Celebrating 50 years of Nissan’s GT-R

I was one of a privileged few to recently join Nissan South Africa in Pretoria to not only sample the latest GT-R, in 50th Anniversary Edition guise but to also experience some of the models from yesteryear.

A long lifecycle

It has been 11 years since Nissan first unveiled the current GT-R. Enthusiasts know this car like the R35 and also as the only GT-R from the brand to drop the famed Skyline name. The performance flagship is still based on the brand’s Premium Midship (PM) platform, which has its origin, ironically with the 2001 Skyline’s Front Midship(FM) platform. Over the past decade, we’ve seen the GT-R slowly evolve from year-to-year, becoming faster and more refined to keep pace with the increasingly impressive competition.

The 2019 GT-R

The latest GT-R has reached local shores and is available in two trim levels, namely the Premium and the Black Edition. South Africa has also been allocated 36 50th Anniversary Edition models.  The special edition models differentiate themselves from the regular models with some added aesthetic bits, namely with three two-tone exterior colour options that resemble liveries from the Japan GP series. The first, and most expensive, colour option see the return of the iconic Bayside or Wangan Blue from the previous R34 model complete with white racing stripes. Also available is a Pearl White with red stripes and Super Silver with white stripes.

The interior of the limited model is different too, with a grey hue that has a light blue tinge to it, colouring pretty much the entire interior, from the seats to the steering wheel, gear lever, door cards and dashboard. There’s also an Alcantara headliner and a plaque in the centre console, reminding you that you’re in the 50th Anniversary Edition model. In terms of suspension, the electronics have been recalibrated to offer a more refined and smooth ride and improved cornering ability. There’s also a new brake booster while the steering has been recalibrated.

More power

The first year of the GT-R’s production, the car produced 357kW from the now legendary hand-built VR38DETT V6 engine. For the latest model, the brand has taken the turbochargers from the Nismo model along with revised exhaust manifolds to up the power to 410kW and 632 Nm. There’s still a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox, which has been revised for the new model to include better downshifts when in “R” amongst other upgrades. Another nifty addition is the addition of a titanium exhaust pipe, complete with blue tips.

Driving GT-R

The GT-R has been considered an absolute performance bargain for years, however, with the price now well over R2-million, some cars offer similar performance for less money. With this in mind, and having driven many other performance cars since my last encounter with the GT-R in 2013, my expectations we lowered, if only slightly. The biggest surprise for me was how refined, even borderline luxurious the GT-R felt when left in its default setting. Flicking the car into “R” mode across the powertrain, suspension and gearbox model alters the characteristics of the GT-R. It’s in this all-out attack mode where Nissan claims, in Japan, it achieved a 0-100km/h time of 2.7 seconds.

Having used the launch control system at the launch event, I can state with confidence that such a figure would not be possible locally; still, this is a fast car, with an insane amount of grip, too much in fact, to explore on public roads. Even 12 years on, the GT-R still impressed with its ability to cover ground at an astonishing rate, while hiding its weight as best it can. Despite its effectiveness and ability to still take the fight to key rivals, the GT-R lacks soul, delivering its performance in the most clinical manner you could imagine. For those who are into vehicle tuning and modifications, the aptly named ‘Godzilla’ is still an amazing machine to tune, with some companies producing truly incredibly performance figure from this platform, albeit with heavy upgraded powertrain bits.

Verdict

My final impression of the R35 GT-R would likely have been overtly positive had I experienced the car in isolation, but the fact that this event allowed us access to passenger rides in the previous R32, R33 and R34.changed my perception quite a bit. You see, after driving the R35 I rode shotgun in the previous generation cars, and those were still so impressive, still so incredibly desirable that many seasoned motoring writers were aching with desire just looking at them. The R35 just doesn’t have that magic about it, in 20 years the R34 will still be more desirable than the R35. As a tool for all-out road performance, the current GT-R is still as effective as ever, but in its quest for constant improvement and in pushing the envelope it has become heavy, expensive and lost in a sea of competition.

Pricing:

Premium Edition                                      R 2 250 000

Black Edition                                             R 2 360 000

50th Anniversary Edition

Pearl White with Red Decals                  R 2 405 000

Ultimate Silver with White Decals        R 2 405 000

Bayside Blue with White Decals            R 2 415 000