UK to get 500 GT-Rs per year

Supply of the astonishing Nissan GT-R in the UK will not be as limited as some pundits were anticipating. The 473bhp super-coupe goes on sale in March 2009 and some 400 cars will be available that year, with a supply of 500 per year thereafter. This is in sharp contrast with volumes of official R33 and R34 Skylines, of which just 100 of each were brought into the UK.

Had we not been so blown away by the GT-R’s astonishing ability and pace on UK roads, we’d have thought the numbers ambitious. For reference, Nissan Motor GB sells around 1000 350Zs each year, while Porsche GB sold 600 examples of the £100,000 997 Turbo in its first full year.

As we went to press, Nissan was poised to announce UK GT-R prices at the Geneva show – a whole year before the car goes on sale, which seems a little risky given currency fluctuations. As in Japan, three subtly different GT-R specifications will be offered: an entry-level model with regular Dunlop tyres; a ‘Black Edition’ with trackday-style Bridgestone RE070Rs and part-leather sports seats (as tested in this issue), and a ‘Premium Edition’ with a Bose stereo and full leather. It’s expected that prices will start at £58,995 and rise to around £62,000. While this looks expensive compared with the oft-quoted GT-R price of £35K in Japan, as some readers have pointed out, this is a pre-tax price and the on-road price in Japan is nearer to £40K.

Nissan is also to use the Geneva show to announce the dozen or so UK dealerships that will be granted approved GT-R agent status, and it will also officially open the order book, though some dealers have already taken deposits.

With such a long wait before cars arrive, some commentators had predicted a flood of grey imports, but the process is not simply a case of buying a car in Japan, shipping it over, paying the taxes and registering it. The major hurdle is proving that the GT-R complies with Euro IV emissions standards, a process that will cost £4000-5000 on the first car, more if it doesn’t pass first time. If compliance is proven, a ‘model report’ can then be created which the initial importer can then rent out to subsequent importers.  One specialist importer we spoke to reckons as few as 15 GT-Rs will be personally imported. The total lack of warranty and dealer support on such an expensive and sophisticated car, and the prospect of Japanese language-only servicing details until the GT-R gets to America this July will dissuade many. In the UK, he reckoned, GT-Rs would be acquired exclusively by people very familiar with imports who ‘couldn’t care less’ that there was no factory support because ‘they just had to have one’.

Parts supply would not be a problem, another importer reckoned: ‘Most parts are just a Fed-Ex away; consumables like oil filters are easy to source, while the brakes are Brembo so parts will be off-the-shelf. The only issue is the bespoke RE070R run-flat Bridgestones, which are currently only available from Japan at around £500 each.’

A Nissan spokesperson said the reason we have to wait so long for the GT-R to arrive in the UK is that the factory in Yokohama where it is built can produce a maximum of 1000 GT-Rs a month, requiring a staggered roll-out. This started with the home market, continues with the US this summer and finally, next March, it’s the turn of Europe.