Nissan GT-R (09 on) - Review

Review by Simon Harris on 27 May 2008

Last Updated: 30 November 2009

Nissan's GT-R model has a long heritage. Its predecessors in the UK - officially available through Nissan dealers - were the Skyline R33 and R34 models. Both were few in number (Nissan officially imported only 100 R33s) and the market was muddied by privately imported and modified versions. This Nissan GT-R, available officially from April 2009 in the UK, drops the Skyline name and ups the ante for performance. Instead of the approximate 300bhp of the previous model there is a 480bhp 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6. In April 2008 the GT-R broke the lap record at the Nurburgring - the historic racing circuit now used my many manufacturers to help develop cars - making it one of the quickest production cars over a single lap.

4.5 out of 5

Other Nissan reviews

1 out of 5

Buying new

The GT-R is only available through 10 dedicated Nissan High Performance Centres, although reservations may be placed online, followed up by paying a deposit at one of the centres within 30 days. Expect a long wait for your car, though, as the factory only builds 12,000 a year - nowhere near enough to satisfy global demand. Once orders are confirmed, customers are given access to a password-protected area of the GT-R website with progress reports and an anticipated delivery schedule.

2 out of 5

Buying used

The GT-R will always be quite expensive and buyers will have to make sure they know what they're looking at - there's a trickle of private imports reaching the UK. Specification will be almost identical, but buyers will do well to establish the exact history of the vehicle - how long it might have been used in Japan by its first owner before being shipped to the UK, for example - before taking the plunge.