We know you want the numbers and we're not going to waste your time. Neither is Nissan. Its 2009 GT-R hits 60 mph in 3.3 seconds, quicker than the last Dodge Viper, Corvette Z06 and Porsche 911 Turbo we tested. Keep your foot pinned, and after another tap on the upshift paddle it will clear the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at more than 120 mph.
We know this because we've just returned from Japan where we tested a privately owned GT-R on an airstrip outside Tokyo. The car we tested was a Japanese-spec example with 1,500 break-in kilometers on its odometer. It's owned by Japanese journalist Jun Nishikawa and packs the same hardware the U.S. car will get: a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 that generates at least 473 horsepower and 434 pound-feet of torque. It had the same six-speed dual-clutch automated manual gearbox and the same adjustable dampers which, by now, you've read plenty about.
What you likely haven't heard about is this: launch control. Despite its bold 3.5-second 0-60-mph claim, Nissan has been keeping this little bit of technological wizardry a secret. Test a GT-R in the homeland, however, and the need for confidentiality is quickly overwhelmed by the need for speed.
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