Car reviews and awards - new Nissan GT-R - sports cars
WHATCAR? 2012 Nissan GTR review 11/27/2011
What is it? This is the latest version of the supercar-crushing Nissan GTR.
Amazingly, the Nissan GT-R has been made even faster and better to drive – neither of which was exactly a glaring deficiency of the outgoing version. The 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 has been tweaked to boost power, and the suspension has been revised to offer improved agility and handling.
Interestingly, the suspension is now mildly different on the right-hand side to the left, so as to accommodate the extra weight of a driver.
There are also minor visual differences – inside and out – but you'll be hard pressed to notice them. Spec changes centre on the addition of a rear-view camera as standard and an uprated stereo.
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AUTOCAR 2011 MY Test Drive Review 10/27/2010
Nissan GT-R MY11 Review
What is it? The Nissan GT-R hardly feels old tech these days; it was only launched three years ago and it is still considered a benchmark for engineering and value. But it wasn’t without fault and so this is the Japanese maker’s answer to the critics.
An altered ‘comfort’ mode for the suspension brings more pliancy at speed – particularly for motorway driving – but don’t expect a wafty experience at any point. On a typical B-road the Nissan suffers from some noisy and severe crashing and rebounding, though this always feels a justifiable compromise given the GT-R’s nature even if some rivals offer a better-resolved ride for UK surfaces.
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WHATCAR? 2011 MY Test Drive Review 11/05/2010
Nissan GT-R Driven
Does anyone really understand the effect of quantitative easing? Well, a £10,000 increase in the price of the Japanese-built Nissan GT-R should tell you all you need to know.
To be fair, you’re getting a vastly improved car for your money. For a start, re-jigged electronics allow the twin-turbo V6 engine to punch harder and faster, and develop an extra 40bhp, pushing the power output to a tyre-torturing 523bhp.
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THE TELEGRAPH 2011 MY Test Drive Review 11/09/2010
2011 Nissan GT-R Review
The Nissan GT-R is one of the fastest cars money can buy and for 2011 has undergone a series of tweaks to make it even quicker still. It might cost £10,000 more than before, but it's still a true performance bargain.
Few cars in recent years have shaken things up quite as comprehensively as Nissan’s formidable GT-R. Brutal to look at, ballistic to drive and punching well above its price tag in pure performance terms, the twin-turbo, all-wheel drive, four-seat GT-R picked-up its premium brand opposition by their lapels and shook them them till their gritted teeth rattled.
For 2011 Nissan has given the GT-R its first major revamp, with enhancements to the exterior, interior and drivetrain. Clearly the GT-R’s legendary project leader Kazutoshi Mizuno is unfamiliar with the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, for the outgoing model was hardly lacking in performance.
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AUTO EXPRESS Test Drive Review 02/22/2011
Three years after its launch, the GT-R has finally come of age. Is it even better than the giant-killing original?
At the GT-R’s launch in 2007, the chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno claimed: “The real car will arrive in three years.” So we’re guessing the heavily modified 2011 variant driven here is the model Nissan always intended the GT-R to be.
Visually there’s little to shout about. Slim LED daytime running lights are slotted into a modified front spoiler, which has been designed to increase downforce and reduce drag. A wider grille feeds more air to the uprated engine, and new lightweight Rays alloys save 3kg at each corner.
Interior changes are also quite mild, the most obvious being the carbon fibre trim on the control panel. Plumper dash leather is noticeable only to the trained eye, but our car’s two-tone trim helps the cabin feel more special.
Grabbing the headlines is a power hike for the twin-turbo V6, from 478bhp to 523bhp, plus a 16g/km drop in CO2 emissions, to 279g/km. Increased boost pressure, revised valve timing and a freer-flowing exhaust help to liberate the extra horsepower.
But it’s the extensive chassis revisions that make the GT-R even sharper to drive. Various changes designed to improve the ride and body control include strengthening around the suspension mounts – recognisable from the carbon fibre strut brace at the back of the engine bay – plus new dampers and revised Dunlop run-flat tyres. Do these make a difference?
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TOP GEAR Test Drive Review 02/22/2011
The most advanced Japanese supercar-slayer in history gets new power for 2011...
Nissan likes you, and is aware you like More. So it has decided to give you much More: this is the new Nissan GT-R.
After its unannounced Paris motor show tease, Nissan has confirmed its freshly squeezed hulking behemoth now packs a terrifying 525bhp (up from 476bhp) and 451lb ft of torque.
’Zilla's engineers have reworked the rear suspension by lowering the roll centre height, while the front gets modified shocks, springs and stabilisers to improve "the vertical load response of the tyres". The shock absorbers themselves are of a new aluminium 'free-piston' design and generate more precise damping force and offer up a better response when shifting the GT-R's impressive bulk.
Santa Nissan has also dumped a lot more underneath the GT-R tree, with better brakes (larger rotors), lightweight Rays forged aluminium wheels, standard Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres, increased downforce (10 per cent), new front and rear bumpers, six exterior colours and a newly shaped instrument panel.
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TOP GEAR Test Drive Review 02/22/2011
Nissan GTR overall verdict
The Nissan GTR has set a new standard for sportscar production, not just because it is phenomenally fast, capable and approachable, but also because it’s not actually that expensive. Porsche, Ferrari, Aston? There’s no longer any need.
After its unannounced Paris motor show tease, Nissan has confirmed its freshly squeezed hulking behemoth now packs a terrifying 525bhp (up from 476bhp) and 451lb ft of torque.
’Zilla's engineers have reworked the rear suspension by lowering the roll centre height, while the front gets modified shocks, springs and stabilisers to improve "the vertical load response of the tyres". The shock absorbers themselves are of a new aluminium 'free-piston' design and generate more precise damping force and offer up a better response when shifting the GT-R's impressive bulk.
Santa Nissan has also dumped a lot more underneath the GT-R tree, with better brakes (larger rotors), lightweight Rays forged aluminium wheels, standard Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres, increased downforce (10 per cent), new front and rear bumpers, six exterior colours and a newly shaped instrument panel.
READ THE FULL REVIEW ON TOP GEAR
METRO 2012 MY Test Drive Review 11/08/2011
Nissan's GT-R 2012 is a triumph of engineering
The 2011 GT-R was already powerful enough to embarrass a Ferrari 458 and out-handle everything this side of a race car. Now Nissan's boffins have been at the protein shakes again, unveiling a 2012 model with even more power.
Unlike its competitors, the GT-R has been upgraded every year since its 2007 launch and the latest version has more technological brilliance, including a bizarre asymmetrical suspension set-up.
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