Not content with lapping the Nürburgring at an eye watering 7 minutes and 38 seconds, Nissan’s Banzai Engineers are preparing an even meaner and much leaner version of their sublime GT-R supercar.
The car will use the much vaunted “V-Spec” moniker. There is plenty of speculation in the press regarding this model as there appears to be an unabated demand for news and information on the newly released Nissan GT-R.
British motor magazine, AutoExpress, have run their own article in which they suggest the 473 hp VR38DETT twin turbo 3.8L V6 is in for a 16% power boost. That means the V-Spec GT-R will produce around a giddy 550 hp. To ensure that extra 77 hp is not developed in vain, the GT-R will also be in for a diet which will lead to around 150kg trimmed off the cars overall weight.
The GT-R already has an ultra low CD figure of 0.27 but the V-Spec version will get a bespoke body kit which should help create down force and increase stability in fast sweeping corners.
It’s difficult to imagine an even harder edged version of the standard GT-R as it seems such a focused track weapon already. But Nissan clearly want to offer the prospective GT-R purchaser a complete set of models, much in the same way Porsche offer Turbo, GT3 and GT2 versions of the standard 911.
Expect the Super GT-R to come at a premium over the standard car, which means at least £20,000 sterling more than the rumoured £55,000 starting price when it comes to British shores.
Ultimate 550 hp GT-R V-Spec
Standard Nissan GT-R
Monster power claim for V-Spec GT-R
By Grant Edwardson
February 14, 2008 7:34 PM
Filed Under: Japanese, Nissan
Comments
Joe_Limon
February 14, 2008 7:38 PM
Nice! this think is going devastate the Porsche lineup.
radmeister
February 14, 2008 8:00 PM
We will have to see about that porsche still has not released any lap times for the new Gt2, and as for being faster than any porsche that is impossible, the Carrera GT is still king of the nurburing. Porsche will always be a lifestyle. What is important is that it has completely destroyed the Corvette and Viper which only HAD best bang for buck going for them. Now the GT-R has come in with a lower price, better figures, and an interior you are not ashamed to let people see. The Spec-V is in competition with the ZR1 Vette which it will completely destroy. The power increase in the ZR1 will not even bring it close to the normal GT-Rs track time as the Z06 got 7:43.
pzigly
February 14, 2008 10:46 PM
I think the v-spec will beat the carerra gt the normal skyline almost beat the carerra gt. Lower weight and more hp will get it faster than the gt and the zonda F. The skyline already beat every porsche out there except for the gt, it is already proven.
radmeister
February 14, 2008 11:41 PM
The GT-R did it in 7:38 the Carrera GT did it in 7:28, 10 seconds is a lot of time to make up. The GT2 is expected to go around the track faster than the GT. I have no idea what you are talking about almost beat it, 10 seconds is winning by roughly 12 car lengths.
pzigly
February 15, 2008 1:28 AM
all the spec v needs to do is beat the regular gtr by 1-1.5 seconds per mile. With so many corners and the lighter weight the v can do it.
bornwild
February 15, 2008 1:35 AM
You guys are forgetting that the GT-R which did it in 7:38 was a pre-production model, ie. lighter with more boost. Hence, the V-spec production model would do a lap-time of around 7:37-7:38 at best.
pzigly
February 15, 2008 1:41 AM
if you have seen the pictures of the pre production model the interior was all there. Everything you see in the production car was in the preproduction model. Plus it has added weight from the camouflage which probably didn't help it with its drag of .27.
mojammer
February 14, 2008 8:00 PM
I agree; with a 150kg weight loss it'll probably be close to the Gallardo in performance.
swifthead
February 14, 2008 8:07 PM
Well Porsche 911 GT2 is not an easy task...even for a GT-R V-spec
pzigly
February 14, 2008 10:49 PM
The GTR was aimed at the 911. It already beats all the other 911's. I think the gt2 will be beaten before its time is recorded.
Bristol411S3
February 14, 2008 8:25 PM
I agree with Radmeister. What he says reflects the way of thinking of my geneeration, but perhaps the cachet of Porsche doesn't existing in a generation brought up on Xbox and unfamiliar with Porsche's racing pedigree.
Joe_Limon
February 14, 2008 9:55 PM
haha you German nutz
with new suspension, 150kg lighter and 70 more hp, I believe nissan could knock 10s off their nurburgring time... aka compete against and maybe even beat out the Carrera GT.
pzigly
February 14, 2008 10:51 PM
it almost beat it already. the normal skyline was only a few seconds slower. there is always room for an improved time on that track.
radmeister
February 15, 2008 3:13 AM
I agree, that track is very unforgiving. The driver must have driven almost perfectly to get 7:38. To go 10s faster is not easy even with 70hp more and 300lbs less. There is a much bigger difference in performance figures between the GT2 and GT3 RS and yet the difference is 10 seconds. 10 seconds is not easy to take off that means roughly 0.5sec at every hard turn, thats not easy to do. That track is not a joke its not NASCAR it has killed many a ppl. If they can shave off 10sec my hats off to them it means that they drove that car to the limit and laughed in the face of death.
