The Nissan GT-R R35 comes to Upper Heyford! The blisteringly quick Nissan GT-R is a true revelation. It is just SO fast. Despite being a fraction of the cost this car can give those fancy Italian supercars a serious run for their money. For the spectator it’s a case of blink and you’ll miss it – even though you’ll most certainly hear it for a while before and after it passes you on this Oxfordshire track.
Driving the Nissan GT-R at this former airfield circuit at Heyford Park is a case of pure serendipity. Remember the famous runway chase scene from the Fast and Furious 6 movie? Well that was filmed right here at this former RAF base in Oxfordshire. You could call it some kind of glorious homecoming for this Japanese wonder machine.
Purists will be careful to point out that the R35 which was finally released in Europe in 2009 is completely different to the Nissan Skyline GT-R. It’s a whole new car albeit one that has a twin turbo six cylinder engine and is all wheel drive just like the later versions of the Skyline. Even more confusingly Nissan has continued the chassis naming convention hence why this generation of GT-R is called the R35.
Some say you shouldn’t call this Godzilla whilst others think the nickname should carry on. But we’re not here to discuss the minute details of this massively impressive car. This experience is all about getting behind the wheel of the GT-R R35 model and driving it. For three or six thrilling laps of this Oxfordshire track you’ll be in charge. Well when we say it’s you in charge clearly this Japanese motoring rocket is the boss but you know what we mean!
Indeed driving a Nissan GT-R R35 is all pretty surreal. When you think that the multifunction onboard display was developed in partnership with the company who the creates the legendary Gran Tourismo games you get the feeling this car is part science fiction. But hurtling along that fast airfield straight you are most definitely experiencing all that acceleration for real!
