The 2009 Nissan GT-R SpecV breaks the law.

Actually the GT-R has been breaking the law since last year. Before then, the Japanese car industry kept its high-performance cars below a ceiling of 280 horsepower, an unwritten, yet very real limit established by the Japanese government back in 1989.

But the Nissan GT-R shattered the glass ceiling with its 480-hp twin-turbo V6. And now the 2009 Nissan GT-R SpecV pushes even farther past the barrier, further reinforcing the GT-R's status as a true supercar. Just over a year since the car's introduction, Nissan has given a shot of steroids to Godzilla, creating the most extreme road-going machine that Japan has ever seen.

And we've got the test numbers to prove it.

The Extreme Edition
Since we first spied the prototype of the 2009 Nissan GT-R SpecV while it was being tested at the Nürburgring last year, much has been reported about this high-performance version of the turbocharged, all-wheel-drive GT-R. We've heard about its lightweight carbon-fiber body parts, overboost turbo control, carbon-ceramic brakes, unique suspension setup and special tires. Now we've been invited to Nissan's test track at Tochigi, about two hours from Tokyo, to drive the SpecV. And we've brought along our VBOX to record some performance data.

For example, Mizuno says, "We thought the opposite to most engineers; we thought backward. For our GT-R, we first came up with a target curb weight of around 3,860 pounds and then thought, 'Now, what do we need to achieve that weight?'"

Time To Lose Weight
Sitting here on the asphalt at Tochigi, the 2009 Nissan GT-R SpecV looks more menacing than the standard GT-R. It wears $5,900 in optional Ultimate Black Opal paint (a shade of deep purple), as well as a grille, front brake ducts and rear wing made from lightweight carbon fiber. The forged-aluminum 20-inch wheels by Rays Engineering also reduce weight. To shed further pounds, Mizuno also directed the removal of the two tight-fitting rear seats, replacing them with soft plastic covers. The Recaro seats up front are built up from thin carbon-fiber shells to reduce weight as well.

All told, the SpecV lost 132 pounds, dropping its curb weight to 3,704 pounds. To tell the truth, though, we really had hoped as much as 220 pounds could have been dropped from the bottom line.

It is time for some more of the Mizuno mind. "The GT-R is the anyone-anywhere-anytime supercar," he says. "This is a car tailored to those drivers who really enjoy fast driving and like to push a car to its limits on a track. That's why we strived to build it with the best brakes in the world."

VDC or Launch Control?
With a nod from Mizuno, we flick the starter button and the SpecV springs to life with a deeper, throatier burble than the stock GT-R, all thanks to the titanium exhaust system we've seen before in the Nismo edition of the GT-R. The SpecV's twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 has been painted black instead of silver, and it gets an extra 5 hp over the original GT-R's output for a total of 485 hp. It's not the 500 hp we hoped for, but as Mizuno explains, "That was not our aim. We wanted to lift the on-road thrill factor, not power."

As part of this effort to give the engine more punch if not more power, the turbos are allowed to exceed their customary boost level when the transmission is in the taller gears, increasing the V6's torque to 448 pound-feet between 3,500 and 5,000 rpm, an increase in peak output of 14 lb-ft.

As we readied ourselves to unleash the car for an acceleration run, Mizuno made sure that we knew about the retuned VDC stability control unit, a modification for all GT-Rs, including the SpecV. He strongly suggested that we leave the VDC engaged, as revisions to the engine's programming (including more midrange boost, we suspect) mean that the car is now as fast with the VDC engaged as it used to be with it disengaged.

"Oh, so you don't want us to use the launch control?" we said with a smile.

To which he replied with a half smile of his own, "What are you talking about? The GT-R has no such feature." Mizuno was just toeing the Nissan company line, because Japanese regulations specify that road cars cannot have launch control systems.

Quick Reactions
Since we're leaving the VDC engaged, there's no need for a dramatic getaway with the tires spinning and the engine pegged at 4,500 rpm. Too much stress on the gearbox, Mizuno reminds us. Instead we take his advice and just transfer our right boot gently off the brake and floor the throttle.

The 2009 Nissan GT-R SpecV takes off instantly with virtually no tire spin, and the car catapults to 60 mph from a standstill in 3.7 seconds (3.3 seconds with 1 foot of rollout), while the quarter-mile flies by in 11.5 seconds at 124.2 mph. This compares with our recent retest of our long-term GT-R with its new Nissan-mandated recalibrated VDC switched on, which gets to 60 mph from a standstill in 3.6 seconds (3.4 seconds with 1 foot of rollout) and makes its pass through the quarter-mile in 11.7 seconds at 118.5 mph.

We're impressed. This is a different testing venue than we have in the U.S. (not to mention a different test driver), but once the proper weather correction factors are taken into account, the SpecV appears to be running with the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. The supercharged 638-hp ZR1 does zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds (3.5 seconds with 1 foot of rollout) and gets through the quarter-mile in 11.5 seconds at 128.3 mph.

