When you take a look at your local bookstore you’re not exactly going to be overwhelmed with material on the GT-R. 99% of the publications dealing with GT-Rs of any sort are produced in Japan for the local market only in Japanese. I have a bookshelf full of this stuff I can only read every third word of….
Since the R35 GT-R’s launch as a prototype in 2005 and finally a global production car in 2007 the global interest levels have risen though and we’ve started to see some interest in knowing more about the history and future of the GT-R and to have that in hardcover form.
This one in particular, Nissan GT-R Supercar: Born to Race by Dennis Gorodji (Veloce Publishing) fills that gap as a comprehensive guide to the GT-R and it’s motorsports record. Covering Skylines and GT-Rs and motorsports from 1957 til 2009 and models from the Prince Skyline ALSIS-1 to the R35 SpecV. With 224 pages and, 400 photos it covers US models as well as European models.
This book contains rare pictures, schemas and graphs detailing the many unique qualities of the Nissan GT-R, a car that revolutionized modern sports car dynamics. Analysis of the motorsport history of the GT-R provides an original view of development of the models, and comparison of them with other sports and racing cars. It features an original and critical analysis of the new GT-R R35, and the R35 Spec V, which will be launched in the beginning of 2009 and is also represented in the book. With over 400 color photographs, this is essential reading for sports car fans.
The publisher tells me this one’s out now so should be able to grab a copy via Amazon.com or the publishers site now. Check out the links below for more on that. If you pickup a copy feel free to send me your reviews!
Hot Version volume 103 has hit shelves in Japan and this one is a corker for GT-R fans. Not only does it feature a R35 GT-R tuner lap battle but there’s also this race where the legendary Mine’s R34 GT-R tackles some of the quickest R35s in Japan.
Check out the video below and hit up Amazon to buy your copy online…
A fun video put together by Motortrend for an article they published today about a Nissan GT-R up against a pair of purpose built drift Scion tCs. It’s not really about the numbers, it’s just about how the cars make you feel. A good point to make and a reason why I’m going to get my GT-R out on the track more this year.
Motor Trend magazine seems to “get” the Nissan GT-R. They gave it their Car of The Year 2009 prize after all. There’s another brief article on the GT-R in the Feb issue about the GT-R and that difficult to define quality called “character”.
Character is cool when you’re noodling down to the car show in your De tomaso Mangusta, not when you’re chasing tenths of a second on the Nurburgring Nordschleife
- Angus Mackenzie, Motor Trend, Feb 2010
Angus argues that, the fact that a “character” laden car is difficult to drive fast, doesn’t make it a good drive. That and, if you want to drive fast, choosing the car that won’t try and kill you if you make a slight mistake is a smart choice.
I agree with the article although I personally do not feel that the GT-R lacks character. It just has a very different character to that of it’s peers…
AutoCar.co.uk pit the latest PDK Porsche 911 turbo up against the new Audi R8 V10 6 speed manual and the Nissan GT-R. They refer to the GT-R as the benchmark and also make quite a mention of the price difference.
Good video, not just because the GT-R beats out the latest batch of competitors but also it’s very interesting to see them back to back on the same day with the same driver.
With the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show right around the corner, Japanese car mags are speculating on the final look of the 2011 Nissan GT-R SpecM. The so called “GentleMen Spec” Nissan GT-R is expected to debut at the troubled bi-annual motor show where the first GT-R production model debuted in 2007.
In the November issue of Japanese Car Top Magazine (CARγγγ). on sale this week, we learn that a fully optioned SpecM will eclipse the 18 million yen mark headed into 20 million yen (220k USD) territory. That would include the full SpecV++ treatment including hand stitched interior. Optional dry carbon parts are said to extend even further beyond what was seen from Nissan so far, and could include a full trunk lid replacement.
Color options are also sure to grow with a dark red rendered as well as a metallic yellow on the magazine’s cover. Other rumours including the December 2009 orders/first deliveries seem to be confirmed. We’ll know more once we get our hands on the magazine itself.
If you’re a manufacturer of anything even remotely sporty these days you’re no doubt testing at the Nurburgring. Fine tuning and tweaking the performance because of just how well the Nurburgring represents a wide variety of driving conditions.
You wont be the only one testing your final product there however because, if it’s a real sports car, then Germany’s Sport Auto magazine will put it to their famous Supertest.
The Nissan GT-R had to do it and passed with flying colours setting a 7:38 laptime with editor Horst von Saurma (HvS) behind the wheel. Well now the Corvette ZR1’s time has come to be put to the same test.
Quite an interesting data point this considering each manufacturer previously set times in the 7:26 region. To then set a 7:38 in an independent test…
Other tracks were also compared in the German article, the ZR1 beating out the GT-R’s Hockenheimring laptime (1:09.7 to the GT-R’s 1:10.7) and then the ZR1 losing out to the GT-R in the wet handling course (1:36.8 to the GT-R’s 1:32.4).
When we first caught a glimpse of the Kids Heart Nissan Stagea R35 GT-R conversion at Nagoya Auto Trend back in March we were instantly in love with the idea. M34 Stagea’s have been giving up their mundane wagon appearances to star as R34 GT-Rs forever so it was only right that the M35 should get in on the act too.
Edmunds must have also seen the appeal because they headed to Japan to find out more.
Head on over to read the full story with photos, albeit tiny ones, at the link below…
East Texas Muscle Cars is where you can point and begin laughing as they reckon they’ve got the know how to slap together a GT-R killing Camaro based on the cooking variety V6. Edmunds Inside Line is reporting that the V6 will be upgraded with forged internals and a remote mount turbo kit. Add to that a few other off the shelf tuning parts and they think they can tweak it to 500hp and slay the GT-R at the Nurburgring.
Their answer to improving the Camaro’s handling … ?
Other changes include a Baer big brake kit, lightweight 20-inch iForged wheels and Pedders coil-overs and bushings to address “the stock Camaro’s tremendous understeer and cradle walk.”
