Godzilla Snags COTY Trophy

Motor Trend’s annual Car of the Year competition for 2009 is complete. The Golden Caliper trophy has been awarded…The winner is not a creature from the old black and white monster movies of days gone by, but rather a 4-wheel beast from Japanese automaker Nissan.

We wrote about the Nissan GT-R before its arrival to the States. Our initial positive impressions of this landmark sports car have now been confirmed, you might say. The Motor Trend judges look at three criteria: Superiority, Significance and Value...

The GT-R is a techno tour-de-force (superiority and significance). The engine, transmission, drivetrain, suspension and electronics all extend the boundaries of automotive engineering. The performance level created by this engineering is mind-bending. The GT-R will literally run with anything on the road, whether that road be straight or crooked, all the while carrying 4 people and 2 golf bags..!

And the clincher (see “value”) is the price. This screamer can be had for less than $80K..! Nothing available at or below that price can keep up. The $110K Corvette ZR1 will lose in the twisties, the $130K Porsche 911 Turbo will fall back on a straight. All this not to mention the $200-$500K cars out there from Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren et al. We think the engineers from the competition will be burning the candle at both ends over this one…

The Connoisseur agrees with Motor Trend’s selection here – kudos to them for selecting the GT-R from a highly qualified field of competitors. Now, go take this monster for a drive and prepare to be blown away..!