Many people don’t realise that the Nissan GTR is actually the evolution of the Nissan Skyline? Anyone who grew up watching the Fast and the Furious movies know’s the Skyline. It was the car the late, great Paul Walker cruised around LA in through the first couple of movies. In the 1990’s it was one beast of a vehicle. It was one of the fastest cars on the road on the day of release. It had the look of a killer racing car with all the power underneath the hood to match the ego. Skip to 2000 and the Skyline is no longer in production. Despite being a car that is faster than most supercars and cheaper, it was decommissioned. Then a few years last the new GTR was released. While car fanatics were well aware, this was the Skyline reborn most general buyers were clueless. But you couldn’t really blame them. The first GTR barely looked like a racer at all. It had more in common with your typical sports saloon, particularly in shape and style.
Now, it can’t be denied the GTR was impressive. It was created to include advanced, innovative technology. It had a seat wetting top speed, and the price had been amped up to around eighty thousand. But, it still never seemed to have the spirit of a street racer. However, all that has changed.
Enter The Nissan GTR Nismo
The first thing you’ll notice about this car is the style. Gone is the sleek bodywork of the original Nissan GTR which dare we say it, looked almost plain. Now, it’s a lot more rugged and rough with a particularly striking front grill. It’s cut into the car to deliver a powerful face. The rest of the body isn’t all smooth and streamlined. Instead, the car seems to have sharp, jagged edges that still look sleek and a killer spoiler. It all adds up to make one impressive machine. Finally the Nissan GTR looks like what a future Skyline could have been, and there’s nothing not to love. For those who adored the new GTR and were cruising around to business meetings with it, there’s still a lot to like. Much of the bodywork is the same. You can think of the changes in much the same way that the iPhone changed with the 6 to the 7. A few things have disappeared, others have vastly improved, but the basic model is quite similar. Under the hood, though, it’s a completely different story.
Under The Hood
You won’t be disappointed when you pop open the hood of your new speed machine. It’s got everything you could hope for from the twin dual V6 engine to the lightweight design and killer power potential. Just how much power? Nissan isn’t saying, but early reviews suggest a top speed of 197MPH which is incredibly impressive. You’re certainly going to have fun with this car on a track day or on the road if you’re brave enough.
Cost?
At just under 150,000 the new GTR Nismo doesn’t come cheap, but can you honestly say you were expecting it to? Don’t forget, this is the new model of machine that is designed to be Nissan’s official track car. If you want to go for a slightly cheaper model, you can. You can instead purchase the traditional GTR for just under 80 grand. It’s still a fantastic machine, but you are missing out on quite a lot of racing revs by not buying it’s more expensive, bouncing baby brother. The initial cost isn’t the only problem, though. The Nissan GTR is one of the most expensive vehicles to insure on the roads. According to sites like Money Expert, it rivals the cost of most other supercars.
How Does It Handle?
While the Nissan GTR Nismo is an excellent track car on the road, it’s a slightly different story. It’s quiet and soft, and dual clutch gearbox will do most of the work for you. But it can also be stiff to handle, particularly when you’re trying to reach higher speeds on roads that weren’t designed for it. That’s not to say that the new car is purely for the tracks. But, if you want to unleash the beast, that’s where you’re going to have to do it. So bare that in mind if you are considering finally committing to purchase one of the best race cars ever made.
The Nissan GTR Nismo is as powerful and epic as it looks. Its bodywork suggests it can take the baddest speedsters on the market and that’s not an empty promise, it’s a threat.