If the executives at Porsche became flustered when Nissan announced their previous GT-R Nurburgring record, they should now be ready to explode in frustration. Back in April Nissan set a single lap record around the 12.9 mile Green Hell of 7 minutes and 27 seconds in their GT-R equipped with a set of SpecV rims. This time Godzilla negotiated the 33 left and 40 right turns of the ‘Ring in only 7 minutes and 26 seconds.
Previous Nissan GT-Rs have recorded lap times of 7 minutes 27 seconds on April 15, 2009, 7 minutes 29 seconds in April, 2008 and 7 minutes 38 seconds back in September of 2007.
According to Kazutoshi Mizuno, Chief Vehicle Engineer and Chief Vehicle Specialist for the GT-R: "This record demonstrates our commitment to the continuous evolution of the Nissan GT-R. We would like to continue delivering the passion and pride of ownership to our customers by improving its performance every year."
Press release after the jump.
Press release
The NISSAN GT-R, winner of the 2009 World Performance Car of the Year, has improved its lap time at the renowned Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany to 7min 26 seconds 70 on April 23.
This new time underlines Nissan engineering team's commitment to constantly challenge the GT-R's performance. Previous recorded lap times at the 'Ring' were:
- 7 minutes 27 seconds 56 on April 15, 2009
- 7 minutes 29 in April 2008
- 7 minutes 38 in September 2007
"This record demonstrates our commitment to the continuous evolution of the Nissan GT-R," says Kazutoshi Mizuno, Chief Vehicle Engineer and Chief Vehicle Specialist. "We would like to continue delivering the passion and pride of ownership to our customers by improving its performance every year."
The Nissan GT-R has won more than a dozen awards globally including Car of the Year from CAR Magazine in the UK, and Car of the Year by both Motor Trend and Autombile Magazine in the US.
While the Nissan GT-R benefits from a strong image and heritage amongst performance car aficionados, its updated 2010 version will be the first to be sold globally. It was launched:
- in Japan in December 2008,
- in the US in March 2009
- in Europe, GCC, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan in April 2009
Europe is currently in the process of delivering the first GT-Rs to more than 2,200 pre-order customers.
The model R35 GT-R was first launched in Japan in December 2007, selling 5,900 units until March 2009. It went on sale in the US in July 2008, where 2,100 have been sold so far.