2021 Nissan GTR Review
2021 Nissan GTR Premium
MSRP: $120,000
Specs: Twin Turbo V6 : 565 HP : 0-60 2.9 Seconds
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Guy who did stuff: Yousef Alvi
There are cars that serve as mere transportation vessels. Then there are cars that are made to exude status and wealth. Then there are cars that supersede all of that…they supersede even the word ‘car’…they are in fact legends. Names like Mustang, 911, and M3 don’t just represent a model. They represent an ideal. They represent something more than themselves…they represent the best in their manufacturers.
The Nissan GTR deserves its place in that list of automotive legends. The Nissan GTR represents the ideals of Japanese automotive engineering:
“That technology can lead the way forward. That technology can and will elevate the driving experience. ”
There is another reason the GTR holds legendary status…and it’s a generational thing. Utter words ‘Skyline GTR’ to anyone under the age of 40 and you will see a twinkle in their eyes and a smile emerge on their face. Those words bring forth a flood of nostalgia…a sea of Best Motoring videos, Gran Turismo and Import Tuner magazines laid across their bedroom floor as cans of Code Red Mountain Dew fizzes in the background. The R33 and R34 generation Skyline GTR represented the automotive turning point of an entire generation. As we realized that we can tune a lowly Civic into a Mustang beating machine…we can (if we had access to it) tune a GTR to take on the likes of Porsche, Ferrari and the lot. Those generations of GTR represented our imaginations, hope and aspirations.
The legendary status of the GTR name starts off in 1969. Yes, the GTR name has been around for over 50 years! And in those years…the elements remain steadfast throughout (but more so in 1989). The secret of the GTR’s continuned success is a simple ethos:
“‘Don’t just perform…outperform. Everything.’”
Every generation of the GTR represented a quantum leap in automotive engineering. From all wheel drive, four wheel steering to variable vane turbos and direction injection…the GTR has always been a rolling technological testbed. That technology gives every generation GTR the Herculean performance to not just compete with vehicles costing tens of thousands more…it gives it the performance to utterly decimate vehicles costing tens of thousands more. All of that technology was great until the R35 was released in 2007. Finally, after all the years of begging the GTR was available for the US Market but with that came a sea of vitriol.
The R35’s introduction resulted in a zombie like horde of naysayers to emerge from the depths of the internet.
The naysayers have had the same excuse for the past 14 years:
‘‘The R35 GTR drives like video game’’.
BUT here is the secret. Ask any of them if they actually drove a R35 and the answer is always the same:
‘‘well uhhhh….no. I just read about it’’
….mmmhmmmm
Now if anything, in these 14 years since it’s introduction, this latest version of the R35 drives more analog, nuanced and honestly just better than ALL of its peers. From the hallowed 911 to the NSX, this GTR has them beat in terms of actual driving feel. It all boils down to the fact that in those 14 years since this R35 came out…the automotive world has shifted to Electric Power Steering. This R35 has a good ole hydraulic rack.
So, what does that give you? It gives you that ‘feeling’ I have been pattering on about for paragraphs now! Instead of going through a series of electronic buffers before it reaches your fingertips, the GTR has a direct connection to the road and the sensations felt aren’t artificial or programmed in…they are the real thing!
It doesn’t stop at the steering either. From the transmission, to the suspension tuning to the damn pedals. Everything on the R35 gives you feedback and subtle movements…it gives you the sensation that this GTR is alive!
It also gives you the sensation of speed. The sensation of speed on the GTR is not isolated for you nor is it programmed to be delivered to via a predetermined algorithm. The sensation of speed is ever present. It’s ever encompassing. It’s encapsulating. It’s everlasting.
That is because of the glorious engine.
Each VR38DETT engine can be traced back to only 4 (yes 4) craftsmen who build the engine by hand. These Takumi Craftsmen affix their name on a plate of every engine they finish. The VR38DETT is ballistic when prodded but serene when lulled. It’s got unending power delivery yet that delivery is linear and smooth. It’s just perfect….so much in fact that it will go down in history as one of the best engines ever made.
So how do I sum up the 2021 Nissan GTR?
It deserves to be in the pantheon of automotive legends. Long live the GTR
