Nissan let us borrow its 2013 GT-R Black Edition press car for our trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. We were blown away by its performance, even if the car doesn't include much of the convenience-oriented tech we've grown accustomed to.
The first time I, along with most North Americans, encountered Nissan's Skyline was back in 1998 with the first release of Gran Turismo from Polyphony Digital for Sony’s PlayStation console. Nissan kept the car mostly for its home and European markets before Gran Turismo came out; the car was practically unheard of here. I still remember winning race after race in a Nissan Pulsar GTi-R to save enough credits to purchase an R32 Skyline GT-R, which ended up being one of my favorite cars in the game.
Gran Turismo was more than just entertainment, though. It was an encyclopedia of cars unavailable in North America back before Wikipedia was around. This one game introduced a complete generation to desirable vehicles available across the Pacific. We were missing out on all of them, though many ended up arriving on our shores, including the Subaru Impreza WRX, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Mazda 2 (Demio), and of course Nissan's Skyline.
When the V35 Skyline reached North America in 2001 as the Infiniti G35, it was a domesticated animal sporting Nissan’s corporate 3.5 L V6. The company teased its perpetually-forthcoming GT-R with prototypes at auto shows for years. But it wasn’t until 2008 when the official successor to the previous Skyline GT-R arrived here in the States. Nissan dropped the Skyline brand and simply dubbed the car GT-R.
The GT-R is essentially the Gran Turismo car, which was featured so prominently on the cover of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for PS3. Nissan created a much rawer beast in its GT-R, and even contracted Polyphony Digital to design the vehicle's multifunction display, which we’ll dive into later.
So what exactly are the editors of Tom's Hardware doing with this thing? Well, several months back, as we were discussing our plans for the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, we thought it'd be fun to take a road trip from Angelini's house in Bakersfield, California to Las Vegas, Nevada, er, "familiarizing" ourselves with the land-based rocket ship along the way. So, we gave Nissan USA a call to see if they had a press car available.
Company reps obliged and provided us with a 2013 GT-R Black Edition loaded with all of the goodies, including lightweight wheels, Recaro seats, and a carbon fiber wing, among other amenities.
- Introducing Godzilla, Nissan's 2013 GT-R Black Edition
- In The GT-R's Driver's Seat
- The Infotainment System
- Digital Toys From Polyphony Digital
- Under Godzilla's Hood: The VR38DETT Motor
- Getting Power To All Four Wheels
- Checking Out The Black Edition Package
- Benchmarks
- All Of The Tech Is Under The Hood


110 grand is bang for the buck now?
When compared to vehicles that cost $300k+, yes its quite the bargain!
110 grand is bang for the buck now?
110 grand is bang for the buck now?
When compared to vehicles that cost $300k+, yes its quite the bargain!
110 grand is bang for the buck now?
When compared to vehicles that cost $300k+, yes its quite the bargain!
i'd spend my money at the porsche dealer, and not worry about imploding transmissions.
Godizlla won.
Early models had transmission issues with stop-go street racing.
there is a "hidden" launch control feature that gives you the ~3s 0-60mph times. However on early cars the revs that the clutch was dropped at were a little too punishing for repeat use. The later models (and earlier ones reprogrammed back at the dealership) had had the launch revs dropped and the algorithm tuned. I also hear the revided software car will only alow the driver to do a couple of such launches before you have to do some cool down miles so as to not overheat/brake the transmission. IMO most cars will break something if you keep dropping the clutch and bruning out every for a 0-60mph burn every 5 minutes for a few hours...
Sorry, didn't take any side shots of the car had to get everything done and drive to LA / LAX to drop it off to make my flight home the same day
Its a car for those that just want pure performance and none of the rest. I'll agree though, it does lack soul. You feel like its driving you rather than an extension of your hand, foot and mind.
Just out of curiosity, how much do the transmission flushes cost? I heard if you let the temp hit 250, the fluid needs to be changed right away or it will get very pissed off. And how much do the tires cost? I can't imagine those wide tires being very cheap.
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