2008 Nissan Skyline GT-R

Japanese automakers are notoriously tight lipped about future products, but the veil of secrecy over the next-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R has been nothing short of amazing. Thus, at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, there was a huge air of expectancy and a real buzz on the Nissan stand prior to the introduction of the Nissan GT-R Proto. In Japan, the Skyline is gear head manna, so the car had been written about, talked about, and fantasized about for months leading up to the show.

( Download 2008 Nissan Skyline GT-R Wallpaper )

The show car rides on 255/40R-20 Bridgestone tires up front, with 285/35R-20s at the rear. It looks bigger and broader than the R34 Skyline GT-R, the last of the straight-six-powered, twin-turbo four-wheel-drive GT-Rs made between 1989 and 2002. Although the R34 fueled the modern GT-R cult, it was derived, like all Skylines, from a sedan. The new GT-R will be the first to stand alone as a model in its own right.

The production GT-R will have a front-mounted, twin-turbo, 3.8-liter V-6 engine that's a development of the 350Z's unit. Nissan's original plan to do a V-8 has been axed because the engine is too big and heavy to provide the dynamic balance the engineers want. The V-6 will reputedly produce 450 hp and 370 lb-ft of torque. The power will be sent to all four wheels via a seven-speed transmission. The all-wheel-drive system will feature a development of the GT-R's famed, torque-sensing, electronic ATTESA E-TS, matched to four-wheel steering.


Nissan is apparently aiming for a 0-to-60-mph time of 3.8 seconds, with a top speed north of 180 mph. Ironically, the new GT-R will mark the beginning of a new Japanese supercar race.

Whatever it's called, we reckon that, if it has the kind of searing performance and soul of the last generation, it will be worth its rumored $70,000 or so asking price.