| If you added a few decals and put on a helmet,
you'd have a World Rally Championship racer. |
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Unlike most cars in the world, the Limited Edition
Nissan GTI-R may one day be a World Rally Championship (WRC) winner. |
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| The WRC is a series of international races which
challenge both man and machine under the most demanding driving situations.
Cars and crews sometimes run 18 hours a day for 12 continuous Days ore
more. Down rock-strewn desert paths. Where the sun is your only compass.
Alongside frozen, snowbound roads carved from some Ice-Age mountain. Through
swamps and mud and 200-kph traffic jams. And at times, through the air. |
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| The WRC is not for the squeamish. Only the fittest
survive. Barely. Enter the Limited Edition Nissan GTI-R. This serious driving
machine was engineered and built to win WRC races. Period. We gave the
GTI-R everything. A 220-PS power-plant. Full-time, 4-wheel drive. A performance-tuned
chassis. A wind-slicing shape. A true sports car cockpit. Everything. One
of the more interesting points about WRC racing is the fact that specifications
of the GTI-R you can buy must match those of the GTI-R that run in the
WRC. Almost identically. The WRC allows very few modifications. Very few. |
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| Which means the Limited Edition GTI-R that was
born and bread to compete on the worlds most prestigious rally courses
can be yours to drive every day. |
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| To Nissan, WRC races are the perfect environment
to test the latest technological advancements. And to re-engineer and refine
what has been learned in numerous research and development laboratories
across three continents. Again and again. Nissan then applies this accumulated
knowledge to its cars and trucks around the world. So when Nissan races,
the real winner is you. |
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| With a 2.0 litre, turbo-charged, inter-cooled,
fuel-injected, 16-valve engine, the GTI-R doesn't need wings to fly. |
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| In the competitive world of WRC racing, might
is right. A fact which bodes well for the GTI-R. Beneath it's huge air
louvred intake, a lean, muscular power-plant purrs. Lion like. It sends
a pretty powerful message: 220 PS/6400 rpm. 29 kgm/4800 rpm. Top speed:
223 kph. 0-100 kph in 6.4 seconds. An engine, above all, needs to breathe.
Especially when your tachometer remains near the red line from dusk to
dawn. Our T3 Garret turbo charger powers air into the high-capacity intercooler
at a pressure rate of 550-mm HG. Its powerful, low-inertia compressor eliminates
any "turbo-lag" and provides high torque output across the power band.
As the name implies, an intercooler cools the compressed air from the turbo
charger. And as you can see, GTI-R's intercooler is huge: 350 mm x 295
mm x 60 mm. Cooler air occupies less space than warm air. More air means
more more oxygen for better combustion. And better combustion means more
power. Lots more. |
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| Newly designed air-channels within the intercooler
direct air flow to the 4-valve throttle chamber smoothly. This chamber
shortens the time air must travel between the intercooler and the intake
manifold. And soon thereafter, the cylinder. Where 4-valves, in sync with
a sophisticated electronic port injection system enable the GTI-R to breath
even easier. Of course, dual overhead camshafts are also involved in this
high-revving operation. With all this combustion pressure and resulting
power output, things can get hot. Located at the bottom of the cylinder
block, oil jets bathe churning pistons with oil. Thereby, reducing surface
friction - keeping temperatures down and power output up. Further cooling
methods include sodium-filled exhaust valves. It will come as little surprise
that the GTI-R's power/weigh ratio is 5.17 kg/PS - nearly double most high-performance
automobiles. A fact which will become quite evident when you put your foot
down an the gas pedal. And fly. |
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| We'd like to identify a few unidentified flying
objects.
We built the Limited Edition GTI-R to fly. Therefore
we gave it proper landing gear. For instance, our Atessa full-time 4WD
system. Automotive enthusiasts understand the principles of 4WD quite clearly.
However, Nissan's Attesa system differs from other systems in several notable
ways. Traditional 4WD systems only provide the best traction when combined
with a Limited Slip Differential (LSD). However, LSD is not conductive
to tight cornering. Which in effect, takes a great deal of fun out of high-performance
motoring. This is where Attesa comes in to play. By mating viscous couplings
to the LSD, the limited slip function operates automatically only when
it is needed. As such, the exact amount of toque required to each wheel
is allocated millie-second by millie-second. The result is a near-perfect
balance between front and rear wheels under all driving circumstances.
And here, we cannot overemphasize the word "all". A performance-tuned chassis
also provides extraordinary road-gripping abilities. You'll find: A front
McPherson suspension system. Rear parallel link struts. Stabilizer bars.
Firm damping. And anti-dive, anti-lift geometry configuration. GTI-R is,
in a word, nimble. Beefy 195/55VR-14 radials also enable this ballistic
road machine to hug the ground during high-performance maneuvering. And
When you really lean into a corner, shifting through the power band is
silky smooth and ultra-fast thanks to double cone synchronization on our
5-speed transmission. Obviously, you think fast when you drive GTI-R. You
stop fast, too. With large, front ventilated disc brakes. Resistance to
heat is formidable. So brake fade is virtually nil. In summary, GTI-R can
handle most any road. And can take you where you want to go. Even if that
includes a relaxing, five-day safari in East Africa. Where the only road
signs are sticks pointing toward sunrise. |
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| High-performance instrumentation for easy take-offs
and landings. When you fly first class, you travel in style. Case in point:
GTI-R's sport cockpit. Autobahn-minded enthusiasts, take note. Settle into
the form-fitting bucket seat. Grab the positive-grip, tilt steering wheel.
Buckle up and get ready for lift-off. Now you're prepared for some serious
high-performance driving. And one glance at the dashboard seconds the emotion.
Its panoply of easy-to-read meters and gauges include: Turbo boost. Oil
temperature. Oil pressure. Tachometer. This is no ordinary command center.
Switches and dials are ergonomically placed, too. They fall naturally to
hand. Long, cross-country trips are all the more enjoyable with split-fold
down rear seats. You can fit everything from scuba diving gear and golf
clubs to suitcases for those extended holidays in the mountains. With somebody
special. |
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