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Lets see if the production car is just as fast.

I like the supersized quads.

Nissan GT-R technical details


The new Nissan GT-R is an engineering playground. We hope to get our chance to play with it soon, but until then, we get pictures. Luckily, Nissan has released detailed images of the GT-R drivetrain and suspension. These reveal some of the alterations made in the GT-R design from prior models. One of the more significant changes is the placement of the transmission. The dual-clutch transmission and combination transfer case sit at the back of the car, coupled to the rear differential (that makes it a transfermissiondiffcase). It makes for more balanced weight distribution with the transmission, rear differential and transfer case counterbalancing the weight of the engine and front differential.

The turbochargers have also changed from Garrett units used in past GT-R models to IHI, a Japanese-owned company. The turbine housings (aka hot side) of the turbochargers are a combined casting with the engine exhaust manifolds. Most likely this is done to save space and for emissions reasons to ensure the catalytic converters are as close to the turbocharger outlets as possible. Each turbocharger is followed by two catalytic converters, making for a total of four. Two intercoolers are also installed, as opposed to one with two inlets, keeping the charged air for each bank of cylinders constantly separated. This is most likely done to ensure precise metering of air.

[Source: Nissan]
While staring at pictures can reveal a lot of information about the GT-R it does not provide much input into the control systems. The electronics integrated into the GT-R such as the drive-by-wire throttle bodies, dual-clutch automatic transmission and electronic controlled front differential have the potential for Nissan to create a traction control system beyond any other in existence. The potential is also there for the ATTESA all wheel drive system. In previous models it involved only feedback from wheel speed sensors, throttle position sensor and g-sensor, but this time around much more data is available to be fed into the computer controlling the torque split to the front wheels.
Gallery: 2008 Nissan GT-R Details

I'm actually quite bemused by that lack of discussion here around the technical innovations that the new GT-R brings. Here stands before us one of the most technically significant cars of the decade and... barring a few die-hards in this thread: nothing.

Oh well, hey Nissan - big props to you guys, for what it's worth, I think the new GT-R's a masterpiece from an innovation and technical appreciation point of view. Who says the Japanese are copycats...? Find me anything out there that remotely resembles this powertrain and drivetrain layout combination.

Right you are Martin.

Positioning the transmission at the rear of the car is surely intelligent as it'll help weight distribution. Come to think, I can't ever recall hearing about a front engine vehicle with it's transmission bolted in the rear. Surely there must be a few... but none come to mind.

In any event, you're right, the GT-R is undoubtedly an under-rated technological tour de force.

A lot of performance cars (front engined ones) have their transmissions (which are actually considered transaxles at that point) in the rear. The C6 Corvette is one such example. I think I recall a couple Maseratis and Ferraris that do that, too, maybe the new Alfa C8. Here's a pictures, sized super huge so you can see the gear ratios at the rear:

Ahh yes, thanks Zetableh. As is rather obvious my head wasn't screwed on properly.

I was confusing the rarity (or so I'm told) of bolting the transmission to the rear subframe on a mid-engine vehicle.
Apparently just a few feature such: McLaren F1, Ferrari F50 and Carrera GT.

No problem, Bruce. I always like to help out where I can. I just find those cars funny, because it's weird to me to have a transaxle in a front-engined, rear-wheel drive car. I'm used to them in rear-rear or front-front cars, because of how they're packaged, but I get a chuckle from front-rear cars having a transaxle. Though it makes complete sense to balance the weight of the engine at the front with the weight of the transmission at the rear.

Martin, since you want to talk technical. I'm waiting on a few more details. Most importantly is the new AWD system. They haven't given full details on it yet have they? I remember quite well how the ATESSA-ETS and HICAS systems work. But now I'm wondering what and how they've improved. So far, I can tell that the new system is really good at putting the power on the ground efficiently.

Whilst transaxles are nothing new, an all-wheel drive transaxle configuration is certainly out of the ordinary. To my mind, this is the first example of such a layout.

The complexities incurred by such as system are obviously worth the benefits gained by the superior weight distribution of this AWD layout.

Naruto, I haven't actively been seeking technical details on this new AWD layout but I'm certain that this car will have an even more sophisticated tri-diff torque management system than the already high-tech GT-R 34.