One of the most iconic sports car names of all time has sped on towards our shores, finally, in its latest avatar. The R35 GT-R — Godzilla to fans — is here and we take to the track to see what it truly feels like.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
Roar. Getting louder… Whoosh! That was Karun Chandok doing some laps in Nissan’s latest track-tool for India. The twin-turbo V6 firing away, giving every living soul in the vicinity either the goosebumps, hair standing on end or shivers of excitement. This is it. The monster has been awakened.
The poster car for many enthusiasts the world over, this writer included, the GT-R can lay claim to several speed records other more expensive cars can only dream of: a 0-100 km/h sprint in less than three seconds, a top speed in excess of 300 km/h, a Nürburgring lap-time to make hypercars break into a sweat, a drag coefficient better than a bullet, and handling to rival a highly-tuned turbocharged go-kart.
Turn back the clock a little and the R34 GT-R, its more sedan-y predecessor, had a 2.6-litre straight-six which was tuned up and then tuned up further by many to deliver upwards of 1,000 PS. Tuner car central was formed because of a handful of great cars and the R34 was one of those icons, made even more popular because of its presence in the videogame franchise ‘Need for Speed’ as well as in the ‘Fast and Furious’ movies.
Fast and furious it is and always has been. The R35 still retains many design elements from the R34, the GT-R badge inside the narrow front grille that’s reminiscent of a smiling face, the side profile and quad tail-lamps, and exhaust pipes, too. When the GT-R first arrived in showrooms in late 2007, it had 485 PS and a price-tag of just about $70,000 (Rs 39 lakh, back then). It proved itself to be phenomenally quick and took many cars, including some costing five times as much, by utter surprise, blitzing their idea of quick on the straights and decimating their knowledge of physics with its handling in the corners. What had Nissan done?
A Spec V GT-R followed that was even faster, more exclusive and much sharper. Then, post-2010, a re-worked, new model arrived, still looking almost identical, but packing 530 PS with its sights set on making new Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari and McLaren buyers all question their sanity.
Come 2016, and the R35 GT-R is here in India. The car we were driving was a UK-spec automobile. That VR38DETT twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 delivers 550 PS and 632 Nm, all of which are channelled by the six-speed dual-clutch auto ‘box to all four wheels. The GT-R’s rear end houses an independent transaxle that packs the transmission, differential and transfer-case all in one compact unit, weight managed within the axles. The yaw-based traction control system has been tweaked further and can deliver full power to the rear, or as much as 50 per cent to the front; that’s over 300 Nm, more than enough torque by any standard, even for a car weighing 1.7 tonnes.
A power-to-weight ratio of 316 PS/tonne, then, is the stuff of dreams on track. And that’s exactly where we were. The Buddh International Circuit, India’s pride and joy, was where many of us would have our very first experience with this icon. Right, then. No biggie. Breathe.
