Nissan GT-R

1:18 AUTOart M i l l e n n i u m

Drive past the bustling city of Tokyo and you'll find trees and mountains in place of steel and granite structures. The place is Tochigi and it is here where Godzilla is born. Nearly everything seems to be moving faster than the speed of light in the Land of the Rising Sun and the new Nissan GT-R is no exception. As Japan's first real supercar, the GT-R had high expectations to live up to. Prior generations of the car known as the Skyline GT-R were legendary for their ability to be transformed into high powered monsters but they never reached supercar status. This was in part because Nissan had chosen to not sell the Skyline globally.

For 2008 that all changed. Nissan came out swinging and brought us the GT-R. An all new sleeker body style, the most advanced technologies and a world class engine combine to form the greatest Nissan ever produced and a car that not only matches but exceeds those from Europe and America in terms of performance and style. As they say, "The Legend Is Real".

For around $80,000 U.S. you get one of the quickest road legal cars on the planet. Let's look at some of the stats:

0-60mph in 3.2 seconds

480 BHP 3.8-liter twin-turbo charged 24-valve V6

434 lb. ft.

ATTESA E-TS® All-Wheel Drive

193mph Top Speed

The Nissan GT-R has taken the automotive world by storm besting some of the greatest supercars to come from Maranello, Sant'Agata and the USA. It's as fast to 60mph as a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. It's as fast around a track as an Enzo. All for a little more than the cost of a Corvette Z06. Recently, Nissan took the revised 2010 GT-R back to the Nurburgring and it clocked a 7:26.7. You can check out the times right here: Nurburgring Lap Times

Like most popular cars, model makers are eager to get theirs out to collectors and AUTOart was the first to do so. Kyosho's GT-R is available in black but they have yet to release any other colors in the U.S. I waited a few months after the AUTOart came out to see whether the Kyosho was the better model. However, after seeing the panel gaps and short cuts taken on certain crucial areas of the model I decided on the AUTOart for my collection and I'm glad I did. It represents the GT-R well and it displays like no other model, especially in Ultimate Silver. It comes in one of their new boxes that features a 360 degree view of the model. I like these better than traditional boxes because they act as a display case and a box all in one. AUTOart makes the GT-R in silver, white, dark metallic gray, black and red.

 

 

Exterior

Typical of all AUTOart replicas, the GT-R features perhaps the sharpest lines of any diecast manufacturer, no matter the price range. Panel gaps are so thin you might have a problem opening the doors and hood as I do! For the doors, I find the best way to open them was to gently pull the mirrors. The hood is another story. I try to find a place for a finger nail near the windshield and slide my finger forward until the hood opens slightly and then I can open it normally. Around the model you'll find that every badge is a separate piece including the miniscule GT-R badges on each of the side vents. These little guys are photo etched and painted with the red "R". Nice touch indeed. The front and rear badges are also 3D pieces and are either metal or painted plastic. The little "R" 's are also painted red on both of these badges as well. On the trunk lid you'll find a centered Nissan badge with the "Nissan" name being embossed. The same badges are used on my Nissan 350Z, also by AUTOart.

 

A signature design element on the Nissan GT-R are the manga-style headlamps. From the front the car is unmistakably Japanese and looks as though it drove straight out of a manga comic book. AUTOart chose to not spend much time of the little details such as the reflective panel above the main projector beams. In the real car this area is clear. Here it is a silver piece of plastic. It works though but it isn't quite correct. Same goes for the projector beams. They are the correct size and shape but are molded plastic pieces coated with a chrome finish. No separate lenses or anything. Again, though, it seems to work and unless you're 1 inch from the fixtures you won't notice. The two front side markers are apparently glued in place and are clear, as per Japan-spec. The front grilles are perforated and feature metal mesh. The air intakes on the hood are also perforated and look amazing in their dark metallic gray color. The side air vents are not perforated but are well defined.

All glass, or plastic rather, is clear with no finger prints or haze issues. Windshield wipers are nicely done and the side mirrors are securely attached. The door handles are very well made and sit flush with the doors as they should. On the silver car you don't notice but AUTOart forgot to paint the handles body color. The only area that is silver is the actual flip out handle(the rounded section). The little black buttons are the door locks. There are no actual keys to the GT-R since it uses Nissan's Intellikey system for a keyless entry and engine start.

Moving to the rear of the car the C-pillars have that distinctive kink which Nissan says helps direct air over the car. The rear side markers are also clear and are glued in place as well. The rear tail lights sit below the menacing rear wing. AUTOart couldn't have made these any better either what with their realistic lenses and colors. Also worth mentioning are the little LED's visible in each light housing! Below the tail lights are four large titanium exhaust pipes. They are hollowed out and are painted black on the inside which is something more manufacturers need to do. In the center of the rear, and in the front of the car, are Nissan branded license plates. I do wish AUTOart would use real license plates like Kyosho does with their dealer edition BMW's. Still, they are well attached and look the part.

