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NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT: GT-R

THE NEW GREAT ONE By BT Justice Nissan debuted its all new GT-R super car for the North American market during media days at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show in November of 2007. If the reaction of the press is at all indicative, the GT-R will be a great success. The GT-R's looks and specs are fantastic. Sure, fantastic is an overused adjective, but "fantastic" is the word which most aptly describes the GT-R. A disclaimer is due. While I'm usually critical of first generation cars, especially the styling of new performance vehicles, I'm a long-time fan of Nissan. I've wanted a Fairlady since childhood. I've have owned a 240SX for nearly 10 years and can't say enough about how the styling has stayed fresh, the performance is great and the reliability is unbeatable. With all of this in mind, I still didn't think the GT-R would meet expectations. It does.

Upon it's unveiling, the GT-R put an ear-to-ear smile on my face. I, along with many other journalists, spent a good deal of time admiring the GT-R. I even came back for another look-see. Well, other look-sees. I returned twice. I even waited on line for the opportunity to sit in the GT-R in order to try on the interior, which is also most comfortable and impressive. The only qualm I have about the GT-R is that Nissan didn't leave much for the tuner crowd to improve upon. The GT-R has a perfect blend of classic muscle car and modern, futuristic looks. With all wheel drive, a 3.8-liter twin turbo V6 producing 480 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque, paddle shifters, Bilstein Damp-tronic suspension, Brembo rotors, 20-inch wheels, and much, much more, the GT-R already has race car-like performance. Any change to the styling or mechanicals will be overkill. The price point seems to be right on as well. While more expensive than most sports/muscle cars, it is much lower than comparable exotic cars, and I'm willing to bet it is far more comfortable and reliable. The GT-R can accurately be described as a super car and a sure winner. Look for the GTR in dealerships (if you can find one that will stay on the lot) in June of 2008.

SPECIFICATIONS 2009 Nissan GT-R Engine All-new VR38 3.8-liter twin turbo V6, producing 480 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque Transmission All-new GR6 sequential 6-speed dual-clutch transaxle with paddle shifters, manual and automatic mode Platform All-new Premium Midship package, placing the engine behind the front axle; platform enables the use of the world's first independent rear transaxle all-wheel drive system - the transmission, transfer case and final drive are all located at the rear of the vehicle Drive Configuration Front mid-engine/rear transaxle with ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system specifically developed for GT-R Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC-R) system tuned for GT-R with three modes - Normal, Comfort, or "R" (high-performance) Yaw-rate Feedback Control, coordinating front torque based on the difference between actual yaw rate detected by the yaw-rate sensor and the target yaw-rate calculated from the steering operation

Suspension Bilstein DampTronic suspension system Steering Aluminum rack and pinion steering rack with 4-point rigid mounting Brakes Radial-mount Brembo mono block six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers with full-floating 15 inch, 2-piece, cross-drilled rotors and low-steel high stiffness brake pads Wheels/Tires GT-R-specific lightweight forged aluminum 20-inch wheels, with special bead knurling GT-R specific Nitrogen-filled Bridgestone high-performance summer run-flat tires, 255/40ZRF20 front, 285/35ZRF20 rear; Dunlop all-season tires available Body/Chassis Materials Steel, die-cast aluminum, carbon fiber Coefficient of Drag (CD) 0.27 Weight Distribution 53 percent front / 47 rear

Wheelbase 109.5 inches (est.) Track Width (front/rear) 62.6 inches/63.0 inches (est.) Overall Length 183.4 inches (est.) Width 74.7 inches (est.) Height 54.0 inches (est.) Seating Capacity 4 passengers Cabin Volume 79.4 cubic feet (est.) Luggage Volume 8.8 cubic feet (est.)

Front/Rear Head room 38.1 inches/33.5 inches (est.) Front/Rear Hip room 54.7 inches/18.6 inches (est.) Front/Rear Leg room 44.6 inches/TBD (est.) Select Exterior Features "Aero-blades" on front fender edges; vent in the front fenders' trailing edges; aggressive front end styling with large hood budge and single central air intake; "super wide beam" headlights featuring three additional sub-reflectors (compared to conventional lights); four-passenger cabin with sloping "aero blade canopy" roofline and curved C-pillar "sword edge"; GT-R hallmark four-ring taillights; rear spoiler; functional rear carbon fiber underbody diffuser; large integrated quad exhaust tips; durable anti-chip paint with "double clear coat" process; available hand-polished seven -coat silver paint color Select Interior Features Usable passenger and luggage space; driver-surrounding instrument panel, with meters and multi-function display at a uniform height for minimal driver eye movement; large center-mounted tachometer, with gear display on its upper right; "dial plate" meter-surround design that evokes the idea of engaged gears; large, metallic-framed center console featuring ergonomically designed shift lever and a red "engine start" button; sculpted performance bucket seats Select Technology Driver-adjustable transmission, shock absorbers and Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC-R) system; video game-inspired multi-function display with 11 pages of information and a recording function with playback; navigation system; Music Box Hard Drive; Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System; available specially designed 11-speaker Bose® sound system

For the LA Car report on the 2008 LA Auto Show, click here.