Nissan GT-R: Official Photos

Motoring Channel Staff - 17/October/2007

Official Launch - All The New Information.

Tokyo, Japan — The funny thing about embargoes is that they're rarely kept these days. Which means vehicles like the Nissan GT-R appear ahead of their official unveiling. 

Nissan won't be pleased, in fact it's probably furious. But the legions of performance car fans won't be complaining after getting their first glimpse. 

Update: Another day, another embargo. The engine specs have now been leaked and yes, we can confirm that the new Nissan GT-R gets a dual-clutch 6-speed automatic transmission, a 3.8-litre twin turbo V6, and Brembo brakes.

It'll dispatch the zero to 96km/h (0-60mph) dash in 3.5 seconds and has a quarter mile time of 11.7 seconds. In an nutshell, it's an epic engine and you can only imagine what the Japanese tuners will do to it.The exact power numbers are as follows:

Power: 348kW (473hp)
Torque: 588Nm (434 ft-lb)

The Nissan GT-R was to be the single biggest launch of the Tokyo Motor Show, and you can bet there'll be some seriously upset people in Japan. Carlos Ghosn too, the CEO of Nissan and Renault, could to be making some stern phone calls.

When Nissan sent out its official photos to a number of American magazines well ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show launch, in order for the magazines to be up to date (magazines often have to be completely ready to go months in advance of their sale date, hence the early photos), little did the car maker know that the secret photos would hit the Internet shortly thereafter.

It's a shame the Nissan GT-R, like the recent Holden Sportwagon and FPV F6 X here in Australia, has been leaked before the official launch as it renders these motor shows almost obsolete. And the magazines responsible will rarely be punished because the car makers need their allegiance to sell cars.

If this trend keeps happening, there is a possibility that some media outlets, perhaps ourselves included, could be punished in ways as yet unknown. Less press cars, no early info. It could be all out media warfare! As the saying going, never bite the hand that feeds you.

Here we have the first official batch of Nissan GT-R photos leaked by an American car magazine. Soak it up people - this is the real deal.

The Porsche 911 killer has emerged and it looks fairly tough, in a very Japanese way. There's plenty of angles to the cars design, particularly the roofline and rear end, and it seems to work. It gives the GT-R a somewhat dangerous, aggressive air.The engine hood also has a pair of longitudinal vents, no doubt used to cool the engine.

New details of the Nissan GT-R have also emerged, and here's the big news - the GT-R will be almost as quick as the legendary Ferrari Enzo. It takes just 3.5 seconds to reach 96km/h from standstill (0-60mph), so that would equate to about 3.6 or 3.7 seconds for the zero to 100km/h dash. The quarter mile will be dispatched in less than 12 seconds.

With performance such as this, the new Nissan GT-R is will put Japanese performance cars on a new course. One that attacks directly, for the first time, the dominance of the European sports cars. Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini are no longer safe. 

With vehicles from Honda and Lexus expected to use V10 power in the near future, the European dominance of the super car market could well come to an end at the hands of the Japanese. The Asian cars are likely to be far more reliable too, and will be much cheaper as well.

Has the Nissan GT-R created a tipping point for the Japanese car industry to break the shackles of its self-imposed power restriction? Damn straight it has.

No other information for the Nissan GT-R has been leaked as yet, so thankfully there will be some mystery surrounding the vehicle up until its Tokyo launch on the 24th of October. The engine is rumoured to be a 3.7 or 3.8-litre twin turbo V6 outputting between 353kW (480hp) in standard tune and 390kW (530hp) in Evo tune. 

As such, the new car will rightly retain its nickname of Godzilla.

There has also been talk of a new dual-clutch gearbox with up to eight gears being involved (though we'd be happy with a 6-speed manual), and the latest ATESSA all-wheel drive is also expected to resurface. G-force telemetry also appears to be a part of the package (see the cockpit photo at the bottom - the centre console shows lots of digital measurements), which gauges and displays levels of acceleration in all directions.

Previous Information: It is expected that there will be three version of the Nissan GT-R, two 353kW (480hp) versions of the GT-R and one 390kW (530hp) believed to be named the EVO. 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.

There have been reports of torque levels above 500Nm and up to 620Nm of torque, which makes the 3.5 second zero to 96km/h figure sound about right.

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 3.8-litre twin turbo V6 engine type, as opposed to the V8 engine some in the media had been suggesting (Update: the new photos show a V6). 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, just with an increased bore and stroke.

The 3.5 second zero to 96km/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. Quick is an understatement.

As well as the standard GT-R model, there will be a V Spec model - both with 353kW (480hp) - and 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. Stay tuned for more information on the 24th of October 2007, when the Tokyo Motor Show kicks off.

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