On this episode of Ignition
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MotorTranscript
00:00 So, y'all ready for this?
00:10 You have to give Nissan credit.
00:12 Despite how powerful and relentless the GT-R may be, the company always seems to find a
00:17 way to hone it further, to find more power, sharper handling, or better overall performance.
00:23 The latest example of their efforts?
00:25 The Nismo.
00:27 And it's the most aggressive GT-R we've seen yet.
00:57 Under the hood of the Nismo GT-R, it's nothing really groundbreaking, at least versus the
01:01 original groundbreakingness of the GT-R when it first appeared.
01:05 Only now we have 600 horsepower and 481 pound feet of torque.
01:10 Now, the real secret there is that Nissan has effectively shifted the power band further
01:14 to the high revs with these new turbochargers and a new ignition system that helps them
01:20 figure out the combustion right.
01:22 Key points about the GT-R is that it's a midship or a premium midship platform.
01:27 That's what Nissan calls it.
01:28 They even write it right there.
01:30 And that means the engine's roughly behind the front axle center line.
01:34 That's going to help out with weight distribution because they've mounted the transmission further
01:38 in the back.
01:39 That's something we'll look at later.
01:41 Each 3.8 liter twin turbo V6 is hand assembled by a special Nissan technician, and they get
01:46 their name proudly displayed on the very front of the engine, just like you'd expect from
01:51 AMG.
01:53 If you want to see where your money goes in the GT-R Nismo, all you have to do is put it
01:57 in the air because, man, are there a lot of beautiful carbon fibery bits and vents and
02:03 all kinds of wonderful things happening up here.
02:06 These fins here are interesting, and you might recognize it if you've ever put together a
02:09 PC and put a heat sink on because these basically work the same way.
02:14 They're there to get heat off the exhaust.
02:17 And there's another pair that we can see up at the front here.
02:20 Now, there are vents everywhere.
02:23 They're feeding the brakes.
02:24 They're feeding all kinds of coolers everywhere.
02:26 Talking about brakes, we can get to the wheels and tires.
02:30 Tires are a special Dunlop with a hilariously long name.
02:33 It's like SP Sport Max DSST 6000 or something.
02:38 Wheels in the back, 10.5 inches wide, 20 inches in diameter.
02:41 At the front, they're 10 inches wide, 20 inches diameter as well.
02:45 That's a lot of front tire up there.
02:47 That's going to help this thing turn in as aggressively as it does.
02:50 Now, interesting toys.
02:51 This titanium exhaust is the first thing you see, and it's an option at a pricey one at
02:56 that.
02:57 What I like is that they haven't bragged about it with the tailpipes.
03:00 The only way you know it's titanium is by getting it in the air and looking at it.
03:21 So, let's go.
03:38 But on the figure eight, and for the very first time, the GT-R broke into the 22-second
03:44 range, which is a territory occupied by the world's best handling, most powerful cars.
03:50 A 22.9-second lap is the fastest we've ever recorded from a GT-R, and its 1.06 lateral
03:56 G average is the highest we've ever seen.
04:21 I'll start it out and say that the GT-R Nismo is my new favorite GT-R.
04:31 This thing is absolutely insane.
04:34 It's maniacal.
04:35 It's frenetic.
04:36 It is so much fun.
04:41 Now, you may not believe that because when you look at the changes, they don't seem huge.
04:46 They don't seem substantial.
04:48 But this GT-R doesn't drive like most GT-Rs.
04:54 There's the power, of course.
04:56 This thing is making 600 horsepower, so Nissan says.
04:59 And we're getting that amount, even though we're in California, because we're using Octane
05:02 Booster.
05:04 Because when you have the option of 600 horsepower, you want to use that.
05:09 So the power and the high RPM, the high revs, is amazing.
05:15 But to me, it's not just the power.
05:18 It's the changes in the chassis.
05:20 What I love most about this car is the steering in the front end.
05:24 It feels so tight, way sharper, and way more reactive and precise than what I remember
05:30 from normal GT-Rs.
05:31 And considering how capable those normal GT-Rs are or were, you can imagine how much better
05:39 this thing is.
05:40 The drivetrain is just amazing.
05:44 When you apply power, the car steers.
05:48 So you can steer with the steering, and you have a lot of grip in the front end, so you
05:51 can get around some turns at amazing rates of speed.
05:56 But just when you're ready to feed back that power in, it turns even more.
06:02 So you start developing this driving tendency where you're accelerating maybe at the apex
06:07 of a corner, maybe slightly before, depending on the turn.
06:10 And the car just carries you right through at speeds that you never thought were capable
06:15 through that specific corner.
06:18 It's amazing.
06:21 Yeah, this is the-- GT-Rs have always been kind of like, hey, yeah, they're really cool.
06:33 But they just go about everything wrong because they sit so high, and the power's got to go
06:37 from the front to the rear and back to the front again, and they're heavy, and they've
06:41 got all this and that.
06:43 But this car makes me a believer.
06:44 This is like, all right, OK, I'm aboard the GT-R trend.
06:59 The GT-R Nismo is a super low production car, way more money than a regular GT-R, destroying
07:06 competitors on the track.
07:08 That's what the Nissan GT-R Nismo is good at.
07:14 Just more power, less understeer than some GT-Rs.
07:20 I find that as we test GT-Rs, year by year, one understeers more than the next one understeers
07:25 less.
07:26 This version is right in between.
07:29 But the all-wheel drive and this quick-shifting transmission translate that power and acceleration
07:36 so well that for the driver, you don't have a real sense of the speed, not until you look
07:44 at the lap time and see that it's the fastest car that Motor Trend has ever tested in the
07:48 streets of Willow.
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09:23 Beyond the 600 horsepower, the Nismo's upgrades
09:25 may not seem substantial on paper.
09:28 Take a look underneath, though.
09:29 Take a turn behind the wheel, and you immediately
09:32 find the effects of Nissan's continued improvements.
09:35 GT-Rs have always been a thrill, but this one
09:38 takes the experience further.
09:40 It's satisfying, and it's exhilarating to drive.
09:43 And the fact that we can't find a street car that's
09:45 faster around streets of Willow speaks to the GT-R's
09:48 utter capabilities.
09:50 Make no mistake, this is the best driving GT-R yet.
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10:05 It's really scary stuff.
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