By now, you should probably know every technical detail about the nissan gt-r, a ride that has been covered by all media outlets ad nauseam. So we'll spare you most of the nuts and bolts while describing our 24-hour experience with the greatest dollar-for-dollar sports car in the world, ever.
Terence
One of my favorite shows growing up was Knight Rider. The idea of a super sports car that could talk, make decisions, and out-drive anything on the road blew my mind. Imagine my victorious feeling when the opportunity came to pilot Nissan's GT-R, another super sports car that had a brilliant computer system that could turn a joe-schmoe like me into a halfway decent driver. The instant my ass hit the driver's seat and I took hold of the leather-wrapped steering wheel, a sensation of invincibility came over me that was, in a word, thrilling. I think the only other object of desire that could top the GT-R's sense of power is a fully functional light saber from Star Wars.
While the GT-R isn't the sexiest looking car in the world, it definitely earns its share of head turns and questions from passersby. For instance, when I paid a valet an extra ten dollars so I could self-park the car in front of a restaurant I was having dinner at, and three of my hottest female friends stepped out, the looks on all the attendants' faces read that either I was rich as hell or hung like a baby's arm holding an apple. That was worth the price of admission had I actually paid for the car because neither of which is true!
The following day, the editors here at Super Street decided to take a mini road trip to run the GT-R through its paces. Believe me when I say that a car like the GT-R was designed to carve curvy canyon roads at blinding speeds, with absolute ease. One of the biggest question marks in every automotive journalist's mind was the paddle-shifting automatic gearbox and how much it would hurt the performance and reduce the fun of driving. While this wasn't the first car I've driven at Super Street that had these paddles, it was without a doubt the best I have ever driven. Going through the turns that twist like a rollercoaster, both uphill and down, the car was in a constant state of shifting between second, third and fourth gears, with each gear change taking place instantaneously after squeezing the paddle. The best part of this setup is that the foot never leaves the gas pedal. When I got through the last turn of the canyon, hitting a long straightaway, the gears hitting fourth, fifth and sixth faster than it took me to type that sentence out, gave me one of those memories I will think back to when I'm old and laying on my deathbed. Shooting out of that last turn with nothing but straight roads ahead, I floored it...65 mph...up further into our imaginations, the world around me was nothing but a smear of gold rocks, cactuses and sky. I heard a collective "Ohhhh Shieeeet!!!" from Charles and Jonathan.
My heart was pounding like a tribal drummer getting ready for war. My hands became damp with the tightening of grip around the steering wheel. My eyes scanned the road ahead, going back and forth at a feverish pace. I started to lose my nerve and decided to ease off the gas; thoughts of some random cop hiding behind a bush that would lock me up and impound the GT-R flashed in my mind. Not that I was going that fast (wink), but when I'm in a loaner vehicle that costs a multiple sum of my yearly salary, and I have two of my friends riding along, one who had to keep his head cocked sideways because of the low slung rear window, I err on the side of safety. Officially, I do not recommend you readers try this, because it's dangerous to speed along mountainside cliffs and also extremely illegal in all 50 states of our union. But, if given another opportunity I'd take my chances.