Nissan GT-RKEY POINTS:
Mainstream Japanese carmaker Nissan is expected to offer a customer service package for its new GT-R supercar that will compete with the best the exclusive European nameplates like Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini have to offer.
Nissan's British arm has revealed details of a programme that will be available to GT-R buyers worldwide. The package includes special driver training programmes before and after purchase and a free three-year service agreement, under which Nissan will pick up and return the GT-R.
The GT-R is expected to be available in New Zealand later next year. No word on price yet but Nissan in Britain has the standard car at £52,900 ($133,000), the Premium Edition at £54,200 and the Black Edition at £55,500.
Nissan has just unveiled pretty much everything about the car, the first disclosure since it took the covers off the GT-R at the Tokyo motor show last October.
It is 4655mm long, 1895mm wide and 1370mm high. Fuel tank capacity is 71 litres. The powerplant is a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6 delivering 353kW (480bhp) at 6400rpm and 588Nm of torque between 3200-5200rpm and driving all four wheels via a six-speed gearbox.
Nissan claims a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 315km/h.
Electronic controls allow gear shift characteristics, damper settings and stability control settings to be adjusted to suit the driver's mood and driving conditions.
A multi-function LCD screen developed with the designers of Sony PlayStation's Gran Turismo game provides an instant indication of a range of vehicle dynamics like lateral g-forces which, if you prefer, can be stored for later analysis.
Nissan says that the all-wheel-drive system is one of the most advanced developed for a production car.
It features a rear-mounted independent transaxle, which packages the transmission, transfer case and rear differential in one compact assembly, independently mounted on rubber bushes.
Moving the transmission to the rear in this way gives the GT-R a superb weight balance while enhancing front seat leg room, the carmaker says. The design uses special twin driveshafts, one of which takes the drive from the engine back to the transaxle, the other transferring drive from the transaxle to the front wheels.
The four-wheel-drive system continually adjusts torque between front and rear, based on dynamic demands and road conditions.
In normal conditions, 100 per cent of torque is directed to the rear axle, with up to 50 per cent of torque fed to the front wheels to improve traction when necessary.
The GR6 dual-clutch transmission allows the driver to manually shift gears via paddles located behind the steering wheel or to opt for automatic changes.
Either way, since there is one wet clutch for odd gears and one wet clutch for even gears, the next gear is pre-selected. There's an automatic throttle blip on downshifts to synchronise engine speed.
Brembo brakes can pull the GT-R down from 100km/h to standstill in a distance of 36.9m. The cross-drilled, two piece, floating 380mm (15-inch) discs both front and rear feature diamond-shaped ventilation ribs and highly rigid, six-pot (front) and four-pot (rear) monoblock callipers with racecar-inspired three-point mountings.
All models come with eight-way adjustable front seats, trimmed in leather and perforated suede, dual-zone climate control and cruise control. The standard audio system comes with six speakers and features a system capable of storing 9.4GB of your favourite sounds.
There are also six airbags, special wide-beam xenon headlamps, a tyre pressure monitoring system, intelligent key, 20-inch lightweight alloys and an anti-theft system.
The GT-R Premium Edition adds automatic headlights and a specially designed digital Bose audio system. The GT-R Black Edition gets an exclusive Kuro black paint job, gunmetal grey alloys and black leather and suede interior.