NitrousOxide
February 14, 2008 11:47 PM
If we neglected the shaved weight of this car.. The given power is around 602 horsepower.. almost 130 added to this monster.. It will 100% knock the Carrera GT this time.. It has more power for running.. and less weight for cornering.. WHAT A CAR!!!
german-cars-lover
February 15, 2008 12:21 AM
It's fantastic . but not better than PORSCHEs ( Maybe it's better in price only ) .
kevoluetion
February 15, 2008 12:27 AM
Doesn't this car accelerate from 0-100 as fast as a Ferrari Enzo??
morphine
February 15, 2008 12:48 AM
"Rad", something to keep in mind - Jan did his 'Ring time in the Z06 from a standing start. If the GT-R was a flying start, as is common for the Porsches.
Horsepower - you're saying that a 70 hp boost to the GT-R will give it a tremendous advantage, but a 115 hp jump in the ZR1 will not even net the 'Vette 5 seconds? Unlikely, even granting that the ZR1 gains ~150 lbs and the GT-R loses over 300.
So, about weight then - the base GT-R is 3800+ lbs. A flying start could account for a 5 second difference between it and the Z06. Even after losing 150 kilos it will still tip the scales at ~3500 lbs.
Compare that to a ZR1 and you've got a 150 lb weight difference and a 70 (rated) hp deficit. To a Z06, you're up 50 hp but down by ~300 lbs (for the est. Spec-V) and ~600 lbs for the stock vehicle.
Where's the difference? AWD? Racing Skylines of the past opted to lose the front differential because the handling benefits did not justify the weight. While ATTESA is certainly impressive, the GT-R carries a serious weight penalty.
Why not wait to see what the results will be before calling Chevrolet dead in the water? They dominate GT1 racing, I think they're fairly competent and the ZR1 will post some impressive times.
radmeister
February 15, 2008 2:59 AM
Yeah because they invested 10million per car, thats more than they spend on R&D per year for their entire lineup. Also if you compare figures i doubt the Z06 had a standing start and the GT-R flying, why? Because the GT-R is 0.4s faster to 60, almost a full second faster in the 1/4 mile, has better braking figures, comes out of corners much faster, all the facts ad up to the 4sec difference between the 2. The porsche GT3 RS has a time of 7.42 the same as the Z06 and it did it the same from a flying start. If i'm not mistaken all cars go from a relatively flying start because they have to exit from the pits at no more than the set pit speed. Lets face reality the figures speak for themselves the Z06 got beat, no flying start no unfair advantages to the Nissan, it even had production spec tires. 7:30s is right for the ZR1, the 1/4 mile is same as the GT-R and 0-60 is roughly the same 3.4sec, it will be probably around 7:36 which is a big difference to shave of 6sec. But the Spec-V will be closer to very low 7:30s i predict the same a 6 second shave which will bring it to 7:32 which is what the GT2 got unofficially, Thats what the Carrera GT got the first time around the track too, and then a better driver was able to get 7:28. Realistically the GT-R Spec-V nor the ZR1 can beat the Carrera GT and forget about the Zonda F. My money is still on the GT-R Spec-V when its vs the ZR1. The list will go Zonda F, Carrera GT,Tie btw GT2 and GT-R Spec V(or 1 will be marginally faster than the other), ZR1.
radmeister
February 15, 2008 3:37 AM
Oh and i forgot to mention that since the Nordschleife is an actual race track it's properly designed so that the merging from pit assuming 2 of the same cars are racing is at the same speed as the car already on the track. If you look at the track layout there are some serious turns before the track and pit exit merge. All times are recorded by the track officials at the same point. The excuse of "flying start" is not valid. The only way that a standing start would be possible is if GM rented the entire track out just so they could put 1 car on at a time and choose their own starting point and start from a stop, which doesn't make any sense and in the end would give them an advantage anyways.
morphine
February 15, 2008 2:38 AM
I mentioned the AWD. The ZR1 crew is saying they're expecting low 7:30s. We'll see where it ends up.
pzigly
February 15, 2008 3:20 AM
Adding more hp on an American muscle cars does not make that much of a difference on the track, because there is soo much torque there that it is hard to really use its limits with fear of spinning out. Japanese tuner cars on the other hand make the most of added hp, espically the GTR because its limits are soooo high on the turnes. Dont get me wrong the vette has came up large in the handeling area in the last few years, but they have not caught up with the germans and the japanese. I think the only way this will be settled is when they take these cars on the track. Gtr has a history of embarassing everyone that has more hp on the track. I remember a video of a skyline (approx 99) beat a more powerful modena on a track by about 2 seconds (small track). The computer system on the GTR sorts out all mistakes which reduces margin of error and gives it a higher limit for the driver to be comfortable with. There is also the matter of transmissions which the GTR has a great one.
