Future Sports Cars Sneak Preview: 2009 to 2012
2009 Nissan GT-R Spec V
The Spec V will be to the GT-R what the Porsche GT3 RS is to the 911.
By Sam Mitani
According to our source, the Spec V will be to the GT-R what the Porsche GT3 RS is to the 911. It will be significantly lighter than the base car — we hear by at least 220 lb. Extensive use of carbon fiber — on the hood, rear wing, front spoiler and doors — will help the GT-R weigh in at about 3600 lb. The interior may come standard with a rollcage or structural brace like the one in the original GT-R Concept, as well as carbon-fiber Recaro front seats.
There were reports that Nissan engineers contemplated deleting the air-conditioning unit from the package, but decided against it, keeping in mind that not everyone who buys this car will convert it into a racing machine. But this should be enough to tell you that the GT-R Spec V is a serious performance car, one mainly intended for the track. New lightweight 6-spoke wheels will help you distinguish it from the base GT-R.
We also uncovered that the Spec V's 3.8-liter V-6 will pump out about 520 bhp at 6500 rpm and 435 lb.-ft. of torque from 3200 to 5200, roughly a 10-percent increase from the base engine. The extra oomph comes by increasing the boost of the turbochargers.
Combine this added power with the car's lighter weight and you have a machine that'll be so fast it's downright scary. Zero to 60 mph will be near 3 seconds flat...on a cool day on an ideal driving surface, it may even break into the 2s. The quarter-mile mark will be right around 11.0 sec.
As for price, let's just say that extensive use of carbon fiber will definitely have an effect. The projected MSRP of the GT-R Spec V is $120,000.
More at Road & Track
Slideshow: Future Sports Cars Sneak Preview
