The simply unbelievable new Nissan GT-R.
WRITTEN BY THE EDITOR ON SEPTEMBER 06, 2016. POSTED IN WHEELSSupercars are things that everyone with a pulse are naturally drawn to. We can't always describe why this is, but in the presence of these incredible machines, an answer to such a thing matters about as much as a 4-day domestic cricket match.
Last week at the SA Festival of Motoring I got to spend a day with the new Nissan GT-R. Okay, I was more invited to hang out with Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada to talk cars and cricket, but as much as I think those guys are great, next to the new GT-R, they are a little overshadowed.
During the dark old days of Apartheid in South Africa, the Nissan Skyline GT-R (the predecessor to the Nissan GT-R) wasn't something you could really get here. I mean it was possible, but you would have to pay stupid money in order to get behind the wheel of one.
So we essentially grew up without too much knowledge of the driving legend that is the 'GT-R', but it has been a motoring icon for quite sometime.
At the Nissan stand at the SA Festival of Motoring they offered a little catch up thankfully.
1973
1989
1995
1999
Fast and furious since the 1970s, the Nissan GT-R as we know it was then born in 2007. It was a big leap forward and gave new life to the predecessor's nickname of Godzilla.
This brings us to the latest model, it's still Godzilla, but Godzilla ready for the red carpet!
Dale Steyn drives one of these beasts, and while interviewing him I couldn't help but notice his face light up like a child on Christmas when he started talking about it.
The two of us then got in one on the track at Kyalami, and instantly I could see where he was coming from. 0-100km/h in 2.7 seconds, this was motoring on a whole different level!
On the track that day there were all manner of crazy fast cars. Sports tuned Bentleys, Porsches and all the top end offerings from BMW, Mercedes and Audi. They all pulled over when the GT-R approached, they were simply no match for this machine on the track.
I have been strapped into some fun racing spec cars before and gone really fast, but here I was sitting comfortably in the plush GT-R cabin going into a corner at 250km/h without a worry in the world. The all-wheel drive system allows it to just power through every element of the track.
Let's go back to that 0-100km/h time of 2.7 seconds. Where does that stack up against some of the hottest cars out there?
Ferrari 488 GTB - 3.0 seconds
Lamborghini Aventador - 2.9 seconds
Porsche 911 Turbo S - 2.9 seconds
Koenigsegg Regera - 2.7 seconds
Nissan GT-R - 2.7 seconds
Amazingly it isn't just mad fast, you can get two actual full grown humans in the back seats, and the boot is a real boot.
Ultimate car?
From all the cars I have experienced, yes and yes.
I'm going to try get some more content for you on this amazing machine, but until then, here's a video on what makes this car so incredibly special.
For more details, click on through to the Nissan website.
And follow Nissan on Twitter for updates.
Tags: new nissan gtr, gtr, nissan gtr, 2017 nissan gtr, nissan gtr 0-100, dale steyn, nissan