GT
CHANNEL
CAR VIDEO NETWORK

Visit GTChannel.com for more car videos!

Hideki Ogiue: When you pursue chassis rigidity you often sacrifice comfort. Our goal was to cleverly release road input... without making the suspension stiff. I think the development of this car has gone in the right path.

Takaya Fujita: The value timing can be freely adjusted. Also, one of the distinct features is that the valve lift can be adjusted. Depending on where and how the car is driven, the optimal valve timing is achieved.

Male Speaker: The V36 Skyline Coupe known as the Infiniti G37 Coupe in the U.S was designed by Nissan to deliver the ultimate driving pleasure. We invited Motoharu Kurosawa AKA Gan-san to put the car under his microscope.

Motoharu Kurosawa: It looks good. I think it really looks good. I like the exterior, the front and the side. The front resembles the sedan, but they've done a good job... making it into a 2-door coupe. The wheels are bigger now. What are these, 19 inch? Yup, they're 19s. I assume the car shares the platform, with the 4-door model, so it should have the same wheelbase. Now, have they changed the track? Looking at the flared fenders, I think they've widened the track. Nice to see a coupe for the mature driver. And the engine is 3.7-liters. Amazing to see a Skyline with such a big engine. I liked the 4-door sedan model so I'm hoping this coupe... is on the same vector as the sedan. It's too early to talk about... the Car Of The Year awards, but I'm pretty sure... this car will be a contender. I'm hoping this coupe... is going to be sporty... with good drivability... which leads to what I always mention driving pleasure. I'm looking forward to today's test drive.

Male Speaker: We'll be first testing the car on a winding road mimicking that of a European country side. Then will take the car to an autobahn like high-speed course.

Motoharu Kurosawa: I'll be driving Nissan's Rikubetsu testing grounds. My first time in the coupe. Good suspension.

Male Speaker: The designing concept of the chassis was not just to improve the measured body rigidity on spec but to enhance the actual rigidity felt by the driver.

Motoharu Kurosawa: The suspension is good, but the engine could be better.

Male Speaker: The lift distance of the intake valve on this VVEL engine is set at 7 millimeters that ideal, it opens up to 12.3 millimeters at full throttle. The engine is also equipped with a conventional throttle body which closes the valves only when a strong engine brake is needed.

Motoharu Kurosawa: The car feels a bit heavy. I know that some weight is inevitable with today's car building. But I wish it was a little lighter. Overall, the car feels good. Noteworthy are the body rigidity and the suspension... which seems to be going their job. No one has told me, but this 3.7-liter engine... must have about 350 horse power. I can't really feel that power. I'd like a bit more torque. Maybe it's the weight. This car weighs about 3500lbs, which isn't exactly light... The VDC was on the first time around, so I'm going out again with the VDC off.

Male Speaker: Returning to the course with the VDC off.

Motoharu Kurosawa: This might be heavier than the sedan. I haven't done the math, but with this 3.7 liter engine, the power-to-weight ration should be about the same. I wish the engine could rev up a bit faster. Suspension is good and the car seems to have sufficient power. It's the engine management. They should set the ECU to improve engine response. It should be simple to fix. I suppose they could try to weaken the under steer... it feels totally different with the VDC off. The engine revs up better and there's more stability... when you push the car to the limit. That's what I mean by drivability. There's enough driver feedback to predict... what's going to happen 0.1 seconds later. Since the car is a bit heavy, the moment of inertia tends to be big... making the car go wide. But that's all predictable so it's fine. I wish the engine revved up and down faster in response to the throttle. If that was the case, I might've given this car a perfect 10.

Male Speaker: In theory the closer the throttle body is to the combustion chamber the better the response. Does the mechanism still need more development what's the advantage compared to BMW's Valvetronic system.

Takaya Fujita: The mechanism controlling the valve lift... on the VVEL unit works independent. It opens and closes on its own, unlike the BMW system... which uses a spring to supplement the operation. Why the self-dependent mechanism works better... is because the spring system is prone to what we call surge. At high rpms, the spring will essentially bounce and malfunction. Our system can effectively be used at high rpms.

Motoharu Kurosawa: Now I'm on the high speed course here at Rikubetsu. The speed limiter is already engaging. I'm only at 190km/h, but it's stable so far. A car in this class shouldn't make the driver... feel uncomfortable at these speeds, and it is stable with good traction. I think it should pretty much feel the same... at speeds of 230 or 240km/h. Waving the car feels fine. The gas pedal is pinned to the floor. Maintaining about 192km/h on the speedometer. This 3500lbs body has very good rigidity for a car in this class. This rigidity is especially good around the suspension. It is fully utilizing the traction from the 225/45/19... and 245/40/19 Bridgestone tires at the front and back. No change in road holding. Within the sport-oriented 3.5 or 4.0-liter category in Japan, I think this car is showing some top class performance. There is one negative feedback. Nissan might not like me saying this, but it's the engine. Not the power or torque of the engine, but the response. I'm not expecting the engine to instantly rev up.. like a racing engine. However, I wish they could've spiced up the engine feel... towards that of a more sports or racing unit. In that sense, I know it's difficult to make a perfect street car, but if it wasn't for the engine, I might've given something close to a perfect 10 to this car. Overall finish of this car is at a very high level. The car handles very well for a 3.7-liter package... that weighs 3500lbs and it was fun to drive. I think that drivability leads to driving pleasure. This car is rated very high in my books.

GT
CHANNEL
www.gtchannel.com