Hotter Nissan GT-R to Slot Above SpecV is on the Way

Nissan GT-R specV

By Thami Masemola
March 31, 2009 2:23 PM
Filed Under: Japanese, Nissan, Supercars

As hot as the Nissan GT-R SpecV is, it is not going to be the last word in the highly-engaging GT-R saga. After the InsideLine team spent some time driving the SpecV in Japan, their initial delight was turned into feverish excitement. This was caused by SpecV chief engineer Mr Kazutoshi Mizuno casually telling the team that "the SpecV, in contrast to what you might be thinking, is not the high-performance version of the GT-R."

The GT-R was launched in 2007 after a long period characterised by speculation and spy pictures. In its basic form it makes 353kW (480hp) and 588Nm of torque from its twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 engine. The engine is mated to a six-speed dual clutch transmission and together they can hurl the AWD Nissan from 0 - 60mph in about 3.5 seconds. Top speed is estimated at around 309km/h.

In 2008 Nissan infamously claimed the production car lap record at the Nürburgring with a car that was said to be stock, bar one or two items. Additionally, it was reported that the SpecV was tested independently and, although inconclusive, found to be slower than the stock car around a famous Tsukuba race track.

Exactly what else can be done to extract more performance out of the GT-R is a mystery only Mizuno san and those close to him can solve for us.

Source: edmunds.com via autoblog.com

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Tags: Nissan GT-R, Nissan GT-R SpecV

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Comments

sub39h

March 31, 2009 3:07 PM

apparently a stock version of one of these will be able to lap the earth faster than a space shuttle... no, seriously.

Renegade

March 31, 2009 3:21 PM

They already did but they don't want to tell kuz that would put NASA out of business.

Aesthetics

March 31, 2009 6:47 PM

you think porsche will believe that?

scratchy996

April 1, 2009 1:27 PM

Renegade is right , they went around the Earth so fast , it turned back time.

kryst_PL

March 31, 2009 3:13 PM

Famous Japanese racetrack? I thought Nurburgring was in Germany, but maybe thats only me :)

thamzn

March 31, 2009 3:17 PM

It's probably just you. I think he means the Tsukuba track. See related stories.

Renegade

March 31, 2009 3:19 PM

I think they talk about Fuji Speedway.

BrianWCF

March 31, 2009 3:50 PM

Thanks everyone, the sentence has been edited to be more specific.

Edited by user on March 31, 2009 at 3:50 PM

phobos

March 31, 2009 3:21 PM

slower? it was tested by keichi tsuchiya - japanese drift king - ,the condition of the track was poor

Renegade

March 31, 2009 3:22 PM

Maybe he was drifting it instead of driving fast...:P

phobos

March 31, 2009 3:24 PM

tsukuba

phobos

March 31, 2009 3:25 PM

..you can't really drift with a GT-R

350Zed

March 31, 2009 3:50 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLtgeBhUoow

radmeister

March 31, 2009 4:12 PM

Sure you can, I've done it lotsa times in GT5 Prologue, TCS off, and set the Diffs to 90-10 rear bias, drifts pretty good, trickier than lets say a fully RWD car but far from impossible. The drift king got something like 1:01 on the track, best ive gotten in GT5 was 1:05 and that was after about 100 attempts.

lucifa

March 31, 2009 4:39 PM

Funny as that might sound, from all accounts driving it isn't all that dissimilar from using it on the game...

radmeister

March 31, 2009 5:53 PM

To tell you the truth, with the Logitech G25 racing wheel and all the settings set to professional/realistic in the game and on the wheel it's pretty darn close. And i mean especially with the GT-R that was heavily tested and built with the makers of GT5, even their fancy simulator at nissan runs on the GT5 platform/engine. I think the main difference is road conditions, in the game the track surface is perfect, real life not so much.

phobos

March 31, 2009 3:28 PM

in mid april they will try to beat the ZR1 record on the ring..

Prince_Ash

March 31, 2009 3:29 PM

unless your "THE DRIFT KING" hahahah xD

Joe_Limon

March 31, 2009 4:20 PM

This sounds like since the specV wasn't quite fast enough Nissan went back to the drawing board to create a car faster then the zr1.

radmeister

March 31, 2009 5:58 PM

I think they were always going to build something above the SpecV, they still have a decent price gap between the SpecV and the 911 Turbo, also where is Nismo. There will probably be a SpecV Nur like in the old days. With higher output, more carbon fibre, and a more aggressive body kit.

ShinyG

March 31, 2009 6:41 PM

Well, looking at the price difference between the stock GTR and the Spec-V in relation to the price difference, the new "even hotter" version will have another whopping 5hp, different colored wheels, brand spanking new badges and will probably do the Nring in negative time and cost 5 times as much as the Spec-V. It will also be able to fly, as demonstrated in a new GT5 expansion that will cost about 100$ and will be able to make fried potatoes on demand. My point is: enough with the "hype" Nissan, we're already bored as sh1t with your shoebox! This car has so many urban legends tied to it, like the Nring time that I don't trust anything coming from Nissan anymore...

Edited by user on March 31, 2009 at 6:45 PM

scratchy996

April 1, 2009 1:29 PM

can it make pancakes ? cause that would be awesome !

Xenicide

March 31, 2009 8:35 PM

And in the end, it's still a Nissan. Who in their right mind will spend that much on a Nissan? Other than to say, "Oh, I got the flavor of the month car. Look at me"

Renegade

March 31, 2009 8:53 PM

Snobbish....

scratchy996

April 1, 2009 1:30 PM

...but so true.

