Saturday, August 18, 2007

Nissan Skyline GTR 2009
























Nissan engineers are working hard on putting the finishing touches to the new Nissan Skyline GT-R, which will debut at the next Tokyo auto show (october 24th). While we wait for official photos, the japanese magazines Response.jp and Holiday Auto have some very interesting information regarding the price and the engine of this new super-car from Nissan.

According to Holiday Auto, the engine will be called VR38, part of a new family of extremely light engines, built with extensive use of aluminium, titanium and magnesium. The VR family will be very different from the VQ family of V6 engines, used in a good portion of Nissan/Infiniti coupes and sedans.

The VR38 engine will be a V6 with a 3.8-liters capacity, with two variable geometry turbines with a pressure of 1.47 bar. Valvelift and timing will be variable, thanks to the new Nissan system called VVEL.

Power output will be 480 ps at 6,800 rpm, but the VR38 engine will have more than 90% of top power still available between 6,800 and 7,500 rpm (redline at 7,600 rpm). Torque will be impressively linear: 580 Nm constant between 1,700 and 5,600 rpm.

The GT-R will be based on a Premium Midship platform, which has a weight distribution of 50/50 on the front and rear axles. The 4WD system and the weight distribution is a good premise for the road handling characteristics of the GT-R.