Look at the Wheels on That: Nissan GT-R

With just under 500bhp channelled through all four wheels and a host of electronic wizardry wrapped up in a beautiful bodyshape, Nissan’s new GT-R is the stuff of legend

Nissan’s hot new super-coupe has finally been unleashed on the Japanese public – and initial reaction is excellent.

In Stuart Milne’s absence, Vijay Pattni casts an eye over the mouth-watering new 473bhp Nissan GT-R.

Click here for more pictures of the Nissan GT-R

The world has been waiting expectantly for over five years.

Now, Nissan has finally unleashed their newest progeny off the starting grid to a rapturous welcome – first road tests of the awesome 473bhp Nissan GT-R have been positive.

And it’s not hard to see why.

With just under 500bhp channelled through all four wheels and a host of electronic wizardry wrapped up in a beautiful bodyshape, Nissan’s new GT-R is the stuff of legend – a legend which began over 40 years ago.

Back in the 60’s, the Nissan GT-R was powered by a simple 2-litre engine chucking out 160bhp. Simple, but effective, as the first GT-R went on to score 50 touring car victories between 1969 and 1972.

And the new Nissan GT-R is primed to set the racing world on fire with its explosive power and prodigious handling once again – Nissan Motorsport (NISMO) has already announced it’s planning to race the new GT-R in the Super GT series in Japan.

For this generation GT-R, Nissan has upped the capacity of the engine and changed the layout, opting for a 3.8-litre V6 engine, with two turbos strapped to it.

Using their motorsport pedigree, Nissan has managed to squeeze 473bhp from the engine – making the new GT-R a genuine rival to one of the hardest cars on earth – the 472bhp £100,000 Porsche 911 Turbo.

And this has is no ordinary task – Nissan believe the new GT-R to be a genuine supercar, rubbing shoulders with Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

In fact, every engine and gearbox is hand-built by specially trained Nissan engineers, and the Japanese company is installing special GT-R centres around the world to service and run its new super-coupe.

Which explains why the UK won’t see an official GT-R until early 2009 – none of the current Nissan dealers over here know how to deal with its power.

The car has already blitzed Germany’s challenging Nurburgring course in 7m 38s – a full two seconds faster than the world’s most famous hypercar, the Bugatti Veyron.

And the new Nissan GT-R is ready to once again take its place in the pantheon of the world’s most desired cars as it makes its debut on the forthcoming video game, Gran Turismo 5.

Such is the reverence held by gamers of this almost mythical car, the creators of Gran Turismo 5 (Polyphony Digital) were actually called in to help in the development of the car, and its inclusion into the game will help avid gamers rekindle the cult of the GT-R.

However, unlike the old Nissan GT-Rs, the new generation car could prove tricky with aftermarket modifiers.

Nissan has explicitly agreed to make the engine components harder to replace, making sure the standard 3.8-litre V6 engine remains untouched.

But why would you?

473bhp, four-wheel-drive and 200mph – get ready for one of the most anticipated supercars of the moment: the Nissan GT-R.

Click here for more pictures of the Nissan GT-R