We test the 2009 Nissan GT-R for Americas Best Handling Car comparison competition.
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 And now for something completely different.
00:06 From Japan comes Nissan's mighty GT-R.
00:09 Twin turbo engine in front, transaxle in back driving all four wheels, monstrous grip, monstrous
00:14 power.
00:15 This thing really promises to tear up the track.
00:16 Let's go see how it does at Laguna Seca.
00:23 Okay, Randy, you've just had a chance to drive Godzilla, the 2009 Nissan GT-R.
00:46 What did you think?
00:47 Sweet!
00:48 Tell you what, that GT-R is comfortable on the racetrack, gotta say.
00:54 It's got a lot of power, it is racy in that it has minimal body roll, but still good control.
01:01 I mean, I just really enjoyed the car.
01:03 I was able to break the rear end loose if I really wanted to, and when it went, it really
01:08 went.
01:09 But steering is quick ratio and very quick responding.
01:15 I mean, I could catch the car easily.
01:16 In fact, I did a big drift, a Scandinavian fling we call it, for your photo trans photographers
01:22 up at the corkscrew on that last lap.
01:24 I really had a great time in the car.
01:26 It's a beastly car.
01:28 It's more like you're wrestling than you are dancing.
01:31 And I don't mean that in a bad way.
01:33 It's a very visceral car to drive.
01:37 The brakes were really solid.
01:39 I think that Dunlop's on the car a special model because they have a ton of grip.
01:45 Really a good tire.
01:47 And the brakes are strong enough to keep up with the tire.
01:50 The handling was predominantly understeer, but it could be provoked on entry into a kind
01:55 of a snap oversteer, which was actually kind of fun, but not predictable in the way that
02:01 R8 was on corner entry, or I might say even the Mini or the Mitsubishi Evo, all of which
02:07 had a kind of a sweet drift on the way in.
02:10 This car, it's a little bit more violent when it does break loose.
02:14 Now, of course, on this one we had all the traction systems shut off.
02:18 There is a race mode where the traction control will step in, and you drove a couple of laps
02:23 like that as well.
02:24 Compare those two different modes, if you would.
02:26 Yes, race mode or the R mode, it's really not a race mode because there's still a lot
02:31 of stability control working, and I think that the R mode is a wonderful thing to have
02:37 for your average guy.
02:38 He could drive this car awfully fast and not get in too much trouble.
02:42 Now, for me as a race car driver on a racetrack, I found it very frustrating because it would
02:47 pull back the power.
02:48 I mean, I'd have my foot on the floor and not be getting full power, and it would prevent
02:53 the car from sliding, and sliding is like the most fun thing you can do with a car.
02:58 So it's obviously something that is a safety feature, and before you turn that off, you
03:04 better have your skip barber car control down.
03:07 That's all I got to say.
03:08 And if you do, the GTR is extremely rewarding and a powerful, enjoyable car that's comfortable
03:15 on a racetrack.
03:16 There's a lot of race car in the GTR, whereas the R8 handles well in a much more refined
03:22 way.
03:23 It's silky.
03:24 It's more like a muscular dancer, whereas this is more like wrestling.
03:28 You know, you got him by the neck, and you're trying to throw it on the carpet.
03:32 Excellent.
03:33 Thank you, Randy.
03:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]