Tuesday 29th July 2008

GT-R V-Spec Details Leaked

V-Spec could cost twice as much as standard GT-R...

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See-through body not an option

When the Nissan GT-R was unleashed on the world, swiping away at the supercar elite, it was no secret that this was in fact just a taster of what the car was capable of. Meanwhile the Japanese firm has been working away on the V-Spec version - the fast version of a very fast car.

We can only guess that the V-Spec will be lapping the 'Ring in 20 seconds or something when it comes out but at present there are few actual performance figures. Road & Track magazine however has been doing some investigations and has unearthed some stats.

First of all, perhaps unsurprisingly, the car will have a very limited production run. Unlike the standard GT-R the V-Spec will only have two seats and output of the 3.8-litre V6 has been increased to 520bhp at 6500rpm and 440lb ft of torque peaking from 3200rpm to 5200rpm. The car will also be 90kg lighter, tipping the scales at 1640kg.

The car should look pretty similar to the standard GT-R but amazingly could cost twice as much. We'll have to wait and see if it is worth it...

See the car testing below:

[andrew.delamare]

It seems to me that amount of change is worth 10k -15k at most.

Double seems excessive.. im sure there will be collectors that will lap it up though.

[Drop Test(b3nxj)]

im more interested in the merc that seemed to be keeping up (almost) with this supercar smasher. . . .

[hostile17]

So when they say it'll have 520bhp, do they mean it'll really have about 600?

[havoc]

andrew.delamare said:

It seems to me that amount of change is worth 10k -15k at most.

Double seems excessive.. im sure there will be collectors that will lap it up though.

Depends how/where they've saved the weight.

But I agree...this will be the money-maker for them.

[MrTom]

I found it quite strange how the big barge of a merc kept pace, even if the GTR wasn't pushing.

[Magners P.H]

So if they can make cars like this, why is the rest of their range so dreary?

How will it compare to the Audi R8 V12 TDI I wonder? (Shirley they (Audi) will hone the four wheel drive system and suspension to be more competitive?)

[Tracked_Out]

[quote=Drop Test(b3nxj)]im more interested in the merc that seemed to be keeping up (almost) with this supercar smasher. . . .
[/quote]

Keeping up? Hardly. GTR passes Merc initially, leaves it behind, then (I assume) comes round and laps it right at the end of the clip...

[Goochie]

MrTom said:

I found it quite strange how the big barge of a merc kept pace, even if the GTR wasn't pushing.

have you watched the same clip as everyone else? To me it seems like the Merc is simply overtaken by the GTR and then the gap opens up between them.

[J16GY]

There will obviously be a few exceptions to the rule but to me its a shame to think that most of these will probably be bought and shoved in a garage and never actually driven how they are supposed to be...

[davidcharles]

..at least this vpsec has a bit more to it than the previous ones..ie no power increase or weight reduction last time, just a slightly different bumper and lower ride height with slighty better/quicker 4 wheel drive..

[CampDavid]

When Road and Track say it'll cost twice as much I presume they're including tax in that, which is a lot higher for a two seater sports car in the USA than it is for a 4/5 seater

[Neil G60]

I'm sure HKS or one of the other tuning houses ar working on cracking the ECU and they'll get an upgrade pack ready for a lot less than the price of another car.

[SleeperCell]

Magners P.H said:

So if they can make cars like this, why is the rest of their range so dreary?

How will it compare to the Audi R8 V12 TDI I wonder? (Shirley they (Audi) will hone the four wheel drive system and suspension to be more competitive?)

Surely the upcoming Audi RS5 will be more of a suitable match for the GT-R, both being largish coupes with AWD and stupidly powerful engines and presumably dual clutch transmissions.

[andyturner]

andrew.delamare said:

It seems to me that amount of change is worth 10k -15k at most.

Double seems excessive.. im sure there will be collectors that will lap it up though.

Arguably it seems expensive because the original is such a bargain.

[john_r]

As someone who's discussed this directly with Nissan and has been for the last 4-5 months, here's some information I've gathered so far (sorry to introduce facts this early in a thread about the GT-R!):

• Nissan expect the V-spec to be priced at about £70k-£80k, NOT £110k+ as the article seems to imply...
• This will be a limited production so it will not be the 'money maker' as implied.
• Weight saving will mostly be through removing the back seats, and some lighter materials for the interior finish.
• The ECU has still not been cracked - even in Japan.
• The 4x4 system, running gear and gearbox will all be identical to the 'standard' car; however the V-spec will have a modified ECU, exhaust system and may have different turbo's (not confirmed yet as still in development).
• Some of the test cars have seen in excess of 600bhp... (but that was not final spec so I'd expect it to be lower)
• The modifications are likely to be offered as 'bolt-ons' to the standard GT-R at a later date, i.e. exhaust and ECU upgrade.

(I put my name down on the 'interested list' for a v-spec at the same time I paid my initial deposit several months ago - however if it does transpire to be stupidly priced then I'll stick with the standard one thanks!)

[andyuk911]

I thought the ECU has been, in the US ....

Edited by andyuk911 on Tuesday 29th July 13:32

[GingerWizard]

I can't bleedin wait, the amount of enjoyment i am going to have from people scratchin there heads wondering what the hell they are going to have to do to performance match this monster.........

This will be a hammer blow in terms of performance........ even if its only 10% better..... you know it will be a modern interpretation of the nismo GTR400... but maybe GTR650+.... love it!

[john_r]

andyuk911 said:

I thought the ECU has been, in the US ....

I heard they piggy-backed with a separate chip to modify outputs, but not actually cracked the ECU directly? I have a very blunt opinion of piggy-backed chips... having run a company car fleet; where the more junior employees would buy chips from the internet and yank them out when the engines blew. Feckers. Had to introduce random inpections for a couple of months and subsequently dismissed a couple of people who got caught before it stopped...

[general190]

john_r said:

andyuk911 said:

I thought the ECU has been, in the US ....

I heard they piggy-backed with a separate chip to modify outputs, but not actually cracked the ECU directly? I have a very blunt opinion of piggy-backed chips... having run a company car fleet; where the more junior employees would buy chips from the internet and yank them out when the engines blew. Feckers. Had to introduce random inpections for a couple of months and subsequently dismissed a couple of people who got caught before it stopped...

There is a world of difference between a cheap engine chip and a piggy back ecu. the chip is a replacement for the original, chips from reputable sellers like Superchips tend to keep the power gains low due to the chipps only being 'bolt-ons'and not tuneable to each individual car. the software can be developed to produce large gains but the ppl who provide these just rely on attrating the power-hungry who dont realy know what they are doing.

A piggy back ecu is connected to the current ecu and should then be properly and thoroughly re-mapped to get the best possible results and is normaly perfected on a rolling-road by a tuner, this is not a bodge job!

There is ether a chip relacement, not map-able, or a piggy back ecu, completely map-able

sounds like they were getting cheep improvised chips of ebay! and were also the type of ppl who ragged the s#~t out of their cars with no propper maintanence. I actually herd about ppl using paper clips on imported honda preludes to by-pass the speed restrictor!!I Can imagen how anoying that would be to replace cars which idiots have 'chipped'! (would have been easyer to spot with a piggy back ecu as you would probably have a control box on the dash)

I Thought Mine's had produced a piggy back ecu upgrade for the GT-R?

[TimJMS]

Magners P.H said:

So if they can make cars like this, why is the rest of their range so dreary?

How will it compare to the Audi R8 V12 TDI I wonder? (Shirley they (Audi) will hone the four wheel drive system and suspension to be more competitive?)

The diesel R8 has been shelved and wont now happen.