GT-R wows them in Tokyo

Nissan's GT-R was the stand-out debut at the Tokyo Motor Show.

Even after a four-year gestation and despite the leaked photos, the new GT-R was still the hit of the show. The audience was standing eight-deep around the car's dais -- three hours after the unveiling!

Nissan describes the new car as "an ultimate supercar for anyone, anywhere, at anytime".

For Australians, the GT-R is the spiritual successor to the touring car race-winning Skylines campaigned by the likes of Jim Richards and a young Mark Skaife. It's also the long-awaited follow-up to the R32 model last sold here by the factory in the early nineties.

Producing 353kW of power and 588Nm of torque, the engine powering the new all-wheel drive coupe is a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 which drives through a DSG-style transmission mounted at the rear of the car in a transaxle set-up. This placement ensures that weight is properly distributed, front to rear.

As mentioned in our report concerning the lap time record set by the Pagani Zonda (more here), the GT-R -- in prototype form -- completed the lap of the 'Nordschleife' in a time of 7.38. That time is about ten seconds slower than the Mercedes/AMG-powered Italian supercar.

The GT-R will also reach 100km/h from a standing start in 3.6 seconds, Nissan claims. With so much performance on tap, Nissan has resorted to premium Brembo brakes to slow the GT-R's progress. So the GT-R has all the ingredients for a supercar, but does it all come together?

Watch out for our in-depth look at the GT-R, next week.

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