On the Road

We return to our inquiry on whether the Nissan GT-R, a super-fast technological marvel, is a supercar in the classical sense of the word.

Helping us in this quest, if you read last week’s edition of Weekend Living – Car, was being able to take a (very) short spin in the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni awhile back (read about it here). It’s a Lamborghini in the vein of the old, pre-Audi/VW days, with a little more excitement and rawness to it. Unlike the GT-R and normal Gallardo it doesn’t have all-wheel drive, only the rear wheels are driven.

And now having seen the other side of the story, I think yes, the Nissan GT-R is definitely a supercar. Purists (or the very rich) might not agree, but there is simply no arguing with the design, performance and, most important, the way it makes you feel. With the Lamborghini you get a more recognition on the street for sure and it’s as much a recognition of the Italian design and drama as it is the big price tag.  But loud engine and ferocious gearshifts aside, very little separates the two.

What I like best about the GT-R is the price, $297,500 with COE – it’s relatively inexpensive (not that I could ever afford one) because all the cars which offer similar performance cost three to five times as much. You’d have enough to buy a nice condo with the change leftover from a Ferrari F430 Scuderia, for example…

The GT-R’s over-efficiency, as nay-sayers see it, reminds me of another lesson from history: in 1969, Honda launched its CB750 motorcycle which, like the GT-R, forced the whole  industry to relook things.

Great acceleration, brakes, handling, a 200km/h top speed – exhilarating figures for the era, and it was labelled a superbike. 40 years on, it’s hailed as a classic, and I suspect the GT-R will have a similar fate.

Tags: CB750, GT-R, Honda, Lamborghini, Nissan, superbike, supercar

Well finally the Nissan GT-R has arrived through official channels (dealer Tan Chong Motor Sales), almost two years after it’s Japanese world in the end of ‘07.

You’ve surely read the copious amounts of literature on the nature of Godzilla, and having test driven it (read the full review in the Car section), we can say it’s mostly true: it’s as fast as blue blazes and flexible too, so you can drive it like a complete nutbag or a nun if the mood so strikes.

Godzilla!

But the main debate is whether the GT-R has a soul – some motoring writers have criticised it as being simply too efficient and clinical.

Sure it uses technology to go fast – lots of engine electronics, a twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6, Nissan’s super-advanced ATTESA-ETS all-wheel drive system, a dual-clutch gearbox that sits in the rear.

But that’s like saying an F-16 isn’t as good as an F-15 because it uses fly-by-wire instead of hydraulics. What’s more important, and this goes beyond pedantic thinking, is if it provides that sense of control coupled with edginess – it’s arguable that the supercar patina is acquired by crashing!

For example, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X  is a very similar car (turbo engine, AWD, smarter than your average bear electronics) and undoubtedly quick. But driving it one gets a sense of being mediated by the computer.

The GT-R provides a lot more directness, maybe because it’s smarter, but still the electronics also won’t catch you all the time. It’s drivetrain also has a rear-wheel bias so it feels like a traditional supercar.

We’ll be sampling something else in the coming week that’ll help put some perspective on things. All I can say for now is, it’s Italian.

But in the mean time what do you think makes the soul of a supercar?

Design? Racing heritage? The sense of being flung into a tree at any moment? A tendency to rust? The complete lack of civil amenities? Should a supercar be about mere, brute performance or technical supremacy? Let us know!

Tags: Evolution, GT-R, Japan, Mitsubishi, Nissan, supercar

It’s comforting to know that in this day and age of NCAP crash tests, Euro V emissions regulations, oil prices, recessions and (don’t forget) lawsuits, one Japanese manufacturer is willing to go out on a limb to make exciting cars the way they used to.

Toyota’s Lexus LF-A supercar has been in development hell for the past few years and the odds of it actually making it to production are as good as Guns N Roses’ Chinese Democracy album being released (before it actually did get released and everyone realised it wasn’t very good at all). Honda’s NSX-replacing HSC has now gone the way of the company’s Formula One program.

Both companies still make excellent day-to-day cars – Honda’s Odyssey multi-purpose vehicle for example, is probably the best of the breed at the moment.

But to get the blood pumping you need the sort of car that makes you want to drive, that after three hours in the driver’s seat and the onset of ache in an underused left leg, eggs you on for just one more go.

These are, sadly, rather thin on the ground in the Oughties.

The defining characteristics are drama (both in driving and design) and only two wheels driven: the rear.

So no Lancer Evolution, no WRX STi and, gasp, no GT-R either. I’m talking about the new Nissan 370Z.

It drives very well, as expected, but I think the main charm lies in its dramatic aspect: the design is lithe but imposing, the controls need a firm hand (you need to almost slam the gearshift into position) and the 3.7-litre engine is a wonderful, growling beast. Driving along is a cacophonous symphony of the V6, exhaust burble and gearbox whine.

It’s cheeky too: with the traction control off, just a tad extra gas in the corner lets the tail peek out. At around $160,000 (with COE) it has the sort of driving entertainment value to beat cars costing twice as much or even more, the GT-R included.

So Nissan now has two performance bargains: one is a technological tour de force, built to show what the company can do and to lob one in the eye of the Germans. The other one is an out and out fun-to-drive sports car.

In the former you can apparently have a conversation with a passenger at 300km/h. In the latter, you have to raise your voice to talk even at idle, never mind autobahn speeds.

And it really doesn’t matter because no matter the speed, you want the car talking to you more than any passenger, you want the feeling of engagement and of driving something special.

Which the 370Z delivers.

Tags: 370Z, GT-R, Nissan