And the specs and stats further reinforce the new GT-R's super car status. Under the long hood is a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine that was specially developed for the GT-R. With 480 horses on tap, this sleek sports car can reach 62 mph in just 3.6 seconds on its way to a top speed approaching 200 mph.Teamed with the potent power plant is a new paddle-shift twin-clutch 6-speed transmission. Similar to Audi's DSG, there is a separate clutch for gears 1, 3, 5 and 2, 4, 6, making shifts extremely quick.
Power is sent to the pavement via what Nissan calls the "most advanced four-wheel drive system on a road car ever used." That's quite a claim, but the ATTESA E-TS system does constantly vary the torque from rear to front based on various sensors reporting speed, lateral and transverse acceleration, steering angles, tire slip and yaw rate. An additional sensor measures the difference between the target yaw rate calculated from the steering angle, the actual yaw rate detected by the yaw-rate sensor and G sensor.
The all-wheel-drive system also incorporates Nissan's Vehicle Dynamic Control to further stabilize the car's operation. And with any supercar, braking is almost as important as acceleration. Capable of stopping from 62 mph in just 121 feet (37 meters), the GT-R is shod with huge front and rear Brembo brakes with ventilated discs and six-piston calipers in front, four piston calipers in the rear. Three different suspension settings are available: R (high performance), Sports (the normal setting) and Comfort (for city driving to absorb road bumps).
On sale in Japan shortly, the GT-R comes to America next June, and the rest of the world shortly after that. Pricing outside of Japan has not yet been announced, but based on the price in Yen, the GT-R could likely be priced below $80,000. Not bad for a supercar.