The Nissan GT-R

This model had dropped name Skyline and became simply the Nissan GT-R. Along with the name change, the car also had some other mechanical changes, especially under the hood.

Power will come from a twin-turbocharged V6 engine, with power rumoured to be somewhere between 400 to 450 horsepower, believable considering the size of the twin exhausts we saw on the prototype we photographed earlier this year in LA.

It'll do 15.4mpg in town, 31.0mpg while cruising and 22.8mpg on the combined cycle, plus it'll puff out 298g/km. A 911 Turbo, by comparison, will do (at best) 15/29.7/22.1mpg and emit 307g/km. It'll immediately transfer as much as 50 percent of the engine torque to the front wheels (the torque split for normal driving is 2/98), stabilizing the car without sacrificing speed. Official economy is recorded at 23.2mpg.

The gearbox means there's an absence of any hefty left-leg work, making traffic jams a doddle, and if you put it into auto then fuel consumption might even be respectable because it seems to shuffle into sixth gear before you reach 30mph.

The Nissan's handling balance is so spectacular that it registered 1.01g on the skid pad and romped through the slalom at an impressive 73.4 mph, about 3 mph faster than the others (and faster than the Ferrari Enzo). It'll reach 195mph too, if you've the space to do so. Just about everything comes as standard, so you'll not really want for anything on the 'basic' GT-R

Powering through the fast corners you can feel the tail stepping out a little, as intended, helping to settle the GT-R for the next straight. The grip is huge, but the constantly changing distribution of the torque between the axles and the solid, dead-accurate steering help the GT-R to talk to me, to tell me what it is doing.

The Nissan GT-R's functional styling utilizes advanced aerodynamics, offering a low coefficient of drag. GT-R's hybrid body construction combines steel, carbon fibre and die-cast aluminium, and features a low coefficient of drag of 0.27, while achieving high front and rear down force. Carbon fibre is used for the front end of the body structure, including the radiator support and the front of the engine bay, giving strength and lightness. The car is so quick it lapped Germany's famed Nurburgring track in 7:38, spanking a Porsche 911 Turbo.

In addition, the braking system has been updated with more rigid brake lines for improved durability, and the brake callipers now carry both the Brembo and Nissan logos. And the GT-R's state-of-the-art suspension has been returned with redesigned Bilstein's shocks with a new valve body design and revised spring and damper rates.

This car looks as though it means business on the road because of its aggressive-looks, with a taller boot spoiler, bolder front splitter, sculpted sills and small intakes and vents fore and aft of the rear wheels. To stand out from the rest of the sporty cars on the road, the SpecV comes exclusively in Ultimate Black Opal a unique purplish black.

GT-R's interior styling undoubtedly evokes the car's performance capabilities, but it is also highly practical, with readily intuitive, easy to use controls. The driver grips a small diameter, multi-function steering wheel trimmed in soft, hand-stitched leather also used on the gear shift lever and on the dashboard, centre console and door trims. Performance bucket seats, a console mounted starter button and a centrally mounted video screen that can display several pages of mechanical and driving information as well as navigation and audio complete the cockpit gadgetry.

The New Nissan GT-R debuted in 2007 in Tokyo. It will be the first GT-R available worldwide, entering the North American market for the first time. The Nissan GT-R has always been a showcase for the company's highest-performance technologies. Those features make it able to compete with other sports cars that are far above the hopped up Datsun's price range.

http://www.motorparks.co.uk