Siawa

March 31, 2009 9:00 PM

No offense to anyone but the back of this car just reminds me of Chevy Cobalt. And I would never spend that much money on a very ordinary looking car (not talking about performance, just physical appearnace).

pzigly

March 31, 2009 9:44 PM

if you know anything about the skyline, you will know that nissan had that rear end since the late 60's. if anyone copied someone its chevy. They actually copied that in a few of their models. Nissan put that rear end to stay with tradition.

Siawa

March 31, 2009 9:53 PM

Thank you for the brief history. I am very new to auto industry and probably know the least out of everyone here =)

Renegade

March 31, 2009 10:59 PM

pzigly the Corvette had those lights back in the 70's but really this discussion is a bit stupid, Ferrari used this kind of lights too and probably other cars, "u stole my light, give back the door handle, that's my mirror" and could go on forever and it sounds like 10 year old.

pzigly

March 31, 2009 11:16 PM

All i was saying is that Nissan didnt copy a or even think about looking about the cobalt when they designed the GTR. Thats like saying ferrari looked at a kia to get ideas for design.

Edited by user on March 31, 2009 at 11:17 PM

Renegade

March 31, 2009 11:41 PM

Yeah, ur right, but I heard this discussion so many times that I see it like a bad thing even that it's not, and this days u can find elements from a car to another often then u eat ur diner, witch it's ok if it's not a too bad rip of, it's hard to be original and also to sell good.

pzigly

March 31, 2009 10:03 PM

You peoples' arguements are so thin. The Spec V is slower because they use ceramic racing brakes that belong on a race car. Also Nissan never lied about anyting. They never said the spec V would be faster. They said it would be lighter and use racing components that do not increase horsepower. Also I still dont understand the term just a Nissan. If you forgot nissan is competing with BMW and porsche. The new Z has can beat the likes of the 335i, cayman, and boxter. The G37 is just a little slower but has a rear seat and the LUX. Both cars are from Nissan and I feel look better inside and out. They also wont cost you an arm and a leg to fix when something goes wrong.

scratchy996

April 1, 2009 1:33 PM

"Also Nissan never lied about anyting." ...really ?

Joe_Limon

April 1, 2009 6:32 PM

Depends who's lies you are willing to believe. I have no respect for Porsche, so even though I have no proof either way, I will fall in line with Nissan's "lies".

pzigly

April 2, 2009 12:49 AM

Nissan never lied, porsche didnt use the tires that Nissan provides with the car. They used their own tires. The tires on the GTR are made for the GTR. To put different tires messes with the results.

Also porsche didnt not go through nissans training program on how to drive the GTR. (lol) So we dont know if porsches drivers know how to drive.... lol. I dont like to speak ill of the dead but porsches cheif test driver died driving on a straight and smooth freeway with no speed limit. visibility might have been bad but you cant drive like a crazy person when you cant see in a car that doesnt forgive you when you make a mistake.

mortz

March 31, 2009 10:06 PM

I have seen different tests done with the spec-v and its definitely faster than the base model, check out gt-r blog.

mortz

March 31, 2009 10:41 PM

The spec-V was designed to navigate corners faster with better brakes stopping it faster, better suspension set up and sticker tyres means more grip around and out of the corners and the extra 5hp and the over boost to accelerate faster out of the corner. all this means that the guys from Nissan are confident that they will shave 5 seconds of the GT-Rs nurburgring time (7.29) and this time they are inviting the people from Porsche to come and watch and cheer them on. Next year Nissan will bring out the SPEC-M this will be the version with the higher power out put and the 3rd evolution of the R35 GT-R. but expect the Spec-V to claim a nurburgring time of around 7.24m, Just wait and see...Check out GT-R blog.com and there is two road test with the spec-v, all the figures are improved from the base model.

Edited by user on April 1, 2009 at 8:34 AM

goosey

April 2, 2009 10:03 AM

why do ppl still compare PORSCHE with nissan....i cant really c how leave everything aside ...porsche is porsche and nissan will always be nissan u can compare it with other cheap japanese products leave ZEGERMAN alone....i think ppl started this whole debate is because nissan GTR as a supercar with its high engine performace gave low income ppl the chance to experience "the need for speed" where they actually couldnt dream or emagine the porsche/ferrari/luxury cars ....if u own a nissan that doesnt make nissan is better than porsche and if u own a porsche that doesnt mean it better than the 599 ferrari.... call it wat ever u wna call it it my opinion.....and all ppl have diff opinions...TY

Edited by user on April 2, 2009 at 10:04 AM

Joe_Limon

April 2, 2009 5:19 PM

Also, if you own a Ferrari that doesn't make it better then a Porsche and if you own a Nissan that doesn't make it better then a Porsche ;) Ferrari's while extreme and demanding cars they might be, are still unreliable and expensive to fix. And while Porsche has amazing brand name powers that entice a hundred thousand people to pay $20,000 over the actual price of a car every year, doesn't mean that it is any more luxurious or faster then the Nissan. If you want to argue with me on Porsche being luxurious keep in mind that 911's still have carpet rear seats.

Renegade

April 2, 2009 10:04 PM

@goosey u are one of those twips that will pay a price 10 times higher for the same thing just because it has a german name, I will put a Porsche Badge on a Tata Nano and and sell it for 20000$, want it?

mortz

April 21, 2009 6:22 AM

Yeah and that's why Porsche 911, gt2 owners are selling them and buying the gt-r with money to spare for performance upgrades with around 600hp and suspension etc and still have change.

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