Chief engineer Mizuno shares concept and vision of company’s flagship sports car


The Nissan GT-R is designed to become an everyday supercar for everyone, said Kazutoshi Mizuno, who is affectionately called the “father” of the Japanese carmaker’s flagship sports car, in Seoul last week.

“While other supercars are sold in a closed market for some healthy, rich people who have several cars, GT-R is targeting an open market for everyone,” said the chief vehicle engineer and chief product specialist for Nissan. 

“With GT-R, you can cruise on the autobahn (motorway) at 300 kilometers per hour with some stuff loaded in the trunk, while you can go shopping in downtown areas using the automatic transmission mode.”

Zero to 100 km/h took roughly 2.8 seconds in a recent circuit driving of the latest 2012 model, outpacing its European rivals Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche.

And the 60-year-old Japanese veteran engineer, who held a news conference on Thursday at a Nissan showroom in southern Seoul, has overseen the car’s stunning evolution over the past decade.

Since being first introduced as the Skyline 2000GT-R in 1969, the production of concept vehicles had to be suspended twice. But it made a brand new debut as a product model in 2007 during the Tokyo Motor Show.

“When we started discussions on reviving the GT-R as an everyday supercar, even most people at Nissan said it’s just a dream. But I continued thinking about what our customers wanted,” the GT-R chief recalled.

After six generations of innovation, the latest version for the Korean market features a 3.8-liter V6 engine with 545 horsepower and a maximum torque of 64 kilogram-meters.

The twin-turbo V6 engine is assembled by hand at a special clean room in Nissan’s Yokohama engine factory, with a single technical master overseeing the whole process from start to finish.

“What’s important is not the engine power itself but how to transfer the power. GT-R’s engine is also very easy to handle, making driving the car more comfortable,” he said.

GT-R maintains almost half the braking distance of ordinary vehicles on wet roads. It was also designed to run not just on a circuit but also in unpredictable conditions such as the sands of the Middle East or the icy roads of Canada.

He also cited some special cases like a 25-year-old disabled man who participated in a recent driving test and some doctors in Hokkaido, Japan, who own a GT-R for transferring emergency patients during heavy snowfall.

He said, however, some part of production such as final assembly is done by machines to secure accuracy, adding, “Making a good car at reasonable prices is not a contradiction. They can be achieved together.”

GT-R is priced at 166.8 million won ($146,500) in Korea. Currently, there are some 70 GT-R drivers here.

“It’s our mission to have GT-R continue to evolve. I hope customers can enjoy the best driving experience out of the car,” he said.

Right after graduating from Nagano Technical Junior College, Mizuno joined Nissan in 1972. Over the past 40 years, he has played a key role in the development of diverse vehicles like Primera, Skyline and Silvia.

He also contributed to the growth of Japan’s motor sports industry as he has served as the director of Nissan Motorsports International.

Ahead of his retirement early this year, Nissan decided to assign him the job of supercar development without a time limit.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)