Nissan GT-R Nismo: Performance Car of the Year 2018 4th Place

Name another car that 10 years after its launch could still factor at the pointy end of an annual awards competition?

The R35 GT-R might have been around long enough to have transitioned from ‘high-tech wizardry’ to ‘refreshingly old school’, but it’s testament to the headroom built into that original 2007 model that it’s still the performance benchmark a decade on.

For Robbo, that track performance justified the enormous price premium over the standard GT-R: “I wondered about the value equation, but after a lap in [the Nismo] I’m like ‘yep, I can see that’.”

Certainly, on track is where the ultra-stiff suspension and R-spec Dunlops feel most at home, providing so much cornering force your head is likely to come off before the car starts to slide – my notes simply read “Holy mother of God!”

Straight-line performance is staggering, but the way the Nismo sheds speed is even more impressive. There are no fancy carbon rotors here, but the monster steel stoppers provide awesome feel and have incredible stamina considering the GT-R’s speed and weight. Lap after lap you can carry more and more speed, yet the Nismo’s reserves are apparently endless.

Kudos to Nissan for keeping the interior intact and it made a much better fist of tackling the wet road loop than most would imagine, but public roads are something to be tolerated between racetrack visits. Though they need not be tolerated for very long, as the GT-R Nismo ties with last year’s PCOTY champ, the Porsche 911 Turbo S, as the quickest point-to-point car I’ve ever experienced.

The big points gap between third and fourth relegates the GT-R to best of the rest, but it’s the equivalent of Kimi Raikkonen switching to the 2007 Ferrari F1 car and still finishing fourth in the 2017 standings – a remarkable achievement.

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2018 NISSAN GT-R NISMO SPECS: Body: 2-door, 2+2-seat coupe Drive: all-wheel Engine: 3799cc V6, DOHC, 24v, twin-turbo Bore/Stroke: 95.5 x 88.4mm Compression ratio: 9.0:1 Power: 441kW @ 6800rpm Torque: 652Nm @ 3800-5600rpm Power/Weight: 254kW/tonne Transmission: 6-speed dual-clutch Kerb weight: 1739kg Suspension: double A-arms, coil springs, adaptive dampers, anti-roll bar (f); multi-links, coil springs, adaptive dampers, anti-roll bar (r) Brakes: 390mm ventilated/drilled discs, 6-piston calipers (f); 380mm ventilated/drilled discs, 4-piston calipers (r) Wheels: 20.0 x 10.0-inch (f); 20.0 x 10.5-inch (r) Tyres Sizes: 255/40 ZR20 97Y (f); 285/35 ZR20 100Y (r) Tyres: Dunlop Sport Maxx GT 600 Price: $299,000

0-100km/h: 3.28sec (1st) 0-400m: 11.19sec @ 203.08km/h (1st)

Morley – 4th I’d need to own a racetrack to buy one of these. But if I did…

Campbell – 7th Feels very mechanical and analogue. Brutally fast. Much better on track than road.

Newman – 5th Ultimate track car. Breathtaking circuit ability, but hard work on the road.

Robson – 4th Effortlessly fast, flatters my meagre abilities. A lot more attitude than stock GT-R.

Reynolds – =2nd What I expected – fast, a little nervous in the wet and very stiff on the road.

JUDGES’ SCOREBOARD