SCENE ONE. Sendai Raceway, two hours north of Tokyo on the Bullet Train. Sendai is the only public racing circuit where Nissan tested its new GT-R. Apart from the Nürburgring in Germany—around which it’s the world’s fastest production car (only the limited-build Porsche Carrera GT laps faster, says Nissan). Sendai is like a mini ’Ring: fast and undulating and full of sweeping corners and heart-in-mouth turns. It’s a roller-coaster raceway. “We didn’t test on any other public racetrack because most are too easy,” says chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno, ex-head of Nissan’s sports-car racing program.
Press the red start button on the center console, and the 3.8-liter V-6 burbles awake, slightly muted by its twin turbos. It’s a new engine, not a steroidal version of the familiar VQ family of V-6s. The…
You're reading a preview of
MotorTrend (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 2008