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