NEW FUTURE MARKET

  • Nissan GT-R Series II lowers ‘Ring time to 7:27

    By Drew Johnson

    The Web lit up last year with the news of the Nissan GT-R’s 7 minute 29 second Nurburgring lap time, and we suspect the latest news from Germany will elicit the same response. Nissan has taken to the ‘Ring once again with the GT-R – this time with the ‘Series II’ version – and has returned with an improved lap time of 7 minutes 27.56 seconds.
    That figure is behind the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1’s lap time of 7 minutes 22 seconds and five seconds off the Dodge Viper ACR’s time. The Nissan GT-R Series II’s lap time could even be improver further as Nissan engineers are headed back to the ‘Ring for another round of testing tomorrow.

    The Series II car has a few tweaks from the first-generation car, including 5 more horsepower, an upgraded suspension, stickier tires and a revised gearbox. The car the traversed the Nurburgring in 7 minutes 27 seconds was bone stock, save for optional Rays forged alloys from the SpecV model.

    Nissan has reportedly set a goal of beating the mighty ZR1, so check back for an updated lap time tomorrow.

    31 COMMENTS

    1. photo
      Borat469 days ago
      0  0

      Why does it matter? Does Nissan known to have the best driver? This ring as objective as car looks/design.

    2. photo
      shaver469 days ago
      0  0

      Interest in this has grown tremendously. Maybe its time some one set up a real stock car series, with stock production cars head to head on the ring. Run one or two events a year every mfg can show up and run for the cup.

    3. photo
      johnnycanuck469 days ago
      0  0

      What the hell is this? An article about about a car and its performance? Blasphemy I say. Bring us more doom and gloom, bankruptcies and closures and job losses and finger pointing. How can they possibly expect meaningful contributions when there’s no political agenda to debate. That’s it. I’m canceling my subscription and joining the Marijuana Party.

    4. photo
      PerformanceGuy469 days ago
      0  0

      Good job Nissan. This machine is a beast and I am impressed that it keeps destroying the rings! Keep up the good work!!

    5. photo
      Lariat Luxury Locomotive Liner No.3469 days ago
      0  0

      Love both the Corvette and the GT-R, plus all the bantering in between. The ring brings positive notoriety to both automobiles.

    6. photo
      BIG-KC469 days ago
      0  0

      @shaver,
      I have always wanted that. It sounds like a great idea

      I still do not trust Nissan. Until they let an outside source dyno and weigh the car before testing and check the tires I will not consider their lap times. I even believe the not very publicly released ZR1 time of 7:22. And Dodge could lower their time if they were smart from the beginning and geared the Viper ACR much lower.

    7. photo
      atoms469 days ago
      0  0

      but johnny the rhino party has an equally good platform, and who doesn’t love rhinos

    8. photo
      GTHeaven469 days ago
      0  0

      I saw a matte black GT-R on the road the other day and I’m still picking my jaw off the ground. Pictures really do this car no justice. The wheel flares are so much more pronounced than any picture shows. Most importantly, you can’t hear that amazing engine as it takes off from a picture. Plain and simple, this car is a BEAST!

    9. photo
      scratchy469 days ago
      0  0

      they should ban the Spec V from the Ring , it’s speed will rip through space and time and destroy the planet !

    10. photo
      Blakkarr469 days ago
      0  0

      As cool as running a hot lap at the ‘Ring sounds and looks, it really is not much more than bragging rights.

      Some of the videos of the cars running their laps, including NISSAN’s with their GT-R35, look suspect.

      Most of the cars are not even running a full lap, and just dump into the garage area at the first opening without clearing the start/finish line first. Further if these times are to be taken as canon, then a proper officiating body or at least fast and hard rules must be set to cover what must be done, what must happen, and whether or not one car can rightfully compare against another.

      Seriously, there is a reason why the sedans are not classed against the coupes. It would have to go further to account for drivetrain, FWD or RWD or AWD, Power rating (The stories of how the GT-R35 is dyno’ed at much more than the given specs is a matter of concern. A car that is not or can not be accurately represented may have to be disallowed for comparison), Strict definition of a “sports car” or “performance car” (Sports car = no back seat? So A Porsche 911 is a Performance car?), and other criteria.

      Also it would kind of sad if cars started being built solely to ace the ring, they would all start becoming too much alike. I like the wild variation of high performance and sports cars.