Driving the Cones
Yet we expect to be even more impressed by the SpecV's performance in the slalom. This new suspension setup has been optimized by the Nissan engineers for a preferred mix of street and track capability, and the Bilstein dampers are not adjustable.

These tires might look like standard 20-inch Bridgestone Potenza RE070Rs, but they're not. To withstand the extreme braking produced by the SpecV's brake setup with its carbon-ceramic rotors and Brembo callipers (six-piston units in front and four-piston items in the rear), Mizuno asked Bridgestone to add rigidity to the sidewalls and shoulders and then to produce a tread pattern that puts more rubber in contact with the road (which sounds to us somewhat like the Dunlop SP Sport tire on the standard GT-R).

There's a titanic amount of grip. On the skid pad at Tochigi, we get 1.12g, a sensational improvement over the stock all-wheel-drive GT-R's 0.93g. This performance also edges the Corvette ZR1, which we've measured at 1.06g.

Pushing the all-wheel-drive SpecV through the slalom, we immediately notice just how much more composed this GT-R is at speed. There's no understeer and the steering is alive with more feedback from the tires than ever before. Unfortunately there are issues with our data-logging technique, but help from some VBOX experts in Japan seems to peg our speed at 74.7 mph, almost 1 mph faster than our long-term GT-R with its Bridgestone Potenza RE070R tires. This also puts the SpecV on par with the Corvette ZR1.

When it comes to braking from 60 mph, though, we're unable to crack 106 feet. We might not be putting enough heat into the carbon-ceramic rotors, although a stop from this speed is also largely a matter of tires, not brakes. Or maybe the problem is dust on the asphalt. Who knows?

At Last, We Really Drive
Mizuno next points us in the direction of the winding test track at the back of the facility. We do our first lap of Nissan's 2-mile course at about 80 percent of the SpecV's potential just to warm up the brakes. The next lap we open the throttle more and leave our braking later, diving deeper and deeper into each successive corner. And the SpecV just keeps delivering, inviting us even deeper into the turns.

Nothing can really prepare you for the galactic braking force from carbon-ceramic brakes used to full effectiveness from high speed. We were told that up to 2 Gs of deceleration are being generated under full braking from 150 mph. Yes, it feels that brutal as your body slumps forward irresistibly when you hammer the brake pedal, like braking in a GT racing car. But the SpecV remains stable even under such extreme deceleration, lending you an eerie sense of calm even as the corner rushes toward you. You almost feel as though you are coming out of cinematic hyperspace, as the blurred scenery slows down and comes into focus. The only downside is that when the time comes to replace the rotors and pads, you'd better have $50,000 in your back pocket.

As we exited yet another corner at Nissan's Tochigi test track, we flicked the switch on the steering wheel that engages the high-gear boost control, just to see what all the fuss is about. The switch gives you an extra 14 lb-ft of torque between 3,500 and 5,000 rpm for 80 seconds. "Just enough for a half lap of a racetrack like Fuji International Speedway," explains Mizuno.

Twice as Much?
In the 2009 Nissan GT-R SpecV, Mizuno has created a GT-R track special that's packing prodigious brakes, super-grippy rubber and a suspension setup that generates both ample traction and acceptable ride levels. But all this comes at a premium — $161,800. That's double the price of the base GT-R, not to mention $50,000 more than the Corvette ZR1. At this price, the SpecV could be a hard sell in Japan, even if Nissan is building only 30 examples per month. There are no plans to bring the SpecV to the U.S.

Just to keep our interest in the evolution of Japan's greatest ever car, Nissan will turn up at the Nürburgring with the SpecV in April, intending to break the GT-R's lap time of 7:29 set last year.

And there's more GT-R in the pipeline. Mizuno tells us, "The SpecV, in contrast to what you might be thinking, is not the high-performance version of the GT-R." That's right. Mr. GT-R has more magic up his sleeve.

Any Nissan GT-R enthusiast will tell you, the most potent variant has always had a "Spec V" emblem on it. It was true with the R34, and it's true with the R35, the current GT-R. We didn't know if Nissan was even going to build a SpecV variant of the new GT-R until several months ago, and since then, information about the car had been sketchy. Well, there's some good news and some bad. The good? The SpecV is officially on sale, and it's every bit as good as you would expect. The bad? It's not going on sale in the U.S.

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When you look at the new GT-R's specifications, they don't seem that different from the base car's. Under the hood is the same VR38DETT engine, with output increased a mere 5 bhp to 485 bhp; torque remains at 434 lb.-ft. But when you drop your butt down into the seats and get the car going, it's immediately apparent that this is far from the base GT-R.

The first thing you notice when you climb into the SpecV is it's a 2-seater. The rear seats have been removed, leaving two large crevices lined with what Nissan claims is the same quilted fabric used inside fighter jets. Push the Start Engine button, and the V-6 lets out a deeper and more melodic song, thanks to a new exhaust with titanium-coated dual pipes. As in the 2010 GT-R, the GT-R SpecV's "launch control" has been reprogrammed to work at slightly lower rpm.

