I've finally realised that the Nissan GTR is overrated

I’m a diehard Nissan fan, no doubt. But I’ve recently come to agree with the opinion held by a few regarding the hype and attention towards the Nissan GTR within the automotive world and industry: It’s overated.

Yes it’s fast as hell, it can lap the Nurburgring faster than a Porsche 911 yet costs half as much. It’s double-clutch gearbox changes gears instantaneously, and its Gran-Turismo inspired infotainment system will please any Sony fan. But apart from it winning the numbers game, I agree to some extent that too much attention has been paid to what it can pull in the numbers department when compared to other supercars in the world.

I only came to this notion when I went to an auto show in Hong Kong back in December last year. A number of tuning companies were showcasing there, with pretty much all of them using a Nissan GTR as their ‘demo’ car.

All of them, with their bonnets’ open proudly showing their VR38DETT units accompanied these company’s displays at the show. Apart from a few modifications to each model in order to reflect each company’s tuning theme/focus (e.g interiors, wraps, engine tuning, or wheels), the GTR at each booth was the only central display for the exhibiting companies.

I understand why those companies that day may have stuck to using the Nissan GTR as their show cars. Maybe they were pre-existing demo cars that they worked on specifically for that day. Maybe they were the only model available for the week the car show took place. Or more to the point, due to the common public knowledge of how impressive performance-wise the GTR is, it’s the most direct car to symbolise “tuning and performance” and sell their tuning products to such a vast customer base at the show. Anything else, might be hard for the general public to understand or get the feeling of “performance” from within the environment they are trying to capture.

I am not spouting hate or disdain against the GTR, I admire what Nissan engineers’ have achieved and set the bar for performance within the automotive industry. I am still a Nissan fan at heart, but certain points such as the interior (even in the latest 2016 refreshed model), the PlayStation-esque infotainment system, and the exterior I cannot ignore: those aspects of the GTR as a modern supercar are starting to show their age compared to more current models available today. And I can also agree that the GTR is being used too much as a number trump card within the car scene: too many people assume it’s the best because of its numbers (as in the case of the Bugatti Veyron). I’m just joining the notion that both car-focused and general car fans cannot focus entirely on the GTR for its figures and assume its the best one. There are other interesting cars that don’t just trump every other car through generic numbers from a variety of manufacturers.