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2009 Motor Trend Car of the Year Winner: Nissan GT-R
Quote:
Yes, we are fully aware of the GT-R's best-known nickname, "Godzilla" -- so called because the automotive press found previous generations as ferocious and all-conquering as Japan's fire-breathing monster. But following a full week of intensive evaluation in Nissan's new sports car, we here at Motor Trend now lay claim to a more suitable GT-R moniker -- Ichiban. From Japanese, ichiban translates to "number one." In Motor Trend vernacular, however, it simply denotes: 2009 Car of the Year.
Every September, it seems a few editors comment, "This is the toughest field I can remember." Sure enough, as this year's testing drew to a close, several staff members expressed those same sentiments.
And for sound reason-the competitive set is more imposing than Jamaica's Olympic track team. From the jumbo-shrimp Honda Fit and the discount-Lexus Hyundai Genesis to the quicker-than-a-Cayman BMW 1 series and the cat's-meow Jaguar XF, this year's pool runs deeper than any of recent memory. Yet, no contender proved as profound, awe-inspiring, or, more important, able to fulfill our criteria as the GT-R. How did Nissan so competently clinch the calipers?
The Super in Superiority
The last time a Nissan, at least one that came from an official U.S. showroom, was judged against such niche exotics as, say, a Ferrari or a Lamborghini was...never. Until now.
The GT-R puts Nissan on a map that thus far only designated Maranello, Sant' Agata, Munich, and Stuttgart as points of interest. Well, it's time to stick a tack on Tochigi. In the kingdom of supercars, the GT-R positively belongs. Be it comparing 0-to-60 sprints, quarter-mile times, 60-to-0 braking, or lateral acceleration, the GT-R is one of the world's best. Don't believe us? Its cornea-melting 0-to-60 run of 3.3 seconds is quicker than that of the BMW M6, the Porsche 911 GT2, the Lamborghini Gallardo LP-560, and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. It even manages to run door to door with the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and the Corvette ZR1. Quarter mile?
At 11.5 seconds at 121.0 mph, it is quicker than both the M6 and the SLR, and only a blink or two behind the rest. Further, the GT-R halts from 60 in just 102 feet-better than that of all but the GT2 and ZR1-and sticks to the skidpad with 1.00 g of lateral vigor, again in the realm of the others. Perhaps better yet, the GT-R puts up those thrilling stats while still delivering 16 mpg city/21 mpg highway and ULEV-II emissions. Only the GT2 sips less fuel and none exhales through greener tailpipes.
So how does it do all that? The list is long (see "Fast Facts" on Page 6), but the GT-R's core elements make it happen. For starters, it employs a handbuilt V-6 that uses plasma-coated cylinder bores to ensure optimal efficiency and twin IHI turbochargers to produce 480 horses. (That said, our GT-R dynamometer test from June 2008 revealed horsepower is really around 507.)
The V-6's partner in lap time, a hand-assembled dual-clutch automatic transmission, delivers a nearly uninterrupted flow of torque. To optimize weight over the rear wheels and offer minimal load shift during acceleration, braking, and cornering, the GT-R is the world's first all-wheel-drive production car to feature a rear-mounted transaxle. Feel like a round of caliper-smoking hot-laps? Its Brembo brakes are worthy of any track, even the infamous Nurburgring, where they helped the GT-R lap quicker than the GT2. And to provide a rigid, aerodynamic, precise, and relatively lightweight body-at 3891 pounds, the GT-R weighs less than an M6-its brutally elegant shape ingeniously meshes steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber.
Face-to-Face Value
Carrying a base price of $77,840, the GT-R does not appear, at least at face value, to be much of a bargain. But value does not mean low prices in hard times or affordability to the masses. Rather, it equates to getting more in return for every dollar put out. Based solely on price, the GT-R's competitors include the $76,460 Porsche 911 Carrera, the $77,975 Jaguar XK, and the $73,255 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Can any match the Nissan's levels of performance? Nope. The Z06 comes close, but close in a race only means second place.
You have to refer to the aforementioned supercars to realize stats akin to the GT-R's. And the mean cost of those exotics? Ranging from over $104,000 for the M6 to nearly $500,000 for the SLR, the average price comes out to over $236,000. The arithmetic does not lie: Comparable performance for, on average, a third of the cost equals value.
Also of note is what the GT-R's ticket to ride includes, above and beyond the majestic data. A comfortable, leather-adorned cabin that accommodates four passengers. A trunk that swallows two golf bags. A PlayStation-inspired multifunction display. A nav system, 9.3-GB hard drive, and Bluetooth. All standard. For an additional $2250, the Premium Edition adds side and side-curtain airbags, Bose audio, and heated seats.
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