The Nissan GT-R is now on sale in the Middle East and what better way to mark the occasion then by setting a new official time on one of the worlds best driving roads – Jebel Hafeet mountain road.

The time of 3:39.008 was set today at 10:30 am by professional rally driver Mohamed Ben Sulayem and is the time to beat now. If other manufacturers will try their hand and publish results only time will tell.

The GT-R was completely standard 2009 (Series II) specification wearing standard rubber (Bridgestones).

If you want to learn a bit more on the Jebel Hafeet mountain road checkout the Fifth Gear segment video and full text of the press release after the jump…

Source: Nissan

NISSAN GT-R DRIVEN BY MOHAMMED BEN SULAYEM SETS BENCHMARK TIME ON THE WORLD’S GREATEST DRIVING ROAD*
– Nissan GT-R sets first ever recorded time of 3 minutes and 39 seconds to ascend the snake-like mountain road –

Tokyo (March 3, 2009) – Nissan refers to its new GT-R as the super car for “anyone, anywhere, at anytime” and on March 2 that place was the famous Jebel Hafeet mountain road and the driver was Middle East rally driving legend Mohamed Ben Sulayem.

At 10:30 a.m. United Arab Emirates time (GMT+4), expert driver Mohammed Ben Sulayem who is FIA Vice President and President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE pointed the aggressive nose of the Nissan GT-R at the mountain, set the car’s electronics to full launch mode and dropped the twin clutches to unleash 485PS (357kW) through the car’s permanent all-wheel drive system. Just a few minutes later having negotiated the mountain’s 22 corners and 7kms, Ben Sulayem crossed the line to set a first ever official time for ascending the mountain of 3 minutes and 39.008 seconds.

“That was fun!” exclaimed Sulayem at the conclusion of the run. “I have been familiar with the development of the GT-R for sometime now and to achieve this first ever officially recorded time on the Jebel Hafeet mountain road is a fitting event to mark the regional launch of what I believe is one of the most capable performance cars ever developed. This car is true to its design philosophy of being a super car for anyone, anywhere, at anytime. Timed “hill climb” events like these have been popular – especially in Europe – since the very early days of the motor car and when Nissan set a new record time around the Nordschliefe at the Nurburgring we immediately thought a similar feat in our region would be appropriate…and so it has proved,” he concluded.

The Jebel Hafeet mountain road on the outskirts of Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi rises approximately 4,000 ft (1,219 m) with 22 corners and three lanes (two climbing and one descending). The road scales the mountain and ends at a scenic parking lot and passes a hotel and a palace on the way. A seven-km stretch of the mountain road was used for the GT-R Jebel Hafeet Challenge.

For this very special event, Nissan received the permission of the Abu Dhabi authorities to temporarily close the road, while under the auspices of the Automobile & Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE) the closed road was monitored by marshals to Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) safety standards. Official timing of the run was also conducted to regional FIA standards.

The Nissan GT-R received the “Most Advanced Technology Award (Car of the Year Japan 2008-2009)” and was named the “2009 Motor Trend Car of the Year(USA),” among a number of other prestigious accolades.

The GT-R is on sale through a limited number of Nissan High Performance Centers in selected locations throughout the Middle East now.

* Edmunds.com, February 13, 2006