological flagship for this company that demonstrates our passion for sports and performance cars.

"(It) has already joined the ranks of the world's great supercars."

The new GT-R is not a direct descendant of those raw and brutal machines that first earned the Godzilla nickname. Unlike previous GT-R's, this car is not a derivative of the Skyline models, rather it sits on its own `premium midship’ platform.

The genetic code is there, certainly, yet there is far more sophistication in this newcomer. From the razor sharp dual-clutch gearbox to the world-first independent rear transaxle transmission and advanced all-wheel drive the new GT-R is technology for the times.

Yet there is still the numbers that say this car is an adrenalin rush waiting to happen. The difference is that it now happens at the driver's behest rather than when things get out of hand.

A glance at the raw figures — a 3.8-litre bi-turbo V6 powerplant with 357kW of power and 588Nm of torque delivered flat from 3200rpm to 5200rpm, shift changes as slick as 200 milliseconds, a 0-100km/h sprint of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 310km/h — all suggest brutality. What is unexpected is the civility of the entire package.

Driving

The cabin, while clearly a place in which some intense track work is catered for, is none-the-less generously proportioned and comfortably fettled.

The deep bucket sport seats are both comfortable and supportive, the dash is clean and modern with as much information as you think you can handle on tap. The dials are placed high in the driver's eyeline for quick assimilation of the data.

The clever multi-function centre display can be set to show a wide array of information from acceleration loads to G-rates and engine information but it is of more use to a passenger than a driver, who would have been better served by a heads-up display of the same information.

Fired up, the engine note is rather more subdued than may be expected with a rumble rather than a bark. That is not to say it doesn't raise the hairs on your arms. Anticipation is a wonderful thing.

At the Australian launch drive at Eastern Creek this week the outer limits of the GT-R were never going to be tested with chicanes and cones set up around the track.

Still, there was enough leeway to clearly demonstrate that this is a car both to be enjoyed and respected. With suspension and gear settings at maximum attack and stability control on track rather than totally disabled the GT-R was a willing partner.

Dual clutch, F1-style gearboxes are nothing new — most of the serious top-end sportscars have a version — but Nissan's can hold its own in most company.

There are the usual three selectable modes for the transmission — snow, normal and racing — and even at their most aggressive the shifts are smooth and the ratios beautifully matched to the engine's power delivery.

The Bilstein DampTronic dampers were developed specifically for the GT-R with the three settings — R for high performance, Sport for normal driving and Comfort for around town — selectable from a single switch.

There is no question of the quality of the high performance setting with no impression of body roll right up to the point the rear traction starts to break away.

Turn-in is sweet with the car tracking smooth and predictable with feedback excellent for an AWD car. If there is a complaint it is that teh stability control can be a touch too intrusive even when it is switched `off’.

The question that hasn't been answered for Australia is how the suspension will handle our less-than-perfect roads.

There was no opportunity at the Australian launch to drive the cars anywhere but on the track, however a road drive experience in Japan was less than complimentary.

That was almost 18 months ago and on the original suspension package, yet the jury will remain out until we have had the chance to drive the car here in a day-to-day situation.

The question mark over ride comfort is not surprising given the huge asymmetrical run-flat tyres — 285/35 R20 rear and 255/40 R20 front — the GT-R runs on.

The choice of run flat tyres is against the trend of other performance manufacturers, but both the Bridgestone (Potenza RE70) and Dunlop (SP Sport) offer reassuring grip and surprising ride quality on the track. The question is whether the reworked spring and damper settings can soak up any harshness.

What is not under any question is the ability of the Brembo brake package to keep pace with the most enthusiastic of drivers.

The huge single block floating calipers on 380mmx34mm drilled front discs and 380mmx30mm ventilated rears don't rely on exotic materials — such as ceramics — but time after time will pull the car down from over 200km/h with reassuring certainty.

Without living with the car for any length of time, there are few obvious areas of complaint. Space for the rear passengers is far from generous despite the deeply sculpted seats and the boot — fairly generous in volume — suffers from a having a small load opening.

Servicing the GT-R, deliveries of which begin on April 1, will be handled by 11 dealerships designated and eqipped to service the high-tech car.

The 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show...