If the idea of spending £149,995 on a Nissan seems a touch far fetched in cash-tight, post-Brexit 2017, then consider for a moment what you are getting with the NISMO GT-R. There’s more power, more torque, more performance and more grip – not to mention the fact it’s lighter and more nimble. And all this from a car that’s not exactly lacking its standard form.
Also, the NISMO GT-R will be one of the most exclusive high performance cars money can buy. Nissan says there will be more than 20 but less than 30 examples produced for the European market. This means you are 10 times more likely to see a McLaren P1 rumble down your local high street than you are a NISMO GT-R. In years to come this car will become a very rare and, you therefore suspect, a very expensive machine on the second hand market.
In the here and now, however, it is no less than one of the quickest road cars we are likely to drive this year. Power from the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 is up by 30bhp to 592bhp, and torque also rises a fraction to 652Nm (from 637Nm). Combined with a 30kg reduction in weight thanks to the extensive use of carbon fibre for various body parts, including a whole new nose section, this ensures the NISMO goes as good as it looks.
And the biggest dynamic improvement of all doesn’t even concern what happens in a straight line. Instead it’s all about what happens in the corners, where the NISMO’s extra 100kg of downforce glues it to the road at high speed in a way that regular 2017 MY GT-R drivers would struggle to recognise. Which is insane if you’ve ever been lucky enough to drive a regular GT-R.
Inside, the NISMO benefits from all the recent changes that were applied to update and improve the standard car’s cabin. There are far less buttons on the centre console, plus a new easy-to-use eight-inch touchscreen. But in the NISMO’s case you also get two of the most fantastically supportive carbon bucket seats up front, plus swathes of Alcantara on the steering wheel and parts of the dash. It might not quite feel like £150,000-worth of car inside, but it still feels pretty special all the same.
On the move it is pretty special to drive, too. The ride, even on the smooth surfaces of the Silverstone GP circuit, feels hard in the extreme, even on the softest dampers settings. On a UK B-road you suspect it would be lively at best. At worst, it’s ridiculously uncomfortable – just as the 2015 MY NISMO was.
But then ride comfort is not what this car is all about. It’s main aim is to deliver white hot driving thrills and massive dynamic ability – and it does both those things with half a mile to spare. The exhaust noise is notably louder than the standard car’s, and the straight line performance definitely feels stronger. There is some but not too-much lag, and when the boost arrives courtesy of a pair of much bigger-than-standard GT3-spec turbochargers, it comes with a proper old school rush. In the wet, with the traction control switched off, it will still light up its rear tyres in any of the first four gears, despite being four-wheel drive.
So it feels quite edgy to drive, and deliberately so. If customers want a “normal” GT-R experience, they buy the regular car. If they want to go faster (much faster in the corners as it turns out) and feel a bit terrified in the process, then the NISMO is the car.
It’s expensive, yes – crazily so for a Nissan. But there is also nothing else quite like the NISMO for pure, slightly unhinged driving thrills. Nissan will make 20-odd people very happy indeed with this car, even if it scares them every once in a while.
- Model: Nissan GT-R NISMO
- Price: £149,995
- Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol
- Power: 592bhp
- Torque: 652Nm
- Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch automatic, four-wheel drive
- 0-62mph: Under 3.0 seconds
- Top speed: 196mph
- Economy: 23.9mpg
- CO2: 275g/km
- On sale: Now