Photo: Jeffrey Ross
When Nissan first came out with the current iteration of their GT-R, a lot of people rushed to call it the enthusiast’s supercar. It was an incredible package offered for a price tag that didn’t make sense in cities like Stuttgart or Maranello. The 2016 Nissan GT-R we reviewed follows the same recipe, but a couple of things changed in the meantime.
If you can call the Japanese anything, you can call them persistent. They seemingly have this character trait infused deep in their DNA and sometimes it comes in handy.
Back in 2008 the original R35 GT-R impressed with its performance/price ratio but there were also shortcomings present along with the chance of humiliating a Ferrari at a stop light. Those were mainly noticed in everyday drivability as well as the interior.
Well, Nissan worked hard and over the next 7 years tried to make up for some of the faults. The driving experience remained as crazy as before but not reached new heights due to the improved output of the twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6.
That being said, during our time with the car we had plenty of fun and received tons of attention which was rather surprising but speaks volumes about the car. The thing is, for the 2016 model year the changes are so small, you’d have to read about them before checking out how they feel or look like in real life.
Even so, the attention people give the GT-R comes from the reputation this car has. It is known as ‘Godzilla’ and for good reason. The 2016 powertrain delivers 545 HP and 463 lb-ft (628 Nm) of torque and will reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.7 seconds from a standstill. To keep up you’d need a car that costs easily twice as much or even more.
To put things into perspective, remember that the Porsche 918 Spyder hypercar does the same sprint in 2.5 seconds. And that’s a million dollar car.
Sure, the interior does look plasticky and the fit and finish are not on par with the $100,000 price tag but more with a 2008 Nissan Armada. Yet if you don’t care about those things, it’s hard to find a better offer.
All in all, the 2016 model is a swan song for the GT-R and a proper one too. We’ll soon be greeted with a new model that will pick up where the R35 left off but considering that the car we reviewed had had just small upgrades over its seven years of production, it’s absolutely stunning what Nissan came up with in the first place and you can read all about it in our 2016 Nissan GT-R review.
Back in 2008 the original R35 GT-R impressed with its performance/price ratio but there were also shortcomings present along with the chance of humiliating a Ferrari at a stop light. Those were mainly noticed in everyday drivability as well as the interior.
Well, Nissan worked hard and over the next 7 years tried to make up for some of the faults. The driving experience remained as crazy as before but not reached new heights due to the improved output of the twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6.
That being said, during our time with the car we had plenty of fun and received tons of attention which was rather surprising but speaks volumes about the car. The thing is, for the 2016 model year the changes are so small, you’d have to read about them before checking out how they feel or look like in real life.
Even so, the attention people give the GT-R comes from the reputation this car has. It is known as ‘Godzilla’ and for good reason. The 2016 powertrain delivers 545 HP and 463 lb-ft (628 Nm) of torque and will reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.7 seconds from a standstill. To keep up you’d need a car that costs easily twice as much or even more.
To put things into perspective, remember that the Porsche 918 Spyder hypercar does the same sprint in 2.5 seconds. And that’s a million dollar car.
Sure, the interior does look plasticky and the fit and finish are not on par with the $100,000 price tag but more with a 2008 Nissan Armada. Yet if you don’t care about those things, it’s hard to find a better offer.
All in all, the 2016 model is a swan song for the GT-R and a proper one too. We’ll soon be greeted with a new model that will pick up where the R35 left off but considering that the car we reviewed had had just small upgrades over its seven years of production, it’s absolutely stunning what Nissan came up with in the first place and you can read all about it in our 2016 Nissan GT-R review.
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