Post by Kasey Kagawa

Ever since the videos of a pre-production Nissan GT-R lapping Sears Point and Laguna Seca raceways hit the Internet, and especially the news that it was dead even with the brand new 911 Turbo at Sears Point, and even faster than the 480 HP Stuttgart supercar at Laguna Seca, all that enthusiasts want to know is “How much?”

Well, now we know. Auto Express has the pricing info on the new car, and not only Porsche, but BMW and Audi should be very, very concerned. The base model GT-R, with four-piston Brembo brakes and a six-speed manual gearbox, will cost around £29,000. The mid-range V-Spec will have six-piston Brembos and either a DSG double-clutch gearbox like in the Bugatti Veyron or some other type of semi-automatic gearbox and a price tag of around £35,000. The highest spec model will be called the GT-R Evolution, and have all the performance options of the V-Spec level, plus some of the body panels will be replaced with carbon fiber to reduce weight, among other modifications not yet released to the public for £52,000.

If you plug those numbers into your favorite currency converter, this doesn’t look like good news for Nissan, as £29,000 is about $57,000 US, but if you look at other cars with similar price tags, it’s the bargain of the century. For example, a base Nissan 350Z costs £26,495 in Britain, while the same car goes for $27,900 in the US. So for under $65,000 or so, assuming that the car that Edmunds filmed at the racetracks was the Evolution model, you could have a car that can go head-to-head with a car that costs twice as much, or for less than $45,000, a car that can quite possibly go after the Audi RS4 and the upcoming BMW M3. It looks like the Germans have a lot to worry about in this upcoming generation of sports coupes.

Price is right on GT-R supercar [Auto Express]