As you may well know, the GT-R recently set the lap record at the Nurburgring for production cars, the race circuit that serves as the world’s standard bearer for testing the mettle of car and driver. So we already know it's as fast as a greased weasel. But how does it drive?
MT's report doesn't delve too deeply (just yet) into the day-to-day driving dynamics of the beast, but here's what it does say, as succinctly as possible - it's the easiest car to drive wicked fast that has ever been made. At least that's how we interpret it. Loaded with every technogizmo helping hand the geniuses at Nissan can imagine, build and install into a car, it lends talent where there is none, endowing even the most ham-fisted driver with the grace of Jim Clark or the passion of Jackie Stewart. Is that a stretch? Consider - a six-speed, twin clutch, rear transaxle, paddle shifted transmission (technically a manual since there's no torque converter) with multiple "attack" settings, variable suspension (again with multiple settings) and the all-knowing Vehicle Dynamic Control, essentially the brain and nervous system of the car which works to keep the nose going forward (more or less) and the whole shooting match shiny side up, all being thrust along by 475 bhp from the twin-turbo V6.
MT also reports the GT-R is as easy to drive about town as a Towncar. Smooth and torquey with comfortable modern interior and all the expected amenities. If the F-22 Raptor, the pinnacle of modern air superiority aviation, could be equated to a Corvette Z06, then this thing, relatively speaking, is a spaceship from Alpha Centauri.
Complaints, if you can call them that, are what we expected to hear. It's simply not as engaging a drive as other sports cars. It's not as lump in your throat terrifying as a Ferrari F430 or as attuned to your subconscious desires as a Porsche 911. It's not as raw as a Z06 or as refined as an M3. Still, for the expected MSRP of about $75k, it's quite likely the all-around best performing car (soon to be) on the market. It's also a complete package - a smooth and comfortable grand tourer, a possessed by demons track monster and a daily-driver grocery getter you'd be comfortable lending to mom. So once again, we're calling it... Motor Trend Car of the Year for 2009.