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2012 Nissan GT-R

Overhead it's grey. Underfoot it's wet. In front of me is the 2012 Nissan GT-R, and stretching into the fog is the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife. Gulp.
It's no surprise Nissan chose to introduce the latest iteration of its reborn all-wheel drive super-coupe at the 13-mile, 150-turn "Green Hell."
This is where the twin-turbo V-6 Godzilla often was spied testing before its December 2007 launch, and where it has returned since in search of technical improvement and record production car lap times.
The latter has become a source of intense rivalry with local hero Porsche, which disputed chief Nissan test driver Toshio Suzuki's 7 minutes, 29 secononds lap (later lowered to 7:26) in 2008. "Impossible!" cried Porsche. "Learn to drive; we'll give you lessons," fired back GT-R chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno.
2012 Nissan GT R Front End In Motion 7
And on it has gone. Porsche this year reset the standard at 7 minutes, 18 seconds with its awesome 911 GT2 RS.
But Mizuno was not impressed. "We are developing the GT-R for owners and not for race drivers, and therefore the standard model will be what we continue to do," the Godzilla Godfather said."The customer should be communicated what is the performance capability of the popular, standard model, not in a special edition. There is no meaning in communicating the special-edition speed."
2012 Nissan GT R Front End In Motion 3
Mizuno was the host for our first taste of 2012 GT-R, and he intended to crown the day with a "time attack" on the record. But the inclement weather put that on hold (although now we hear the standard 2012 model reportedly clocked a 7 minute, 20 second time at the 'Ring with Suzuki at the wheel). Despite the setback, we do know that all the good stuff -- power, torque, weight, downforce, fuel economy, CO2 emissions, suspension, brakes -- have been improved (see the last page for more details). The bad stuff? Well, is there really bad stuff when it comes to the GT-R? Okay, okay, second-rate interior, buckboard low-speed ride, and rear-seat space only a gymnast could enjoy are on the list.