      As with anything, the Ring will sink back into relative obscurity when the GT-R35 starts to fade in a year or two, or when people really stop caring so much about a score that means nothing overall. It’ll go back to being a just a test track, especially if and when someone opts to build a track just as or more challenging than Nurburgring.

      At any rate it would be interesting if we had a serious “Car Olympics”. you take high performance cars and set them to complete various feats of speed, agility, endurance, and so on. Screw interior quality, and whether or not the car is a fan favorite. Just see who is overall the best.

      That would be good programming…

    11. photo
      scratchy469 days ago
      0  0

      Blakkarr , saying that the Ring is “just a test track” , is like saying that Le Mans is just some race track.

    12. photo
      Blakkarr469 days ago
      0  0

      Scratchy (Where’s Itchy?),

      Nurburgring, is a test track, in this context, and should not be the “be all end all” place to determine automotive performance worth. Any other function the track services is secondary to the issue at hand.

      When I say “just a test track” I mean “not the center of the automotive world”. “Center of the Automotive world” is not true and a huge overstatement, but illustrates the need to put things back into some perspective.

      In this context, the Nurburgring should return to being “just a test track”. Unless you put some hard and fast rules behind those lap times, these track times are just more bar room brawls, and online flame wars looking for a place to happen and thusly serve no useful purpose.

    13. photo
      sprockkets469 days ago
      0  0

      “Most of the cars are not even running a full lap, and just dump into the garage area at the first opening without clearing the start/finish line first.”

      That’s because you are not allowed to make a full lap, you are required to stop right before you make a lap. This is normal for most people, so you basically time it accordingly to the bridge. Read up about it, say wikipedia if you dare.

      “Normal ticket buyers on these tourist days cannot quite complete a full lap of the 20.8 km (13 mile) Nordschleife, which is bypassing the modern GP-Strecke, as they are required to slow down and pass through a 200-metre (220 yd) “pit lane” section where the toll gates are installed. Since 2006, season ticket holders only can pass mobile toll gates on the track itself, in order to reduce the length of queues at the fixed barriers.

      Drivers interested in lap times (a dangerous thing to worry about, as running stop watches are frequently found in crashed vehicles) often time themselves from the first bridge after the barriers to the last gantry before the exit. In the event of an accident, the local police are known to make note of any timing devices present (stopwatches, etc.) in the police report.”

    14. photo
      Stinky007469 days ago
      0  0

      This time they have pictures with asian people celebrating around the car! I’ve seen them on other websites. Take that for evidence, Porsche!!!!
      /sarcasm

    15. photo
      idrinorbarsaku469 days ago
      0  0

      anyone notice the, rather unprofessional, “could even be improver further”?? Looks like LLN has been hit hard by this economy, and has hired some smart monkeys, who dont know what money is!

    16. photo
      scratchy469 days ago
      0  0

      @ Blakkarr , some track will always be THE performance test track , be it Nordschleife , the Top Gear test track or whatever. as Sprockkets posted , there are rules on the Ring and the Germans take rules seriously.

      personally i prefer the Top Gear approach to testing cars , the same driver takes the cars on the track in the same conditions , or at least as the weather allows.
      the conditions on the Ring always change , the track gets constantly improved , made smoother , bumps removed , corners get more grip , the track becomes faster and the cars tested more recently have always an advantage over cars tested a while ago.

      “the Ring will sink back into relative obscurity” , when was the track in relative obscurity for any car enthusiast ?

    17. photo
      nestle_s469 days ago
      0  0

      who cares about a car going around the german track? not every owner will use the full potential of this car. this car has been into so many accidents because of driver’s that are not trained to drive this vehicle. at least BMW has an actual driving school were owners can learn to drive their BMW’s to the adhesion point and beyond. plus this is used for bragging rights.

    18. photo
      DrFill469 days ago
      0  0

      Fast as stink!
      And twice as ugly!
      DrFill

    19. photo
      Blakkarr469 days ago
      0  0

      Scratchy,

      Among the fans and enthusiasts such tracks will never lose its glamor. But it is among the people who matter much more: the people who will be buying these machines that popularity takes a distant second seat to relevance.

      No doubt you have strong feelings about this issue, I am rather neutral, and others really do not care if the car that want can do a lap at Nurburgring in under 7:30 or the Top Gear track (a decommissioned airstrip) in under 1:30, or some other track at a suitably break neck speed. This if they never take the car to that speed. Like buying a bad-@$$ gun and never shooting it or more accurately the most powerful computer money can buy to surf the web.

      To those that matter, Nurburgring will sink in relevance after the fervor subsides over the handful of cars that most people will never see in real life except at a car show.

