[original post date: 02/10/2009] I honestly believe that the new Nissan GT-R has sparked quite an interest and crave for launch control. Many cars way before the Nissan GT-R have had their own system for a launch control either in a SMG transmission in the E46 BMW M3 or the Volkswagen’s early DSG found in the GTI.

The ultimate crave for launch control baffles me but you have to understand that I would take a full manual transmission any day over a, what Jeremy Clarkson calls them, floppy paddle gear box. Even with Nissans woes with grenaded transmissions in the GT-R, launch control is still a big hit. Even Hitler “had to launch it”.

Ever since the introduction of drive-by-wire, auto manufacturers have been toying with new electronics that improve upon the over-all safety of a vehicle. New systems come standard in many vehicles now such as dynamic skid control or also known as vehicle dynamic control or electronic stability control (name varies from each manufacturer). Many of these new systems utilize a combination of computer operated units from the ABS braking, traction control and accelerator control. I am sure if manufacturers thought they could play with these systems and make a car safer then why not develop a precise method for accelerating a vehicle with a computer to make it faster.

It is all a numbers game if you think about it. I am sure many car enthusiasts, including yourself, may have experimented with dropping your clutch at a certain RPM to get the full potential out of a launch from a dead-stop. Even you guys with automatics have almost perfected holding the brake pedal while stomping on the accelerator in preparation for a ‘launch’. What if your car could do this for you? Well, many new exotic and sports cars can but it does take the use of a special transmission or a manual transmission that is controlled by a computer, except in Porsches’ case with their newest launch control system on a full manual transmission.

Where did this idea and technology come from?

If you think about it, F1 cars among other racing cars were already using a type of the technology that we see in today’s cars fitted with dual clutch transmissions and SMG (Sequential Manual Gearbox) units. Racing is where it begins… most times. From the F1 cars now shifting well under 60 milliseconds to the Nissan GT-R’s dual clutch shifting time of around 200 milliseconds, computers have taken cars to a new level of performance where a human just simply cannot match yielding a much higher level of performance.

Cars with Launch Control

Many of the baby boomers know ‘launch control’ to be something only NASA quotes in the control room during a space shuttle launch. Now we can all experience a ‘horizontal’ launch in many of today’s technologically advanced performance vehicles.

So which cars have launch control? Below is a short list that we have compiled of all vehicles with an available launch control. If we missed any please post a comment below and let us know.

Please note: Some of the vehicles included on the list may only have a staging RPM setting which some may call “launch control” but it is not as involved as a fully automated launch control or uses a sequential shifting transmission (paddle shifter) such as in the Nissan GT-R.

• Audi R8
• Audi TT
• BMW M3
• BMW M5
• BMW M6
• Bugatti Veyron
• Chevrolet Corvette/ZR1
• Ferrari 360cs
• Ferrari 599 GTB/GTO
• Ferrari F430/Scuderia
• Ferrari 458 Italia
• Lamborghini Gallardo/LP560
• Lamborghini Murcielago/LP640
• Lexus LFA
• Mercedes Benz McLaren SLR
• Mercedes Benz SL63 AMG
• Mercedes Benz SLS AMG
• Mitsubishi Evo Lancer Evolution/MR
• Nissan GT-R
• Porsche 911/Carrera/S/GT2
• Volkswagen GTI/Golf/Rabbit/R32

Various videos demonstrating launch control below after the jump…

All of you Carbon Fiber junkies come and join me on the Nissan GT-R bandwagon as a Japanese tuner Original Runduce hints at a full carbon-fiber wide-body Nissan GT-R R35.

The final details of the wide-body carbon-fiber Nissan GT-R are a secret for now except from what we can see in the sketched image. Rumor has it that this GT-R will feature over 600hp and make a debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2010 in January.

What is your take on an all-carbon-fibered-out wide-body GT-R? My first thought is that it better have some better wheels than the ones in shown in the sketch. Hit up the comment section below!

[sources: bornrich via carscoop]

2013 Nissan GT-R Artist Rendering

Just about every car enthusiast loves the Nissan GT-R but as far as ownership goes, well, that’s another story. Either way, car enthusiasts love to hear the latest buzz about the infamous Godzilla “supercar” from Japan. The recent rumors that have been circulating for some time now will tell you that the next generation Nissan GT-R (2013 model year) will be a Hybrid. According to InsideLine, the 2013 Nissan GT-R will still use the same 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 plus a new battery powered electric drive powertrain as found in the 2009 Infiniti Essence Concept.

The total power from the new GT-R Hybrid should be about 600hp and the added weight from the setup of 2 electric motors would be shed in other places to keep the GT-R a worthy sports-car that can still shatter performance records.

