Rajiv Ruparelia’s Nissan GT-R. PHOTO | COURTESY OF X
The Nissan GT-R that was swallowed up by an inferno on May 3, claiming the life of the managing director of Ruparelia Group in a freak accident, was likely a 2009 model. Here is how we worked it out after failing to get hold of the information from sources close to Rajiv Ruparelia.
The sporty round tail lights that Rajiv’s car sported fit all models from 2009 to 2017. His registration number plate was a UAT, which was the series that was coming out in the late 2000s.
Therefore, the car couldn’t be a later model with such an old number plate. An in-depth look at the car, which is sometimes called Godzilla, turns up some interesting details.
For one, the Nissan GT-R was launched in 2009 in an effort to capture the imagination of car enthusiasts across the world. This, while also showcasing Nissan’s innovation and bottomless capabilities.
The machine in question was built on the back of its older brother, the Nissan Skyline GT-R, which was a known performance car since 1989.
But the new Nissan GT-R was designed to make the performance of the Skyline pale in comparison, able to rival the more established European sports cars like Lamborghini, Porsche and Ferrari. All that while remaining competitively priced. And that is exactly what was achieved.
Base price
When the first model was launched in 2009, it was priced at just below €75,000 (Shs309.5m) in Europe and a little under $70,000 (Shs254.6m) in the US. Car enthusiasts didn’t like it at first. Why? Well, because it was much too big compared to other sports cars in the same range. It was way too heavy to be taken seriously as a sports car, too complex and too expensive in the view of most. But that was before they road-tested it.
When Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson tested it in February 2009, he famously said thus: “… they haven't built a new car here. They have built a new yardstick.” During Mr Clarkson’s test drive on the Fuji race circuit in Japan, the car was so ferocious in corners that the session had to be cut short after the legendary presenter and car buff sprained his neck.
One car tester wrote in 2008 after a road test: “It’s still big, heavy, complex, and expensive, but it’s also a holy spitfire at the drag strip and a joy to drive in every way that a big, heavy, and complex car has no right to be unless it’s way more expensive than the GT-R’s advertised base price of $70,475 (Shs256.4m).”
A fox in sheep’s clothing
Evidently, the 2009 Nissan GT-R’s large size, weight and complexity are not mistakes. They are part of what makes it such a great car, when those same aspects tend to be impediments in other sports cars. The GT-R is the ultimate fox in sheep's clothing.
Everyone who underestimated it when it was first launched was put to shame. It became an instant hit for its groundbreaking combination of performance, practicality, and affordability. It is still considered one of the fastest accelerating four-seater production cars, and one you can't drive to work every day. It is one of the few sports cars that offer supercar-level performance at the price of a minivan.
The GT-R was a halo car, built to cause excitement, capture the attention of car buffs and make a lasting name for the brand. And it did.
Impressive stats
The GT-R is a bona fide beast: 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds, the quarter-mile sprint in 11.5 seconds, top speed of 313 kmph, which is insane for a car with four seats and a boot.
The car comes with a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V6 engine that produces 565 horsepower. It has an all-wheel drive and limited-slip differentials that allow it to hug the road like a crab in corners.
The GT-R also comes with a flappy paddle gearbox, which is the gearbox of choice for all sports cars and supercars worthy of the name.
The flappy paddle gearbox allows for quick and controlled gear changes without the driver's hands leaving the steering wheel, offering benefits in performance driving, engine braking, and overall control.
Its blistering acceleration is partly because of the 3.8-litre V6 engine and partly because of the shape of the body. Every crease and curve, though they look random and sometimes unappealing, are designed to make the car as aerodynamic as possible.
The GT-R can corner so fast and so violently, each wheel had to be fitted with a special knurling to stop the tires from coming off. It was designed to be absolutely insane in corners.
Unparalleled
These are staggering stats that the more established and much more expensive sports cars could only dream of. For instance, the GT-R was faster than the Bugatti Veyron, the Porsche 911 Turbo and the Porsche Carrera GT around the Nürburgring track in Germany, yet those cars are many times more expensive and more renowned.
When it came out, the GT-R managed to outperform the superstars of the sports car world, including those mentioned above, sending it into the arms of car lovers across the world like Rajiv. Those who had judged the Nissan GT-R to be too expensive ate humble pie and rushed to get their hands on one of the 12,000 units that were produced.
It was a great value for money for a performance car with those kinds of stats. That is the kind of machine that took the life of Rajiv Ruparelia. It was a beast in sheep’s clothing. Not many would bat an eye seeing it in a gridlock on Kampala road, except maybe the true petrolheads.
No one could guess that it beat a Bugatti Veyron at the Nurburgring test track. Rajiv was one of the lucky few to get his hands on the GT-R. How ironic that their relationship ended like that. The car is still so sought-after that even today, you can’t get a 2009 GT-R in good shape under $40,000 (Shs145.5m).
