For car buffs it's baffling (and pretty cool, too) to see a $70,000 Nissan weighing nearly 4,000 lbs whoop up on lighter, more powerful cars. The GT-R lapped more than five seconds quicker than a Corvette Z06 and 911 Turbo at Buttonwillow Raceway during Road and Track's test, and Car and Driver pulled off some pretty incredible numbers during theirs, running 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds and the quarter mile in just 11.5 seconds. However, some have questioned the numbers. How does the GT-R, which has a weight-to-horsepower ratio 25% higher than the Turbo and Z06, beat both around the racetrack?

Motor Trend questioned the numbers too, and decided to check for themselves when they received a GT-R to review. They took the GT-R over to K&N Engineering in San Bernardino, CA, who strapped it to their in-house chassis dyno to see just how much horsepower the car was making. Three separate runs in fourth gear netted an average of about 430 horsepower at the wheels. Assuming a conservative 15% drivetrain loss, the GT-R is actually producing more than 500 horsepower and 500 lb-ft torque at the flywheel. That helps explain the numbers, but it won't give 911 Turbo and Corvette Z06 owners any comfort.

 

Thanks for the post DJ.

I think this partially explains the incredible performance numbers in such a heavy car. While I have no hard data to prove it, I am guessing that a significant part of its straight line performance is due to its e-gearbox. With some cars generating so much power these days, we are starting to see automatic type trannies outperforming manuals (ex, 997TT tip is faster than manual in straight line tests). I think ability to 'launch' and actual shift times are becoming very significant.

I think this helps explain the straight line figures, but there is no doubting the GT-R is a fantastic performer in many many ways.

My predictions are that 1) the PDK on the 997TT will be faster in a straight line than the present tip and manual and 2) there will be a launch control mechanism in place a la GT2.

Will these things shave 5 seconds off at Button Willow? No way.