The Germans Are in Trouble!: Nissan's new GT-R Won't Cost as Much as Expected

I dont care what you say, this does not threaten a 911.

I can't understand why Nissan/infinity get such great reviews. The have great engines but the build quality and materials are a joke a best.

Take that as biast but I am not worried for Porsche. No 911 buyer would buy this car. It might be a good car for the money but compair it to the Evo or somthing in it's class

Please don't insult raccoons like that.

HAHAHA.U r right it will not be the rival of the normal 911 (C2/C2S) but the Turbo.

What r u guys talking about? Skyline is going to be a serious/hardcore sports/super car.
Only Turbo could able to challenge it.

BTW can't wait to see the new king.

JUGNU

jungu ... lol .. you have to be kidding right? How can that ugly thing threaten the porsche 911? thank goodness for autospies and some of the comments. lmao

Ignorance is bliss. You will all be signing a different tune once you actually drive the car.

Low cost means cheap materials.

Porsche owners expect better quality.

And BTW, this car is ugly and ordinary.

Last 911 I drove had metallic painted plastic trim bits as opposed to the real thing.

It might not threaten the 911 sales, we all know at this price range, the name on the badge means just as much as the capabilities of the car to some. However, those that say that the performance will not rival the 911 or possibly the 911 turbo, just don't know the history of the GTR. All some people see is a Nissan badge and will never give the car a fair change regardless of its performance which I would think SHOULD be the primary concern when buying a sports car. I would laugh out loud at anyone who thinks the GTR is a direct competitor to an Evolution or a WRX, thats clearly ignorant and shows a lack of knowledge about the high performance sports coupe segment.

Great post. Too many people talk out of their ass. The prestige might not be there but trust me the performance will.

well one thing is, who ever posted that pic, is an idiot. that is the first concept back in 2001. and what makes you think this cant compete? the skyline gtr34 beat the porsche 996 turbo at the nurburgring. all other porsches that beat the gtr's time were the GT2s, GT3s/RS. i for one think this will be a great car. so really whats so wrong about this car that it cant compete at the track?

its ok to fire back when you feel threatend. the gtr is still not out,so any pros and cons are pure speculations. the truth will be revealed once the gtr is out and what ever the outcome, whether you like or dislike this nissan, you must accept it. becuase living in denial is living in your make-believe world. and that is just silly.

I don't think that the new GTR is going to be that cheap. At that price, it will ruin just about anything in the coupe market and that includes their 350z and infiniti Gs.

Plus, offering the variation in GT-R range would be a good idea but getting the entry level half-priced of the top of the shelf doesn't sound right!! It will reduce the brand image automatically.

I really believe that a smart guy like Carlos Ghosn wouldn't do stupid thing like setting the price of GT-R at 3series range.

29,000 GBP = 57,150.92 USD
35,000 GBP = 68,975.25 USD
59,000 GBP = 102,474.83 USD

considering the GTR will be sold in the US, this is price is geared toward a RS4 for the v-spec. while the GTR Evo is priced just lower than porsche 911 turbo. there shouldnt be any reason why the gtr would be a great competitive car against it.

never fails, there's always someone who converts the numbers. when figuring out price, you CAN'T use a spot rate conversion to determine prices. People did this when the RS4 went on sale in Europe and the spot rate conversion would have made the RS4 $80,000 in the US, but it wasn't was it? No, it was $66k.

when the GT-R comes stateside, i would bet a base price around $50k...$62k for the V-spec and probably $80k for the evolution.

STOP USING CURRENCY CONVERTERS!!! those will NOT be US prices

It has a long way to go before it can compete with the 911. This may be a 911 competitor for getting groceries but I highly doubt the GTR will shine on the race track or when pushed to the limit.

it may be impressive mechanically. we'll see.
but it's definitely one ugly car.
the 911 has nothing to worry about.

Definitely sounds pretty impressive mechanically. Hopefully, it will be as impressive as the R34, not just another mass produced, profit-driven G35 or G37. That said, it's sad to see that some posters never get to see the world outside the U.S. and read the mags other than MotorTrend and Car And Driver. Just several frogs living in a well.

For those who cant do the conversions.

$35,000 EUR= $46,683.86 USD
$52,000 EUR= $69,358.87 USD

Holy crap you learned how to use the Internet for conversions...congrats.

too bad its not in euros, ace. learn your currencies, those are pounds.

Its not aimed at porsche... not at all. The porsche although is a fast car and handles brilliantly, can also be comfortable when needed to. I dont think this 1 will do the same. It will probably be like the last car, something that will eat corners, but uncomfortable in daily driving. But Im sure it will be great.

Another thing, not everyone that buys porsches care that much about performance, just the badge. A nissan wouldnt be on their shopping list...

This is the latest Japanese/Korean marketing mentality of late: claim your new product is aimed directly at an unrealistic competitor to garner some attention for said product.

Lame.

Why would I ever spend $50 to $70k on a Nissan? I dont care how fast it is or how well it performs. Not in a million years would I ever buy a nissan over a Porsche. This article kills me. This and the fact that some of you on here actually believe the Nissan will take away from 911 sales. Didnt VW try and dab into the high luxury market and fail miserably and why would this be any different? It is still a Nissan.

Why would I ever spend $50 to $70k on a Nissan? I dont care how fast it is or how well it performs. Not in a million years would I ever buy a nissan over a Porsche. This article kills me. This and the fact that some of you on here actually believe the Nissan will take away from 911 sales. Didnt VW try and dab into the high luxury market and fail miserably and why would this be any different? It is still a Nissan.

