Nissan GT-R beats its Nurburgring record

The jubilant Nissan GT-R team celebrates their new lap record at the Nurburgring

The Nissan GT-R is indeed an impressive car. It offers real supercar performance for what appears to be a relatively modest price. Admittedly it still costs an arm and a leg to service, and with exchange rates as they are at the moment it will become less of a bargain, but it’s certainly chucked a very big spanner in to the works as far as the more established Supercar makers are concerned (Porsche in particular had plenty to say about the last time the GT-R set).

When Nissan set their time of 7:29 for a lap of the Nurburgring their were dropped-jaws everywhere that a simple Nissan could manage such a time. There were claims of cheating with revised mapping and special tyres, but the boys from Nissan were adamant the time was genuine, and just about everyone now accepts it was fair time.

But Nissan has been back at the Nurburgring this week with a 2010 version of the GT-R, featuring an extra 5bhp and revised launch control (the original was eating the gearbox/clutch) together with a bigger fuel tank and tweaked suspension. Basically, a GT-R V-Spec car with the V-Spec wheels and tyres. And in this car they have managed to shave just over a second, with a new lap time of 7:27.56.

Incredible though the time is, it is still not as quick as the ZR1 or the Dodge Viper. And even though Nissan don’t expect to beat those times, they are still expected to try again today if the conditions are favourable to see if they can improve further on their own time.

It’s a funny old world when a Nissan is pounding Porsche round the Nurburgring. At this rate it’ll be a Tata next!