It is also speculated that the Nissan GT-R Hybrid would cost upwards of $100,000usd and get 25 to 30 miles per gallon. With coupling in the electric drivetrain in the next GT-R, we expect performance numbers to only get better considering the added/instant torque you get from electric motors.

Do you think this is a good idea? What are your thoughts on a Nissan GT-R Hybrid?

[source: InsideLine]

Could you only imagine having a job driving a new Nissan GT-R as fast as you want on public streets? Not to mention with this job you can pull over whoever you want and chase down whomever. This is what the Abu Dhabi Police force has to offer for some very lucky officer, a new Nissan GT-R to drive around in and fight crime.

Its no doubt that you will find some of the most amazing AND bizzar looking vehicles in Abu Dhani and the new Nissan GT-R Police car did not fall far from that very tree. The paint scheme is very nicely done with a set of bright LED police lights mounted on the roof. Sure the statement “you can’t outrun the radio” holds true but you would be hard pressed to find something that can outrun this Police car.

[source: nationalpost]

Illtech Tuning Auto Salon’s Cody Johnson sits down for an exclusive interview by Driving Sports TV for a look at the Illtech R35 Nissan GT-R. As Cody explains in the video, their GT-R project car has many tuning modifications in the works. The initial tuning allows the GT-R to put down just over 600hp and 600 ft-lbs of torque to the wheels all on 92 octane gas.

Future plans include the adaptation of methanol or race fuel and a rebuild of the transmission or switch to a 6-speed manual to handle the added power. Exterior aesthetics are highlight by the iForged 22 inch wheels and an aftermarket exhaust that makes the sweetest sound I have heard from a GT-R so far.

Enjoy the exclusive video: Taming the Serpent: Illtech’s R35 GT-R.

Oh, check out the other cars in the background. Is that an AE86 I see?

[source: Driving Sports]

Last fall, many will remember the unusual rivalry that came about between Porsche and Nissan all of which centered around the famed Nurburgring. Nissan’s then-new GT-R was said to turn a near unheard of lap time in stock trim around the ‘Ring while Porsche rebutted that Nissan’s new super car couldn’t beat their own Turbo or GT2′s lap time.

What followed was a series of press releases and on-board timed videos as well as questions to what constituted full lap of the ‘Ring. It all became a bit silly watching two automotive giants duke it out over a strip of German asphalt in the name of improved lap times for marketing and bragging rights. Thankfully, it all quieted down.

That is until now. Porsche has just released information on the updated 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo – one of the most storied models in their line-up. Given last year’s battle royale with Nissan, the boys from Stuttgart aren’t pulling any punches. The revised Turbo weighs in 55 lbs lighter – something good to see companies paying attention to – and another 20 horsepower stronger than the 2009 model. Part of the additional horsepower comes from the fact that Porsche bumped the displacement of the engine from 3.6L to 3.8L along with the addition of direct injection. Over all, Porsche has slashed about 10 seconds from the existing Tutbo’s Nurburgring lap time to a highly impressive 7:39. However, this still puts Porsche 10 seconds off of the supposed pace of the Nissan GT-R according to Nissan’s figures – we’re already waiting for the Nurburgring times to be verified by each company.

(Source: AutoCar)

Just when you thought the Nissan GT-R could not get any better, Steve Millen takes it to a whole new level as demonstrated in Road & Track’s featured article, “GT-R showdown: Stock vs. Stillen”.

You are still hard-pressed to find a desirable moded Godzilla, or Nissan GT-R, that has been improved in all performance aspects of the vehicle. Steve Millen’s crew has done just that with a leaner and meaner beast of a GT-R. This one is magnificent!

Quoted highlights from the Road & Track article:

“We have a lot of adjustability in the car,” Millen said. “We can change the ride height, the rebound and so on. But we’re really trying to keep the tires on the ground — that’s the key. And we’ll adjust the car to make that happen.”

Stillen’s GT-R leapt out of the box spinning all four tires for a run to 60 mph in an astonishing 2.9 sec. The experience in the stock version, whose launch control rpm has been lowered to 3000 rpm for 2010, was far more mundane, although 3.5 sec. is still impressively quick.

The sheer power of the Stillen was further proven by its 11.0-sec. quarter mile run at 127.9 mph, vs. the stock GT-R’s 11.7 at 120.4. Even more telling was the run to 130 mph: Stillen in 11.4 sec., stock in 14.0 — that’s some power! What’s more, Millen says he could have easily bumped the boost to 17 psi (good for another 60 bhp or so, and no doubt a quarter-mile run well into the 10s), but he wanted us to test the car in the same power configuration in which he will run the Targa.

