ACFK Garage

First impression: “This thing is chunky.” You can deride the GT-R’s styling if you must — and it certainly isn’t pretty — but it’s purposeful. Nissan spent two years in the wind tunnel refining the GT-R’s shape to achieve a Cd of .27. Every crease, bulge and kink is there for an explicit purpose. The “aero-blades” on the fenders optimize airflow around the tires and the front fascia, vents and C-pillar work in concert with the underbody diffuser and spoiler to provide maximum down force at speed.

But the GT-R’s shape proves the old adage that beauty isn’t skin deep. The 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V6 is, in Nissan’s own words, a tour de force. Making 480 hp at 6,400 RPM and 430 lb.-ft. of torque between 3,200 and 5,200 RPM, the engine works double duty – pure efficiency and utter insanity. The VR38DETT is hand built by a single technician in a climate-controlled clean room after the bores are plasma-sprayed to reduce friction and increase cooling. The symmetrically independent intake and exhaust plumbing is shortened for efficiency and the dual IHI turbos are practically married to the exhaust ports on the head. And with a thermostatically controlled oil cooling system, complete with a scavenger pump maintaining oil pressure to the turbos, no amount of lateral Gs will keep the slippery stuff from getting where it needs to be. All that, and it still gets a ULEV rating.

As impressive as the engine is, the transmission, chassis and all-wheel-drive system left us in awe. As you’re already aware, Nissan developed its first dual-clutch gearbox for use in the GT-R, with six speeds available through either the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters or automatically controlled by the computer (shifts take place in .2-seconds when in “R” mode). The engine sends power to a carbon fiber driveshaft and on to the rear-mounted gearbox, while another steel driveshaft is mounted to the right (underneath the passenger side) and can send up to 50-percent of the torque to the front wheels when the ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive computer senses a loss of grip. The system has more sensors than the FCC, with one keeping track of steering angle, another monitoring lateral and transverse acceleration, plus systems that keep tabs on speed, tire slip, road surface and yaw rate, and then dolling out power as it sees fit. Otherwise, 100-percent of the power is delivered to the rear – exactly as God intended.

We were surprised that Nissan didn’t employ a traditional torque tube to house the main drive shaft and mate the engine to the transmission. According to the Nissan crew, the motor and tranny mounts, along with the cross members, are so stiff that utilizing a torque tube would have upset the balance of the vehicle when powering out of corners.