a legend returns - Nissan Lebanon

COVER STORY
Borne out of a sober line of big saloons, it
turned into an adrenalin bruiser thanks to
a package of high-tech gadgetry which
turned it into an unlikely but absolutely credible rival
for 911s and Ferraris. This turned it into a serial
race winner, a legend at Nurburgring and above all,
a blazingly outstanding road drive. On the culture
front, it’s totally Japanese origin and heritage
endowed it with a cult status that has reached
astronomical heights. After all, only the Japanese
can get weirdly obsessive about something that
the rest of the world wants, but can’t get.
But now the time are a changing. The new GT-
R is breaking out and unlike its older generation
siblings it is not saloon derived, but gets it own
unique sports-car bodyshell. And unlike previous
generations, this car is going global!
Unveiled at the 39th Tokyo Motor Show in 2005, the
Nissan GT-R Proto Concept gives an impression of
what the new GT-R will look like when it finally goes
on sale globally in 2007.
So, here it is: meet the upcoming Nissan GT-R!
Ever since its incarnation way back in 1969, the
GT-R (well, it had the Skyline nameplate before
its initials) has not followed any well-trodden path
but has made its own way and with the new GT-R
this ideology remains the same. Shiro Nakamura,
Nissan’s design chief insists there is no way a
GT-R should follow the pack. “There’s no need
for it to be a sleek-looking car. The strength of a
GT-R is its presence. It has a substantial volume
and is totally different from the sleek, low slung
supercars. It has top-end performance and
retains a 2+2 configuration so as to appeal to a
wider spectrum of buyers. We had total freedom
in design but refrained from going low and sleek.
In fact, it shares nothing – zero – with any Skyline
saloon this time.”
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