 

Paint

Lately AUTOart has been getting complaints about quality control issues, mainly paint related, especially on this particular model. My example is nearly perfect save for a small scratch on the passenger side door and a small ding on the trunk. Both are hardly visible but are worth noting. The rest of the car looks perfect. No mismatched body panels or anything. AUTOart was smart and used metal for both the front and rear bumpers instead of plastic to avoid the all too common mismatched fascias on some of their other releases. I'm not sure if they used the actual Ultimate Silver paint but based on its hue, metallic flake size and liquid appearance I wouldn't doubt it.

 

 

Interior

I had hoped AUTOart would have raised the bar on the interior but sadly they haven't. There are the usual mid to premium level features such as carpeting and photo etched tongues hanging on cloth seat belts. The roof has a head liner and looks nicely finished. The gauges are legible and are covered with clear plastic just like in the real car. The steering wheel is true to the 1:1 and has a 3D GT-R badge in the center. The center console is painted the correct silver to simulate the real cars' aluminum finish. The emergency brake is present and right ahead of it is the red starter button. The shift knob is also nicely done and looks good as per the real GT-R. The front seats are the proper size and the drivers seats has the correct extra support on the seat. Between the rear seats are the speakers. These would be the optional BOSE sub woofers if this were the Premium model. It looks quite good but the whole interior looks and feels plastic from up close. Everything is hard plastic. Maisto manages to use soft feeling plastics and rubber in their models yet AUTOart still refuses to. Not a bad effort but for the price is could and should be better.

 

Engine

If the Nissan GT-R is Godzilla, then the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 is it's heart. It puts out 480 plus brake horsepower and even at 18 times smaller than the real engine the 1:18 manages to make your hair stand on end. Just imagine the shear amount of go this car has. It rockets to triple digits faster than you can read the previous two sentences. AUTOart did well on it actually which surprised me. The Nissan badge on the engine cover is photo etched but even more impressive is the sharp detail. Things like the little bolt holes and the words "CARBON FIBER COMPOSITE" are all there. There is also a hood prop but this surely must have been a last minute add on since it doesn't really fit. Literally. It's too long to fit under the hood and there isn't even a hole to place it in! Each fluid reservoir cap is marked and the engine is fully plumbed and wired. The hinges used are marvelous. They are an exact match of the GT-R's hinges and move freely while still providing enough resistance to keep the hood open. A place where AUTOart seldom excels this is a welcome change.

 

Wheels, Tires and Brakes

One area where AUTOart seems to always rule is in the rim department and this model is no exception to that. Painted a brilliant silver they match the GT-R winter package rims to a tee. The design has been replicated so well I have to say they are perfect. Little photo etched Nissan badges reside in the center of each rim and while some have complained about them being off center I don't really see any issue with my model. Tires are the winter package correct all season Dunlop's although they are unbranded. I can tell they are correct because of the tread pattern. The tires also feature a rim saver design for when you get too close to that curb. The brake discs are cross-drilled and spin freely. Fixed correctly colored gold calipers have little Brembo logos. And just like the real car, the tires are staggered width. Excellent work by AUTOart.

 

Undercarriage

The underside of the GT-R is pretty much barren. No engine detail can be seen and AUTOart has captured that look well! Nothing to be seen here folks! OK, there is a nice looking exhaust pipe and some type of bracing for the AWD drive system. AUTOart also correctly molded the rear diffuser in a carbon fiber texture. The suspension arms are silver and you can see a few linkages as well. Not much they could do since the real car is so sparse underneath but its a solid job.

 

Real car shown

 

 

Trunk

Normally I wouldn't give the trunk it's own section. Let's face it, how often to do you think about a cars' trunk? In this case it's one of the prominent features of the model and provides one of the coolest diecast details I have ever seen. I have seen various attempts at non-intrusive hinges in the past from Minichamps on their Bentley's and Audi RS4 but these surpass even those. AUTOart has truly created a work of art. These little diecast jewels look exquisite but they are fully functional. The gas struts keep the trunk open while the lid itself glides along smoothly on the little hinges. The whole mechanism is held together with what must be the smallest screws I have ever seen. As collectors we notice things like dog leg hinges and you realize how much they impact the realism of a model once you've seen these. AUTOart, even for all their faults, have raised the bar a few notches above the competition.

 

 

Conclusion

 

It's no wonder Motor Trend named the Nissan GT-R the 2009 Car of the Year winner. AUTOart's well-made replica could very well be the model of the year. It has a few short comings but the overall package is too damn good to ignore. I highly recommend it to anyone who collects supercars, Nissan's or only Skyline's. While the model is priced a little too high, the real GT-R also shocks with it's price tag. In a good way. One of the cheapest speed thrills is also one of the most capable. Grip, down force and raw power combine to achieve the impossible. For a car that weighs almost 2-tons, its amazing to think it can run the famed Nordschleife track at Nurburgring at a record pace. 7.26.7.

That time says it all. The Legend Is Real.

 

 

 

 

April 30th, 2009