There's no wheel chirp when the SpecV leaves the line, just a smooth non-dramatic pop. When the engine is fully unleashed, it revs so fast that you have to anticipate reaching the rev limiter, flicking the upshift paddle just as it hits 7000 rpm. The SpecV is more than 130 lb. lighter, and you can feel the difference when leaving the line. Our black test car hit 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. Once the upshift to 4th was made, the car's High Geared Boost Control kicks in, giving you an added shot of power in gears 4, 5 and 6. This technology was created to help the SpecV squirt out of medium-speed corners, providing an extra helping of torque at lower engine speeds. It also helped the car post an impressive quarter-mile time of 11.3 seconds at 124.8 mph.

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The SpecV's stopping power was phenomenal. Giant carbon ceramic vented discs have been installed front and rear, along with special ceramic pads. They combined to provide amazing stopping power and little fade, even after extended hot-lapping. By themselves, these brakes cost an astounding $50,000 per set.

On a handling course, the SpecV handled like a lightweight sports car, with improved steering feel and response. The car's basic suspension setup remains the same, but the SpecV gets special Bilstein shocks, which kept the GT-R SpecV composed through all types of corners and provided a surprisingly even ride. And it scorched our handling tests, weaving through the slalom at 74.6 mph and circling the skidpad at 1.10g.

No word as to when, or if, the SpecV will come to the U.S., but we're keeping our fingers crossed. As of now, Japan is the only country where it is being sold. The GT-R SpecV is one of those special cars that don't come by very often, and it would be a shame if the Americans were left out of this party.

The test done on the GT-R was a Fahrberichte, which means that they´ve test driven it more to describe what the car feels like, not to set a fast laptime. The important result will come when they've done their Supertest, that´s the only thing that means anything. Nothing else. No other car magazines Ringtime means anything, only SportAuto. It´s the only test where you can compare times for different cars since it´s the same driver every time. The closest you can get when not driving different cars back to back on the same day

We can safely report that the time of 7:22.4 is absolutely bogus. We finally got confirmation from Tadge Juechter (Corvette Chief Engineer) that Jan Magnussen was State-side during the time period that the car was at the 'Ring, thereby completely negating the possibility of him driving the car during that session.

When we went to print, we couldn't get anybody to deny the time, and due to the margin between Magnussen's time and Merro's 7:26.4, we felt the '22.4 lap time was entirely plausible.

Thanks for revisiting the issue and we appreciate you bringing it to our attention.
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Calvin Kim
Assistant Road Test Editor

The only downside is that when the time comes to replace the rotors and pads, you'd better have $50,000 in your back pocket.

O and where is your outcry regarding the False Ringtime of the ZR1?
http://forums.roadandtrack.com/showp...76&postcount=2

Here is my .02 on this topic. Nissan did the things to make the car a more formidable track toy. They lowered the car 130lbs, which seems insignificant, EXCEPT, they did it to lower the center of gravity .. and reduce sprung weight. Both of which are significant on a road course. Also, the 5 hp increase also seems insignificant, except, it was done with the intent of adding more power at the right time. Launching, and mid-corner to improve corner exit, again to improve track performance. These two things, coupled with the improved performance / intelligence of the ECU and TCM, will allow the car to be significantly faster on a road course.

Also, notice the 1.1 on the skidpad, this is no joke. The best I have seen for the ZR1 (and I have searched a few mags) was 1.04 by PM (popular mechanics), most magazines initially were predicting less then 1G, hovering around .99.

This car is like a specialized fighter, designed to dissect and destroy other cars on a track day, and then get in, and drive 500m home with the A/C running. That is all. Yes, the changes would seem insignificant, but on a tight course, the GTR SV would be faster than most anything RWD, and very few would come close for reliability / performance in the AWD category. On larger tracks, with high speed corners, the edge would go to the HP cars, because the AWD weight and lack of 'overall' power will be a deficit.

In summary, my thoughts are this. It is a phenom car, and a benchmark for what cars should shoot for with regard to technology, relaibility, and adaptability to purpose ( in this instance ... it is road course racing). It is not, a street cruiser, or a drag car, Nissan obviously cars as much about going straight as most of you do about going to a track day on a road course. The mods to the SV were signficant, and purposeful, like a athlete perfecting his form for his event. It is not intended to do anything but, stop, turn, accelerate, and repeat. Few, who buy this car will ever get the true performance this car can deliver, but that aside, it will take an accomplished driver to pilot a ZR1 or a Viper ACR (from the factory, with no 'custom' corner-weighting for a specific driver.. which I do think is bad *** BTW) around a circuit faster all things being equal. Especially if the turns get tight and the track short like VIR patriot, CMP, or TGP.

However, as we all know, the odds of running across a stock GTR in the coming months are slim, as aftermarket support grows and the ECU and TCM get cracked. And ... knowing most tuners are getting 700whp from the engine with no mods to the fuel system .. I would suggest ZR1 owners will have their hands full, provided they don't up the anty as well.

Either way .. should be quite interesting.