Interestingly, despite the weight savings Stillen achieved with its GT-R, the Targa car wasn’t quite as light compared to the production car as we thought it would be. Millen figures nearly 400 lb. was taken out of his car (he weighed most of the parts himself), but our scales registered only a 172-lb. advantage for the Stillen. What gives? For one thing, Millen’s car was a pre-production 2009 model (one of the very first cars brought into the U.S.), and although we never got a chance to throw it on our scales before the Targa build process, Millen did. He has a certificate registering 3900 lb., which means his car started out quite a bit heavier than the 3792-lb. 2010 test car. That extra 100 lb. or so, along with the addition of a rollcage that easily weighs over 100 lb., means Millen’s near-400-lb. weight-loss figure computes.

Stillen gripped just slightly better (0.98g Stillen vs. 0.96g stock). We feel this is due to the Stillen’s 172-lb. weight advantage, as well as its different suspension tuning.

But the biggest difference between the Stillen GT-R and the stock GT-R is sheer power: Bury the throttle in a side-by-side drag race — no launch control, no power-braking, just get on it and go — and the Stillen GT-R makes like Usain Bolt, easily outdistancing the production car. Just as with Bolt, it’s not even close.

STILLEN GT-R Targa Race Car

Performance Numbers (As Set Up For 2009 Targa Rally)

• Horsepower: ~620 @ 15psi (91 Octane Pump Gas)
• 0-60mph: 2.9 seconds **
• 1/4 Mile: 11.0 seconds at 127.9mph **
• 0-130mph: 11.4 seconds **
• Lateral Grip: 1.1G+ **

** (as tested by Road & Track)

Engine

• STILLEN Downpipes
• STILLEN Secondary Cat-Delete Y-Pipe
• STILLEN Race Exhaust w/Center Rear Exit
• STILLEN Intake System w/K&N Filters
• Turbosmart e-Boost Street 2-Stage Electronic Boost Controller
• Turbosmart Dual Port Blow Off Valves
• COBB Tuning AccessPORT
• Dodson Motorsports Transmission Cooler
• Red Line High Performance Synthetic Motor Oil – 0W40
• Red Line High Performance Synthetic Gear Oil – 75W140
• Red Line WaterWetter

Suspension

• High Performance Coil-Overs – Adjustable Bump & Rebound, Ride Height – Eibach Race Springs
• STILLEN Adjustable Sway Bars
• STILLEN Adjustable Endlinks

Brakes / Tires

• STILLEN / AP Racing Carbon Ceramic Brake Rotor Upgrade
• STILLEN / AP Racing Brake Pads
• STILLEN Brake Cooling Package
• STILLEN Stainless Steel Brake Lines
• AP Racing PRF High Performance Brake Fluid
• Bridgestone RE070R 255/40ZRF20 Front Tires
• Bridgestone RE070R 285/35ZRF20 Rear Tires

Interior

• STILLEN Designed & Built Custom Chromoly Roll Cage
• STILLEN Designed & Built Custom Seat Frames
• Status Racing Seats
• Status Racing Harnesses
• Monit Rally Computers
• ChaseCam On-Board Video Camera System
• Nordskog GPS Speedometer (KPH)

STILLEN Urethane Front Lip Spoiler
STILLEN Urethane Side Skirts
STILLEN Urethane Front Canards
Password:JDM Dry Carbon Fiber Custom Race Hood
Password:JDM Dry Carbon Fiber Trunk Lid
Password:JDM Dry Carbon Fiber Wing
Password:JDM Dry Carbon Fiber Engine Cover
Password:JDM Dry Carbon Fiber Radiator Shroud
Password:JDM Dry Carbon Fiber NACA Ducts
Password:JDM AeroCatch Flush Mounting Plates
APR Carbon Fiber Side Mirrors
BASF Carizzma Orange Sherbet Pearl Paint

• Read the full article on Road & Track here!
• Road & Track Stillen GT-R Video Link

The new R35 Nissan GT-R has made its way into the hearts of tuners, car lovers and the general population of automotive enthusiasts. But it does not stop with just the stock version of the Nissan GT-R, it has a big aftermarket following including Wald’s precision styling on their newest body kits for the GT-R.

We recently posted images of the Andrew Bynum’s GT-R sporting a Wald body (Aero) kit and now new images have surfaced of the “complete packages” from Wald for the new Nissan GT-R. The Wald kit not only offers aggressive styling but adds additional aerodynamic functionality while being weight-conscious at the same time.

Wald International, the Japanese tuning company known for performance and styling kits for most major brand luxury cars on the market, is making its mark well-known once again with the introduction of a brand new Nissan GT-R body kits demonstrated below in the images. Enjoy!

[source: GT-RR.com]