I am not saying that it wont be an excellent performance car. I am saying that it is still a Nissan and how can one compare it to a porsche? I would never spend $60 to $70k on a nissan. In that price range, I am offered a RS4, M3, porsche cayman, C63, S5, Z06 and a nissan. What does not belong in that comparison? this article kills me ...

prestige is based on years and years of delivering a consistent, UNIQUE product. a product that lives up to a certain set of priorities.

every brand has history/heritage. few have the prestige that enables them to price their products at a premium to competitors. economics rule the roost here. if people won't pay more, they don't think something is worth more.

lexusadmirer:

heritage and prestige are NOT interchangeable!

for example, ford has more heritage than almost anyone else in the car business. hell, ford invented the assembly line. but is ford prestigious? um, no.

other examples of brands with tons of heritage but no prestige: buick, chevrolet, sears, plymouth, dodge, kmart, etc.

furthermore, heritage doens't give you pricing power. brand prestige certainly does.

i have no doubt the japanese could build a true prestige auto brand.
but they keep trying to do it on the cheap.

if they were serious, they'd design a luxury brand from the ground up. unique designs not shared with cheaper siblings. but they don't. and people aren't stupid. that's why the japanese luxury brands don't have pricing power over competitors.

i think the GTR is a legend and it should get the respect in needs, this car looks pretty nice, not as nice as i thought, but still nice. I also think that this car well go side by side with the 911, no joke.

"As I've always said, people buy Porsche for the same reason they buy BMW. The Rice factor. " -Ricemaster

Probably the most unintelligent thing I've read from you. German cars=Rice? Hmmm... Then Japan must be known for Oktoberfest.

you're not being fair to chickens

and design.
and minimalist interiors.
and innovative technologies (for example...ABS, airbags, traction control, stability control, etc that they've invented)

and, yes, handling.

Umm, Nissan 350Z starts @ 26,495 in the UK, with the roadster @ 27,995. Realistic. The Nissan Murano is 29,995 pounds in the UK.

I say if they brought the old version of the skyline back, and sold it in america, it would do loads better than this version.

I hate the exterior on this car...just makes me want to throw up. The old skyline although not much, I still loved it.

i noticed one thing on this web site that really bothers me. "the germans are in trouble" line is getting so old.
most people on this site it seems to me have no clue what people in the real world want.
IT DOESNT MATTER if this car is better or faster than a porsche or bmw. people buying porsches and bmw's wouldnt piss on japanese cars to save them from a fire.

i personally drive a 2005 m3 and when im next to a suburu wrx sti or mitsubishi EVO i really dont care if the car is just as fast as mine at half the price. those cars have no elite image. its just a fast n furious car for kids. i wouldnt be proud driving an evo and park it in a parking lot next to an s550 or bmw 7 series or audi a8, those fast race cars look like cheap pieces of garbage from "pimp my ride". you think you will tell a girl " i have an EVO" and you think she will know what the hell ur talking about ???? tell her porsche and the eyes will light up. u dont see japanese cars in music videos cause its just too cheap. just because a car is faster doesnt mean all that much. a car needs to have an overall package.
performance, prestige, comfort, luxury.
GTR- evo and WRX are all power and nothing else .

I am agreed with you german cars are more head turning for most women, but if you asked german women they know what is "EVO" and they will ask you do you mean Mitsu or "M3 EVO".

who are you?

If its even in the same league as the Z06 performance wise and for under $60k they will sell everyone of them. I would prefer the Z06 but then again I love the idea of being that close to 600 hp!

wow im quite shocked at the responses this car is getting. people, this is the GTR. this is the nissan equivalent to the GT40, a car built solely to dethrone all others on the racetrack. this isnt a hopped up lancer or WRX. no other car has the technology this machine has and as a result, will be quite competitive even up against a 911 turbo. i feel like this is such old news, that picture was the original concept. here we have 009 creating **** again. we all know and have seen the latest pics of the real car. believe me, nissan will create a legend in the US. every single one will be sold even before hitting the shores. if i had the money theres no question. i simply am astounded, but i guess thats good, less competition from your wallet = GTR in my garage = sad smiley on your face in your new M3 or shiney 9114S. jesus....

Chances are that it will be more reliable than the competition as well.

It doesn't mean Nissan didn't use a 911 as comparison to the Skyline. Most of the vids I've seen show a Skyline being tested alongside a 911.
It'd better be a heck of a performer though b/c the car has been under development for almost 10 years now!

GTR -- Get That Raccoon

In Arizona last month I photographed what the Nissan officials present told me was the 2008/9 GT-R.
http://flickr.com/photos/mikefield/sets/72157594528020753/

hello,everyone. From what I read, I think there 4 kind of people here.
1.people who are Nissan(Japanese) fans
2.people who are German fans (I am very thank you for your support, I am german)
3.people who care just about brand name.
4.people who care just about performance.

These are my thoughs. I can't denied that german cars have both heritage and prestige. and when it come to most women, german cars is winning the japanese cars. but eventhough, I am german I am sure that 911 will lose and 911Turbo will have a hard time catching up or getting away from GT-R. and the GT-R will leave the current M3 in the dust(every car fans know that current M3 can't even win the R-34)unless you have CSL.

I just visit my friends in the USA, and it was very fun,most of NewYorkers are very nice. but most fun of all was when he took me in his 06 M3 competition we took turn racing people on freeway (I think it called 87 or sprainbrook parkway.) everyone want to race with us and it very strange to me because some hyundai, civic, and some low-end cars want to race with us, because in germany if you know your car is not competible with your opponent we won't race them it is common sense. but Americans are fun, they race everything they have, that make America interesting and fun.

I think the bottom line is
if you are in the USA. and care about look Go for German cars
if you are heading to Bundesautobahn (autobahn), race tracks or just want to beat someone on the freeways just make sure you have what it take to play with your opponents.