Godzilla Has Grown: 2018 Nissan GT-R R35

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Oh, yeah! Godzilla’s at it once again. While in all Japanese horror movies (and the Hollywood produced series) people normally get terrified by a skyscraper eating monster, gearheads scream in delight at the name Godzilla. After all, you are witnessing a car boasting supercar performance for the price of a boring V6 S-Class Benz. Over the years, the GT-R made a veritable reputation munching Lamborghinis for breakfast, Ferraris at lunch and enjoying McLarens for dinner.

But as with anyone, the R35 is getting old. Nine years have already passed since Nissan thrown out the undisputed boogieman of the automotive world. Nissan’s progressive upgrades and design updates to Godzilla have helped it age gracefully.

Quieter, therefore wiser?

For the untrained (or better, uninterested) eye, design differences are relatively hard to spot when parking a 2009 GT-R side by side to a 2018 GT-R. However, changes are numerous and while they may be subtle, they are just as profound.

The previous rendition of the GT-R R35 was heavily contested because of its noisy interior. According to many owners, mechanical sounds were a bit too intrusive. The 2017 and 2018 models are softer. According to Hiroshi Tamura (Nissan GT-R product specialist), you should be able to cruise at 186 mph (300 km/h) and still have a conversation with your passenger without shouting to each other followed by a “huh?” and “what did you say?”. Although this is a rather ridiculous example of its quieter characteristics. We doubt most owner’s will encounter this scenario, especially for daily commuting or running errands to the grocery store at speeds most consumer cars don’t even feature on the dial.

Extra insulation and an acoustic windshield deaden outside sound. At this point, active noise cancellation drops sound levels to an estimated 10 decibels. The figure is neither too low to believe nor high enough to be left out. All soundproofing efforts by Nissan slightly reduce GT-R’s mechanical-sounding charm, making the R35 feel less raw but anything short of a land monster. Overall, the fight between sounds you don’t want to hear (tire noise, wind) and the ones you want to hear (engine and exhaust) is tipping towards the latter.

Shift paddles are now attached to the steering wheel and rotates alongside, which is probably the best improvement for the 2017 and 2018 models.

The real difference from the old model shows on how the 2018 Nissan GT-R drives slowly on public roads. Nissan worked hard to reduce or soften signs of old age with better quality leather seats and a revised 8-inch touchscreen. Also, there are half has many physical buttons. Some will enjoy a decluttered console while others will miss the spaceship-like control panel. Many of the buttons were replaced by a Display Command controller which works with Nissan Connect. The system shares connectivity with mobile apps and provides navigation.

Two rear seats is something you rarely see in a sportscar. The 2018 GT-R R35 makes them usable not just by kids or amputees, but by adults as well. And if that wasn’t enough, you are also getting a decent amount of trunk space. What an odd car.

Subtle outside, more power beneath the hood

If the R35 was a person, it would be kind of like Tom Cruise (forget the couch jumping incident). In other words, as it has aged, Nissan has put it under the knife again and again to maintain its youthful look. The angular bodywork still looks nice and aggressive, although not as head-turning as more contemporary models like the Lexus LC. The rear bumper draws inspiration from NISMO while the new grille brings in more air to lower temperature of the radiator and oil coolers. Harder to notice is the altered C-pillar which generates low-pressure vortices to carry along more heat away from the wheels.

Pop the hood! The 3.8-liter VR38-DETT reveals itself majestically with a red cover bordering the six chrome intake paths. The engine is now boasting 565hp (20hp more than the 2015 version) and just 1lb-ft. More torque. Power increase was accomplished via fine-tuning of the intake and exhaust and by pumping up turbo pressure values.

Enough. Start it up already!

Starting up, the 2018 Nissan GT-R shows maturity. There’s a “quiet start” option which will silence the titanium exhaust as much as possible. Really useful when you don’t want your neighbors cursing by the window as you leave late at night. It’s also extremely useful when teenagers want to sneak out their dad’s GT-R without him knowing, right?

As mentioned earlier, Nissan worked hard to provide only the right kind of noise inside the cabin. Part of the job is done by the new titanium exhaust with slight help from the audio processor. Yes, some of the exhaust you are hearing are digitally enhanced. However, the intervention is so subtle that it makes you wonder if it was really necessary.

Large improvements are noticed on public roads. Just enter “Comfort” mode and be amazed by how much softer the suspension becomes. Add a quiet cabin into the mix and you’ve got a partner for the long drive. You should be warned though: while it behaves at legal speeds, the GT-R feels like it always want to go faster. After all, going fast is part of its DNA and the car will always try to turn back to the roots.

When you reach the track

It doesn’t really matter how much road-worthy features the GT-R will acquire. The track is where it’s most at home and mind you, it isn’t shy to show it. Back in 2007, the GT-R was one of the first high performance cars to throw in a dual clutch gearbox. Adding in the famous all-wheel-drive system and an engine that gives all out resulted in the supercar killer we are witnessing to this day.

The best part is that since 2007, the GT-R only became better with each generation. Now, close to its dawn (as a new GT-R is supposed to come out in 2019), Godzilla shows its most impressive performance.

Sometimes, you will have to fight it – especially when driving to the limit. The all-wheel-drive system takes torque and constantly redistributes it across the drivetrain. The car wants to go fast and will put up a good fight when you will force it into silly angles. It’s not that it doesn’t want to slide. However, it’s a 3,950lb (1790kg) car which will direct the weight to the wheels, forcing them against the tarmac and creating insane amounts of grip. As you have probably realized, it is no mistake that the GT-R weighs as much as a teenage elephant. The new Dunlop SP Maxx tires are also getting credit for being sticky and stable under high dynamic circumstances.

But how on Earth is it possible to be heavy and fast? Is the 2018 GT-R bending the laws of physics? If you’ve driven it for a while, you start wondering if Godzilla makes its own rules when it comes to natural forces.

Steering is quick and provides medium feedback, compensating for the heavyweight. The 565hp engine will pick up the pace from lower RPMs with a bit of delay; turbochargers don’t seem to spool up fast enough to quickly exit a hairpin turn. On the other hand, the unmistakable sound of air being pulled into the intake once the RPM rises is part of GT-R’s personality.

What’s left to say?

Looking in perspective, it seems that the 2018 Nissan GT-R R35 lost some of its edge that made the sports coupe so popular in its younger years. On the other hand, the space was filled with enhanced road comfort. You can now find yourself driving several hundred miles at around 26 mpg without getting back cramps or being annoyed by an irritating amount of road noise.

Once you’ve entered the track, Godzilla will show what it’s capable of, just like a retired boxer who has been challenged by a newbie at the bar. With a fast steering, huge amounts of grip and 565 horses, the GT-R will do anything in its power to go fast, sometimes having a will of its own.

Take it back onto the road, switch the branded button back to comfort and the radioactive lizard goes into hibernation, ready to come back out whenever the driver demands it.