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And now, Nissan has revealed one of the most hardcore sports coupes to grace the tarmac – the mind-blowing new Nissan GT-R.

Vijay Pattni takes a look at the history of the car nicknamed ‘Godzilla’.

It all started over 40 years ago.

The Nissan GT-R of the late sixties and early seventies was powered by a 2-litre engine, which developed 160bhp.

And although a Vauxhall Corsa can produce similar performance figures today, it was enough to secure a lasting legacy for one of the world’s most feared sportscars – between 1969 and 1972, the first Nissan GT-R scored 50 touring car victories.

However, the Nissan GT-R was to embark on a 16-year hiatus as the next generation didn’t resurface until 1989.

But what the Japanese carmaker showcased to the world’s baying car fans was the stuff of legend.

1989’s R32 GT-R was the brainchild of the company’s motorsport division, NISMO – which stands for Nissan Motorsport – who wanted a more competitive car to race in the Group A racing series, and decided the newly developed R32 chassis would be the perfect foundation.

In order to compete in Group A racing, Nissan had to produce 5,000 road-going cars – said to reflect the cars being raced – in order to enter the series.

And the company knew what it was unleashing onto the circuit – bosses at Nissan signalled an unlimited production run of the new R32 GT-R, which was powered by a 2.6-litre twin turbocharged engine.

According to Nissan, the R32 GT-R would happily pump out 276bhp – but practical tests showed the car produced closer to 330bhp.

And this power was transferred to the ground via a motorsport derived four-wheel drive system.

Between 1995 and 1997, Nissan produced a newer GT-R – the R33 – although this largely built on the massive success of the R32, keeping the same engine and power output.

In 1999, Nissan rolled out the R34 GT-R – complete with its famous in-dash display featuring 7 types of driving statistics including a G-force meter and a lap timer.

While the R34 was a technical tour-de-force, it was to live for just three years, retiring in 2002. But it had established itself as one of the world’s hardest sportscars.

However, in the middle of the R34’s production run, Nissan introduced an unknown arrival at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show.

A concept car appeared unannounced – and the rumour mill went into overdrive.

And five years later, the Japanese carmaker gave birth to the newest incarnation of ‘Godzilla’ – the 480bhp Nissan GT-R.

Powered by a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6, the GT-R accelerates from 0-62mph in just 3.8 seconds and rockets on to a top speed of 192mph.

Bugatti Veyron owners beware – the new GT-R has lapped the mighty Nüburgring in just seven minutes 38 seconds, becoming one of the fastest production cars to set a lap time –faster than the bonkers Bugatti.

Check out our exclusive Nissan GT-R slide show.

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