Should I buy a GT-R?

I’ve been looking around for something proper quick that will handle the odd trackday too. I keep coming back to the big ugly Nissan, as in terms of bang for the buck it seems there is little that can touch it. I know a few forum members have or have had them and I’m interested to hear genuine thoughts on ownership.

I had a ride in David Yu’s before he sold it. It was running about 700bhp and had the upgraded Litchfield fast-road suspension IIRC. The ride was great, the speed shocking and the way it went round corners at speeds faster than my 330i could manage was alarming. Jimmy Choo

On track they have a spectacular appetite for tyres and brakes. Foz

Why not something more trackbiased? Obviously there are heavily compromised cars like the Atom, but something like an S3 Exige S (with a 430bhp Komotec upgrade if you like) would give a very different experience, and at 1100kg it would have no issues with lotsalaps. Mik

The GT-R is just awesome. For the money nothing comes even remotely close. Not even in the same postcode. It’s a heavy car, though, so of course it will use up tyres and stuff if driven

on the limit. But you’ll still pass most things taking it relatively easy… I’d agree that it is at heart a GT, though, not a hardcore sports car. I also don’t think it’s a car that impresses enough on an initial drive (I cancelled my initial order). For me it needed time to get to know it. Its personality grows and you appreciate the subtle things. Mark BT52

Just. Do. It. There have probably been more words written about the GT-R than any other car in the last ten years and it deserves all the praise it has received and more. Seeing as the R36 will be a hybrid with electric front-wheel drive, I cannot see how the tuners will be able to get a balanced modification out of it as the motors will only be rated to a specific output, regardless of the tune of the petrol engine powering the rear wheels. As we all spend our twilight years being carted around in Google icars, we will look fondly back on the R35 as the last of the ‘affordable’ eradefining performance cars. David Yu