Drive Test: New GT-R 50th edition is fighting against the clock
Lock up your Ferraris, a new GT-R is here.
Caution with the word ‘new’ during any point of this review – but maybe that’s missing the point. A niche Japanese supercar, which doesn’t share an engine with any other products, could easily have faced the chop. Somehow, it hasn’t.
How’s the neck feeling?
GT-R’s archetypal party piece has always been its ability to slingshot to 100kph in a digitally-enhanced three seconds. Flip the dampers, drivetrain and ESC to R mode, hold the brake and throttle until the two turbos are swollen with boost, brace your neck against the seat and clench your jaw… There’s not even a tyre chirp as second gear slams home with 7000rpm on the rev counter. Addictive barely describes it.
Not every GT-R is the same
What’s a supercar business without a sentimental special edition to slap on a juicy premium? Nissan finally has a big one: Fifty years of GT-R. South Africa has been allocated thirty Anniversary Editions with the return of the iconic Bayside Blue paintwork (for extra resale value).
Anniversary Editions are not only defined by bespoke two-tone paint and stickers in either blue with white stripes, white with red strips or silver with white stripes. Each one comes with a grey interior which is neutral enough to compliment the three exterior combinations, a revised steering wheel, additional alcantara and a 50th badge on the rev counter.
Surely there’s more
Power and torque hasn’t changed even though the turbo chargers have been modified for low-end response which also leads to a five per cent improvement in efficiency. Same goes for the 6-speed gearbox with the suspension recalibrated with well-written software which not only allows it to ride with less of its 1,9 tonnes impacting the road but I suspect also brings the overall noise levels down.
Can it still hold its own?
Ever since the first R35 GT-R, there’s been a steady, structured improvement in refinement. Gears no longer clunk. Drivetrains don’t whine. It doesn’t quite settle and isolate at low speed like a BMW M850i or possess the bandwidth of a Porsche 911 but time at the wheel of a GT-R is less punishing than before. Still has copious traction, nimble steering and meaty brakes.
But whereas its 0-100kph was a lifechanging novelty back in the day, modern cars like the Audi RS 3 have democratised this sacrosanct performance. Then there’s a bunch of new cars of this ilk that simply didn’t exist when the first R35 GT-R came along. The Mercedes-AMG GT S and Jaguar F-Type SVR are newcomers, as is the BMW M850i. A Porsche 911 Carrera S costs R500 000 less without feeling any slower in the real world.
All of these come loaded with more sophistication, customisable dials, extra gears, Apple CarPlay, lower emissions and a set of keys that clink to an elite brand cachet. Without a drastic update, Nissan’s GT-R is at risk of missing its 60th birthday. Andrew Leopold
- R2,415 000
- 3.8 V6l bi-turbo petrol
- 410kW
- 632Nm
- 6spd auto
- 9 secs
- 7l/100km
- 275g/km
