By Stephan Wilkinson
February 28, 2008 - 5,675 views
In early April, Nissan is blessing me with a GT-R for five days for my Conde Nast Traveler “Great Drive” articles, and a review on this website. My hotshoe daughter (also a Traveler editor) and I will be departing Lake Tahoe after the car's press introduction, bound for Lost Wages and, if possible, some empty desert roads. The press event will include some serious track time. In their initial e-mail invitation, Nissan said– politely enough– that they realized writers like me weren’t buff-book semipros. Yet they're so confident that the GT-R is the world's safest and most controllable supercar that they're letting us loose on a closed ciruit. (I immediately got on my high horse and told them Brook and I run a well-modified 911SC track car, so there.) I asked the Nissan press rep if we should bring our helmets. She said no, not needed. Porsche is the only other automaker I know that allows the press to tackle a track sans helmet. The German automaker believe that helmets bring on "the red haze;" that drivers are safer without them. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see if the GT-R's electronics make travel-magazine editors, beauty-and-fashion writers, movie reviewers and other can’t-drive-a-stick scribes from the non-automotive press into track demons…
Subscribe to New Content Alerts21 Responses to “ TTAC’s Wilkinson to Review Nissan GT-R ”
Leave a Reply 
Back to Top
You must be logged in to post a comment.
BlinkList
Digg
del.icio.us
Facebook
Furl
Google
Live
NewsVine
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Technorati
YahooMyWeb
POWERED
February 28th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Sounds awesome! Can’t wait for the review of this car! Need a co-pilot?
February 28th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Lucky you TTAC’s Wilkinson.
Gawd that’s a goood looking butt!
February 28th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
What’s “the red haze?”
February 28th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
No helmet required but a cup is a must. The performance of this car can cause boners which if left unrestrained could get caught in the steering wheel and cause serious accidents.
February 28th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
‘The red haze’ is a irrational display of exhuberance brought on a enormously overpowered, pointless automobile that is wasteful of scarce resources. (cough)
February 28th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
LUCKY BASTARD! I HATE YOU!
Anyway, it might be a good opportunity to shoot some video…if you can.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
If it doesn’t get five stars, this site=fail.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Lucky SOB, I soooo want his car but its 2x what I can afford.
to Heathroi: so buy a prius or other eco friendy appliance and help offset the huge influx of 1,500 GT-Rs to the US annually.
Its not like it’s a hummer, truck or BoF SUV all of which will probably get worse gas mileage.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Does it mean that Nissan knows you’ll be reviewing the GT-R for both Traveler AND TTAC?
If so, does it mean a sort of end to TTAC’s manufacturer press car test ban?
@Heathroi: funny remark. Even though I’d tend to agree with you, we’re talking about rarefied sports cars here, and it’s really not that much of an issue. Fighting to have the heavier “light-duty” trucks fall under CAFE rules is a better use of out time.
So is the idea of a pollution price adjustment such as the one in place in France.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
AKM :
If so, does it mean a sort of end to TTAC’s manufacturer press car test ban?
Let’s just say thank you, Nissan.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
AKM
That’s a good point about press cars. I would think that with so few made and coming here they are all pretty much press cars. I don’t know much about how they are manufactured but I assume there not made like any old Altima or Maxima.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
NB: Whenever we drive a press car, we acknowledge that fact.
In the main, TTAC reviews production cars.
I'm OK with a press car in this case because, as stated, the GT-R is not exactly a mainstream model.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
With so few being built this was the only way we were going to get a review of one.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
If it doesn’t get five stars, this site=fail.
I’m worried it’ll be like the IS-F: technically brilliant, but lacking the connection that makes driving enjoyable. You know when reviewers drive an MX-5 or some hot hatch and exclaim that it’s more fun than cars costing 3-4 times as much? You don’t want to be on the other side of that equation.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
At the very least it will be a welcome break from all the SUV/CUV reviews of late. Don’t get me wrong, new content is always welcome, but I just don’t care about -UVs.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Grats on the review! The car should get -2 stars based on design alone. My guess is this car is fast, but has no soul. This thing looks blander than the Z already. Why are buyers so afraid of design. Is this car is supposed to look “macho”? It looks like a Mustang with an aftermarket body kit. I seems most have given up on the idea that fast and sexy can co-exist, if you know what I mean. Oh and is the tacked on rear wing only available on the GT-R model?
February 28th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I’m not so fond of the rear end of the car. It looks too, I don’t know, too much like a Chevy Cobalt.
February 28th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I actually hope it only sells in adequate quantities. I’d like it to depreciate like a normal car so I have a chance at owning one that isn’t 5 years old.
February 28th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Where is this press event in Tahoe being held? South Lake Tahoe or north shore? I’m in Sacramento and would love to check it out in the flesh.
February 28th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
To echo most of the other posters, YOU LUCKY SOB. You may be even luckier than Sajeev Mehta
because he only had the Ferrari 430 for a short time, whereas you get the GTR for five whole days and with track time. Don’t hold back in the review. If it doesn’t have adequate hp or torque, please let us all know; so, we won’t waste oru time finding and buying one. :-)
February 28th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Need someone to see if the back seats fit adults on long trips? I promise not to ask “are we there yet” except I might ask “is it my turn yet”.