Only After Dark

We have a spanking new 2017 Nissan GT-R with us. Sergius Barretto gets aquainted with the incoming Japanese Ambassador under the city’s lights.

- Sergius Barretto

I ’ll be honest – I like the GT-R, but not to the same extent as its vast legion of die-hard fans; the type who are simply besotted by Nissan’s icon. In my head, this Japanese ‘supercar’ has always been more of a sportscar, so when Shapur asked me to drive it this month, I was, according to him, merely ‘happy’, and not as bouncing-off-the-walls crazy as I should’ve been. “Supercar slayer, tuner’s muse, Japanese precision – GODZILLAAAAA!” he screamed, in an impassioned bid to get me on board with just how iconic this car really is.

“Maybe it’s not the car; maybe it’s me,” I thought to myself as Shapur’s boisterous appeal continued in the background, now with added exhaust mimicry. Now I’m curious; it would be foolish not to give it a go. But for the GT-R to win me over, I need to do this right. To really understand this car, I have to be in the right frame of mind; a Zen-like state, if you will. I will drive it at night when the roads are free and, hopefully, the neon glow of the city lights will enlighten me to the mystical ways of this ballistic Nissan.

The GT-R was unveiled in 2007 as the successor to the legendary Skyline GT-R that ended production in 2002. In a nod to its legacy, it uses the code ‘R35’ – a carry forward of the last Skyline’s R34 code, even though it no longer bears the Skyline name. The car I’m going to drive is the face lifted 2017 GT-R. After nearly a decade, you’d expect Nissan to have an all new model, but the car has been updated regularly over the years, and this one is the biggest yet, with numerous cosmetic and technical improvements. I’m looking forward to seeing it in the flesh as the handful of GT-Rs that have been unofficially imported are rarely ever seen out on the road.

MEET AND GREET