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A few weeks back
I was sitting in Tokyo, the Ginza district to be
exact and stumbled across the Nissan display
which by luck had a nice red shiny Nissan GTR in
the front showroom. What a site,
unfortunately the doors were closed as it was
approximately 10 PM and I was headed to the
local bar to cause some mischief. Just
looking at the new GTR in person has changed my
mind about the car. After gawking at the
car for a while I was off to the bar trying to
think of a way to rent one of these while in
Japan.
Even before my trip I had been impressed by the
shear mechanical design of this automobile - the
Porsche Killer. I know there have been
quite a bit of controversy about lap times at
various tracks but one cannot argue the power of
the twin turbo engine that is putting out about
480 HP and about 370 ft-lb of torque. I
was a bit disappointed that they did not opt for
the 6 speed manual transmission but rather they
went for the dual clutch (paddle shift) option.
Lastly the car rides on 255/40-20 Bridgestone
tires up front with 285/35R-20's in the rear.
Once you get away from the performance the looks
don't disappoint with a muscular front end with
its massive center intake and front fenders
which give it almost a high technology look.
I also enjoyed the sharp lines of the body which
give it a nice bulkiness that just screams
sports car.
Unfortunately my trip ended without the
opportunity to drive the GTR as all the local
rental agencies would not rent to me because I
didn't have my license for 20 years and I was
not a resident of Tokyo. I guess I will
have to wait like the rest of us until these
cars hit the showrooms later this month. I
am hopefully that after the newness wears off
these cars the 10K plus over sticker being
offered by the dealers will be back down to
normal levels to see if I need to pick one up. |