      Whether you agree of not that fact is you are a fan and I respect that as long as you respect that I’m not biting my nails waiting for the next run time. While it is important as a gauge of the car’s ability, what good does it do me if I never buy or see one?

    20. photo
      sprockkets469 days ago
      0  0

      “the Ring will sink back into relative obscurity” , when was the track in relative obscurity for any car enthusiast ?”

      Until recently, what US car maker tested their vehicles on the ring? GM now is proud of what the ZR-1 did, as well as tested their Cobalt SS there and CTS-V as well.

      Before that, well, someone else can fill that in.

    21. photo
      idrinorbarsaku469 days ago
      0  0

      I’ve seen 2 of these in real life(not autoshow). One was white, and the other was a gray color. they dont really capture the attention that a 70k+ car should get! A 40k+ corvette gets more looks

    22. photo
      brocky469 days ago
      0  0

      Impressive performance but the design just doesn’t hype me up. It’s one fat looking car and the only thing that gets my attention is it’s “GT-R” emblem.

    23. photo
      MiniMan469 days ago
      0  0

      I think this really matters to Nissan and maybe a few “normal” folks. This Ring Thing kills me. Nissan comes out with this fast @55 car and the ZR1 beats it’s “Holier Than Thou” Ring time. So let’s tweak the engine, princh the engine, let get a driver that weighs 40lbs less, call it a Series blah, blah, blah and charge more for it – WHY!!!!! So they can stroke their automotive egos while while reading the “Automotive Days of Our Lives” magazines and blogs…give me a break!

    24. photo
      Veda468 days ago
      0  0

      Don’t care about the ring times, just the fact of knowing that the standard GTR will be improved in many areas is exciting.

    25. photo
      SloW8468 days ago
      0  0

      At first I thought the car was just ugly. Now that I have spent some time with one, I still think they are not pretty but they do have some cool design elements. Kind of an automotive bagger. Nice parts here and there, and super fun to play with but not good looking.

    26. photo
      shaver468 days ago
      0  0

      These times are unreliable at best and unproven until an independent company times the runs and more importantly scrutinizes the vehicles to prove they are stock. Weight, tires, engines, etc……

    27. photo
      Rafa LL468 days ago
      0  0

      This car is just a BEAST. Drive one and you’ll see that unlimited power does exist, doing 120 in a blink, G force makes blood go so far back that your vision starts fading away… Now I can die happy.

    28. photo
      davebo467 days ago
      0  0

      I’m impressed by all the notoriety the ring gets. I really wish the USA had a race track as epic as that, which made use of the landscape to create a visually as well as technically impressive track. Instead of just tracks surrounded by sand and bleachers, and of course nothing like all our Nascar tracks, ugh. I really like shaver’s idea of an ACTUAL stock car tournament.

    29. photo
      Z06ified465 days ago
      0  0

      I guess Nissan, or LLN, doesn’t know how to round numbers. A time of 7:27.56 rounds UP to 7:28, not DOWN to 7:27. I know it’s splitting hairs, but it goes to show how desparate Nissan is to make the numbers on their godzilla look better than they really are. Bottom line is the car ran a 7:28, not a 7:27.

      Keep trying Nissan. Maybe someday you can get to play with the big dogs (Viper ACR and ZR-1).

      I would like to see what time a Koennigsegg CCX-R would run on the ‘ring. 2,600 lbs. and 1,018 hp must be able to tear that track up!

    30. photo
      total_douche463 days ago
      0  0

      @ZO6ified:

      You ever hit a dragstrip? It’s still a track, but regardless, if you hit a 12.999 second 1/4-mile, it’s still a 12-second quarter mile. Peace

    31. photo
      jackjimturkey462 days ago
      0  0

      My mid-life crisis car

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • REVIEW:

  • FEATURES:

  • SPECS:

  • SAFETY:

  • PRICING:


Related News

Most Commented

recent headlines

Recently Commented

  • Mark KleisHow very weird, I must have missed that in the presentation they gave us. Good
  • saabaru1LeftLane has every right to limit links, they are not here to spread the love
  • jayjc08Very good article. I'm really liking the contrast between Marks more factual articles and Jacks
  • Welty RoundelI wished him well on the last post, (and was sincere) How many well wishes
  • steve333Very nice looking. However, looks don't equal driving experience. i think people are swooning over

    LeftLane

    LeftLane News
    Copyright © 2005 - 2010
    LeftLane News.
    All rights reserved.