Nissan GT-R (2007) - first ride CAR review

You’ve had a ride in the new Nissan GT-R, then?

We have, as you might have seen on our video clip. When CAR was invited to photograph the GT-R in Hokkaido (on a strictly look but don’t touch basis), marketing boss Shingo Suzuki unexpectedly suggested we jump in the passenger seat and go for a ride. So while we weren’t actually driving, it was still quite a revealing experience. Click 'Next' for the full story…

How was it?

Highly impressive. The car stayed incredibly flat as it launched hard in first gear, and there was just a tiny chirp from the rear rubber (all 285/35 ZRF20 of it!) as Suzuki-san changed into second gear. Most notable of all, however, was how readily and effortlessly the car gathered pace (the maximum 433lb ft torque comes in at 3200rpm and remains until 5200rpm) from very low speeds and how smoothly and quickly the GR6 transmission slipped between ratios. Even from the passenger seat it was obvious that you couldn’t change gear manually any faster.