Top Ten Supercars of Last Decade – Nissan GT-R
Author: Chris Barker
Published: 20 August 2008
What have a nauseatingly jovial frog, a legendary football team and silly golf games for the increasingly infirm have in common? Answer. They all had the moniker of ‘Crazy’ in their preamble.But whereas you expected nothing better from the combined Craziness of a frog, Gang (Wimbledon FC) and Golf, Nissan had previously set a precedent for saner, better things. Until now that is, and the imminent introduction of the berserk Nissan GT-R. The long overdue Skyline replacement-of-sorts that’ll re-cement Nissan’s glowing star in an automotive swagger of fame is nearly amongst us…and oh, how we’re counting down the weeks, days, hours and minutes here at MT. Trust us. But, whilst we ponder how to recall where we’re up to when we run out of fingers and toes, we’ve posted some images to remind us why math’s is so important in our lives. Equations that harness the power of ‘mph’, ‘bhp’ and ‘Lb-ft’ primarily can be fun for everyone. As can this form of top shelf imagery.
Nisssan GT-R
Cost: £52,900 Speed: 190mph+Claim to fame: First supercar manufacturer to turn to excitable men-children employed by Sony Playstation to help design its key organs. The creators of the Gran Turismo console game were involved in the development process, invited to work on the multifunction, graphic-crazed display instrumentation. Why it gets our thumbs up: Because it gives those of us more familiar with the layout of Halfords, rather than Fortnum and Mason, the opportunity to gatecrash the supercar party, trash the place, throw up, wee in the pool and make an incredibly sharp exit. OK, it's not quite here yet, but we know all we need to know about this 'car for the people'. When did you last see a twin turbo-charged 463bhp VW Beetle that could embarrass a Ferrari F430? Like never. Spending most of its developing days immersed in tit-for-tat Nurburgring shoot-outs with its supposed greatest threat to affordable supercar world domination – the Corvette ZR1 – the GT-R is something none of the others that find themselves on this list are. And that's in fiscal reach of the person on the street. And not the thieving variety. Granted, £52K isn’t exactly a drop in the ocean, but compared to most other supercars on this list, it offers breathtaking value for money. Having dropped the dubious hot potato - the dubious 'Skyline' connection - almost a byword for drifting iresponsibilities, Nissan has set about distancing itself from certain elements of its past as the GT-R takes its new beef to the feet of the supercar hierarchy itself. Where it sure as hell ain’t going to mince words or stand on ceremony. In fact, it’ll stamp all over any pompous resistance that springs up. The GT-R takes 3.5 seconds to accomplish 0 – 62mph, and is one of the fastest (7 minutes 29 seconds) production cars ever to lap the famous Nurburgring proving ground in that any supercars worth their salt snap, crackle and pop around during various stages of tweaking. And that's before its faster brother – the GT-R VSPEC – starts breathing down its collar. For petrol heads who cant wait, it's even been reported that several top car tuners have bypassed the GT-R's ECU and are currently testing the fruits of these tampered loins in hand-rubbing glee. Sweet lord above.• View the full Top 10 Supercars of Last Decade articles: • Bugatti Veyron • Morgan Roadster • Lamborghini Reventon • TVR Sagaris • Nissan GT-R • Ferrari 360 Modena • Porsche 996 GT3
• SSC Ultimate Aero • Spyker Laviolette C8 • Caterham R500
See Also:
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