Motor Trend Drives the 2014 Nissan GT-R

2014 Japanese Spec Nissan GT-R (2013)

Its here. The thing that everyone has been waiting on. The 2014 Nissan GT-R. Ok. I take that back, its in Japan, and probably few people have been waiting, because its more or less the same as the 2013 Nissan GT-R with minor improvements. A little nip here, a little tuck there. A 7:18.6 Nurburgring time?

He assures us that the 2014 GT-R’s 545 horsepower; its claimed 3825-pound curb weight (our long-term, 2013 GT-R tipped the scales at 3887 pounds); and sticky, run-flat 20-inch rubber will help the car rocket from 0-60 mph in 2.7 seconds (our long-termer hit 2.8), corner at up to 2.8 g, and stop from 60-to-0 mph in less than 100 feet, even in the wet!

He says that any changes to this ideal “power-weight-tire footprint ratio” would lead to slower times and less stability. “For example, if we were to lighten the GT-R by 200 pounds, its 0-60 mph sprint time would fall from 2.7 seconds to around 3.3 seconds. And its stopping distance (from 60 to zero) would stretch from 99 feet to around 115 feet,” explains Mizuno. “The ratio we have now is the ideal one. Only this time, our modifications make it an even better car to drive!” stresses the man who answers directly to CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/1211_2014_nissan_gt_r_japanese_spec_drive/viewall.html#ixzz2DLkO97cN

Only six dudes can handbuild this engine. They now get to tag it. 

Back to that perfect weight and power thing again. Its amusing. Weight really is the enemy of any kind of efficiency. The car is heavy, I get it, but to try and convince people that that weight is perfect is just marketingspeak.  I think he has about 70% of the people on GT-R Life convinced that the weight is perfect.  At least the last time I tried to argue the point about weight, tires, brakes, and life it was pretty much me vs the world.

Red Interior, because its faster. 

Another little interesting side note, the actual Nurburgring lap time for the 2013 Japanese, 2014 US spec Nissan GT-R was 7:19.1, but they had to lift for another car, so they say there was a 0.5 penalty subtracted. Not quite how it works in the real world, but if it helps you to sleep at night.

ASIDE: The new Nurburgring lap time of 7 minutes, 18.6 seconds was in truth 7 minutes, 19.1 seconds. But as another car blocked the GT-R’s progress through one corner, forcing ace driver Toshio Suzuki to come off the gas for a split second, Mizuno’s team calculated that spike in the throttle map to account for a loss of 0.5 seconds. So they subtracted half a second from the 7m 19.1s and came up with 7 min 18.6. Fair? What do you think?

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/1211_2014_nissan_gt_r_japanese_spec_drive/viewall.html#ixzz2DLlO3Uvw

Head over to the Motor Trend article for all the pictures, and all the little improvements that are stacking up for the 2013 Japan, 2014 US Nissan GT-R. Expect to see the US Spec Nissan GT-R very soon, at the LA Auto Show.

Source: Motor Trend