Car Review: Nissan GT-R 2017

Exactly how flimsy an excuse do I need to appraise a supercar that’s been out for a decade?

That’s right, a new bumper design will do, though to be fair, to me, that is, as well as the car, the 2017 model year Nissan GT-R has undergone slightly more change than that. It’s got another 20 horsepower, for example, but seeing as it started with more than 500, I’d class that as a bit marginal too. Also invisible, but incrementally useful, are the increased strength built into the bonnet and windscreen frames, titanium exhaust system and revised suspension design.

I think even the most hardcore GT-R fans – and it is a cult car, this – would be hard-pressed to notice the five millimetre lowering of the front spoiler, though, then again, they might on the race track. Speaking of which they’re also offering an even more performance-oriented “Track” edition.

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For another £70,000 Nissan will supply you with a Nismo-tuned edition that takes you to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds rather than the (comparatively) sluggish 3.4 seconds of the standard version. Either way you’re pushing the laws of physics.

So, yes, it’s fast and furious, just like the movie it once starred in. Mine (all-too briefly mine) arrived in a retro shade of metallic burnt “Katsura” orange, which suits its dramatic coupe styling very well, as does the noise it makes (also fed into the cabin through the speakers). It’s a bigger beast than it looks in the photos – the model is rarely glimpsed out of captivity, so to speak – and rather imposing.

Nissan have the self-confidence to go their own with its styling. And not to try to imitate the Italians, say, as Audi did with their R8 or Honda with the NSX, or to rip off a Porsche or Jaguar kind of look. It does its own take on muscly, and is all the better for it. It’s a 2+2, by the way, so not much space in the back for passengers. Fine by me.

I also like the fact that it isn’t a “premium” badge. Here is a car that makes an alternative statement to the world, then, one that says that all-out full-on performance is as important, if not more so, than dropping the brand name casually into conversation. It doesn’t matter to GT-R drivers that those three letters and a hyphen mean little to civilians, compared to the instant recognition that Bentley or Lamborghini, for example, trigger. Like Nissan and the GT-R itself, you, the driver, are the self-confident type. And if you’re not, then you don’t care. If that makes much sense.

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I can’t tell you what the GT-R is like “on the limit” as the motoring hack’s cliché goes because I didn’t dare take it there on a public road. As I say, you’re meddling with natural laws from the minute you settle into its leather-clad and slightly old-fashioned cabin, and I hate to think the damage I could do if I turned off the stability control systems (for which act Nissan would invalidate the insurance, and rightly so).

So I can just say that it goes as well as it looks, it is surprisingly stable at any speed you’d care to poke it to, and I found it reassuringly planted to the tarmac throughout my time with it. It’s clever enough to work out whether it’s best in rear-wheel or four-wheel drive, and they’ve placed the engine and transmission close to the centre of the car to replicate the traditional advantages of a classic mid-engine configuration.

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There’s paddles on the steering wheel for themselves that want ’em, but I was content with the seamless dual-clutch auto transmission. You can even set the suspension to a more compliant “comfort” setting, though the set-up is surprisingly comfortable for such a racing-focused design.

The engineering is impressive. Did I mention the plasma-sprayed bores (in the engine, not driving the car), the Brembo monoblock six-piston brakes, the active noise cancellation system and the titanium mufflers?

Quite a showpiece this car, even at ten years old, and it even makes it look good value. More car than you can handle, true, but since when did human desire stay constrained at that humble level? My final tip is to take a look at the small number of nearly-new GT-Rs out there, as it’s a vehicle that seems to have much heavier depreciation than some of its rivals. Probably the most performance, technology, hand-built quality and reliability for the price you’ll find. Or does that sound like a flimsy excuse to blow £50,000 on a three-year-old GT-R?