Nissan GT-R Leaked!

Motoring Channel Staff - 11/May/2007

Tokyo, Japan — With the arrival of the next generation Nissan GT-R not too far away now, it seems that Nissan fans in Japan have gotten a little too excited and leaked photos of the production version.

Nissan's 2008 model GT-R, or Godzilla as it's affectionately known, will be publicly unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show from October the 26th, at the Makuhari Messe hall in Chiba prefecture.

The photos have been scanned from a magazine or a leaked brochure and reveal for the first time how the car will look.

The images look as though they were taken in Germany (German number plates) and on the Nuburgring.

They also reveal some interesting figures, such as the zero to 100km/h time of 3.7 seconds on the 353kW (480hp) versions of the GT-R. If these numbers prove to be true, the new GT-R will be one of the hottest tickets in 2008, able to demoralise far more expensive machinery.

So, if these images and the statistics are to be believed, the new GT-R and V-Spec models will have 353kW of power and 620Nm of torque, which makes the 3.7 second figure sound about right. But to get more than 500Nm of torque from a naturally aspirated engine is difficult, which leads us to believe that the GT-R will indeed be a turbocharged (possibly bi-turbo) 6-cylinder engine.

Reports from people who have heard the car screaming round the Nuburgring in Germany suggest the car has a rich growl, and lends weight to 3.7-litre twin turbo V6 engine type, as opposed to the V8 engine some in the media had been suggesting. The engine is rumoured to be codenamed VQHRTT, where the TT stands for twin turbo, and the VQ signals that's it's related the current 3.5-litre VQ engine range that Nissan uses.

The 3.7 second zero to 100km/h time would put the new Nissan GT-R on par with the Porsche 911 Turbo, and quicker than the Lamborghini Gallardo and Ferrari F430. It's going to be HOT!

These photo scans also show how the car will appear, and the most interesting design feature are the new headlights which have similarities with the Nissan 350Z (reviewed here), which can be seen in the top most scan. They are long, thin, and sleek, and trail a long way down the hood. 

It's also clear that the car will have a huge rear wing with small winglets not unlike the wingtips from a Boeing 747-400. The brake lights are classic Skyline GT-R, albeit with LED lights, and there also appears to be a number of air vents and air dams along the side of the car, which may be cosmetic (but we're hoping they're functional).

The engine hood also has a pair of longitudinal vents, no doubt used to cool the engine.

As well as the standard GT-R model, there will be a V Spec model - both with 353kW (480hp) - there will be an even more powerful version, the GT-R Evo, which is expected to weigh 100kg less than the other two models and belt out more power, to the tune of 390kW (530hp) all up.  

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- Nissan 350Z (2007)
- Nissan X-Trail (2007)
- Nissan GT-R (2007)
- Nissan Maxima (Road Test)
- Nissan Tiida (Road Test)