carcrazy1234
February 15, 2008 6:30 AM
ohhhh HEAVENN!!! I'M IN LOVE!! this will eat porsches for breakfast i mean it already with the 473 hp... now with 550?? WHAT NOW!!! oh man.... soooo is a new supra from toyota in the works or what?? then life will be complete
carcrazy1234
February 16, 2008 3:07 AM
yea i've seen that... is that coming out into production orrr???
pzigly
February 16, 2008 6:34 AM
I have no clue if toyota will come out with it. They do have a prototype though that allegidly beat the Zonda F (http://www.worldcarfans.com/9071228.015/lexus-lf-a-sets-ring-record). I really doubt they will come out with it. The car does not look realistic and toyota has teased us with it since the 90's when they wanted to come out with 2 other supercars in the 90's but we never saw anything.
carcrazy1234
February 19, 2008 6:35 AM
that is sweet well if their testing it out, they must be coming up with something i hope! :)
Aesthetics
February 15, 2008 9:25 AM
certain takes on all porsche, quicker than the 911 and uglier than the cayenne.
joseferreira
February 16, 2008 1:59 AM
If this version is fster than GT2, when arrive the GT-R V-Spec N1 it will be faster than Veyron!
pzigly
March 2, 2008 11:26 AM
By the way the veyron pulled out a 7:40 nissan is 7:38 that is how crazy this cars it. Half the HP and it still beat a 1000hp car.
mymom1234
February 17, 2008 8:52 PM
Many GT-R Fanboys here...
I like the GT-R too, but come on... did you ever drive on the nordschleife? I did and im laughing at all your comments. To drive any car under 8min is a near Death experience on that track.
7:38 is the best nissan could do after many trys with the GT-R and they went all out for that one and beat the 997t. That is remarkable with a car weighing more than the 997t (still, its messed up that you cant drift the GT-R... i mean personally... whats the point in a japanese car which doesnt drift? well that aside)... The Porsche 997 GT2 did a 7:32 @ 530bhp, and lets see if the V-Spec will beat that.
mortz
December 5, 2008 6:33 AM
Your eating your words now aye, GT-R 7.29 and v-spec 7.25, And another thing whats up with calling gt-r fans fanboys whats the difference from liking any other car, tosser
catch22
February 18, 2008 9:11 AM
I seriously doubt the claimed figure of 530 for 911 GT2. Sport auto had measured one of the std Carrera's and its output (without turbo's) was higher than quoted. I'm not saying that Porsche has cheated but we honestly can't know for sure that every manufacturer sends an off-the-line standard item to the 'ring. And with all that turbocharged cars, it's a different matter, ain't it?
tiguy2000
February 19, 2008 2:39 AM
Oh boy! in less than 1 year they re ready for another record.... what s next?! Nissan is on fire
munz
February 20, 2008 7:27 PM
nice car man no car can beat tht look hw hot tht car looks it is betta thn bugatti veyron. bugatti veyron hs no style all it has is power dum car man hu wud drive dat around ere 1000bhp crazy man u hve no chance driving tht in london, america, pakistan, afghanistan, and many more
SuperCJ427
February 25, 2008 8:14 PM
Thats really funny that people here like GT-R styling which is just an another 350Z with a Mitsubishi EVO front. And comparing it to a Million dollar Veyron styling is riduculous. Guys grow up...GT-R styling is cheap and do japanese have any clue about what a styling is. As for performance, GT-R does it all for you, you just go sit in it. Probably they should release a GT-R variant where you can just go sit in a passenger side and it will take you to a 0-60 in 3.0 secs. Haha! Porsches have a soul in them and you need one to drive them which apparently not many here seems to have.
mortz
March 21, 2008 11:27 PM
The gtr is designed for function over form hence the low .27cd, to say it looks cheep well that's your own opinion . there's many cars that have similar features these days, and if you have followed the skyline through the stages and have driven them you would know they have heaps of soul like a Porsche's but then all porsches look they same dont they!! im mean come on ya got to give credit when credit is due and nissan have done a fine job, considering you can still fit two people in the back seats and still have a good size boot, and even drive it on snow, and your granny can go to the supermarket with out having any trouble driving it, performance speaks for its self, you should check out some off the British magazine companies testing it against the 911 gt3, they are actually amazed.
epik
April 9, 2008 9:51 AM
Well, they did it again. It's not official but the reported time so far for the GTR V-Spec is 7:25.
This is just an incredible machine.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/08/nissan-gt-r-v-spec-lap-times-stun-observers/
mortz
June 27, 2008 11:11 AM
And they did it again with the production version with slight upgrades for the european markets at 7.29 WOW
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