For car buffs it's baffling (and pretty cool, too) to see a $70,000 Nissan weighing nearly 4,000 lbs whoop up on lighter, more powerful cars. The GT-R lapped more than five seconds quicker than a Corvette Z06 and 911 Turbo at Buttonwillow Raceway during Road and Track's test, and Car and Driver pulled off some pretty incredible numbers during theirs, running 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds and the quarter mile in just 11.5 seconds. However, some have questioned the numbers. How does the GT-R, which has a weight-to-horsepower ratio 25% higher than the Turbo and Z06, beat both around the racetrack?
Motor Trend questioned the numbers too, and decided to check for themselves when they received a GT-R to review. They took the GT-R over to K&N Engineering in San Bernardino, CA, who strapped it to their in-house chassis dyno to see just how much horsepower the car was making. Three separate runs in fourth gear netted an average of about 430 horsepower at the wheels. Assuming a conservative 15% drivetrain loss, the GT-R is actually producing more than 500 horsepower and 500 lb-ft torque at the flywheel. That helps explain the numbers, but it won't give 911 Turbo and Corvette Z06 owners any comfort. Thanks for the tip, Jake!
