Nissan’s tester Schoysman racks up lap 13,001 of the ’Ring. (Autocar photo) » More Photos

From where I’m sitting the new GT-R doesn’t feel as if it’s got the same grunt as the Porsche 997 Turbo that it so dramatically undercuts in price and matches horsepower for horsepower. I suspect this is partly because the turbochargers on the V6 Nissan engine seem to deliver boost pressure in a more linear fashion than those on the Porsche engine.

“You might be right about the straightline power,” says Schoysman, “but the Nissan has a higher cornering speed. For 45 percent of a lap of the Nurburgring you are turning; that explains why the Nissan is the match of the Porsche around here.”

Schoysman is not totally biased; he’s had less involvement in the R35 Skyline than in previous models, especially the R34, but still he drove the mule four years ago and the final shape two years ago, both in Japan and at the ’Ring. “It wasn’t a good car for a long time,” he explains. “There was a real problem with stability under braking that wasn’t sorted out until the beginning of 2007. A suspension component had to be redesigned, because it was too serious a problem to be solved just by adjusting settings.”

The car feels sorted now. To be driven by a driver with Dirk’s level of ability is a great pleasure, but I’m less keen on driving him. Having a passenger makes me nervous and the thought that your passenger is thinking, “Why’s he taking this line?” and, “Why is he braking so early?” is very off-putting.

I know this place quite well and Schoysman knows that I do, but he must be wondering if he’s got me mixed up with someone else, because I am certainly not showing any skill or experience today.

Even with the Skyline’s get-out-of-jail knobs set on the conservative side (Schoysman dialed up a combination of settings that he considered his best bet for a long life), the car is sliding all over the place. Occasionally Schoysman chips in with some very restrained advice, suggesting that I might like to back off a bit and politely pointing out that certain parts of the circuit are likely to be slipperier than I might realize.

The Nissan doesn't seem the Porsche 997 Turbo's match on power, but the corners are a different story. (Autocar photo) » More Photos

Schoysman is a great teacher; several times over the last dozen or so years I have benefited from his calm instruction. Once he drove me in the Lotus Elise that we had on the mag when I was on the staff. The car was going through one of its iffy handling stages and Dirk drove me around here in the wet in it, giving a fantastic description of what he thought was wrong with the car and catching enormous slides as he did so.

I still love Skylines. Goodness knows how much power the Japanese tuners will get out of this latest version, but I have always much preferred the standard car, especially the R32. It’s one of Schoysman’s favorites, too, for its controllability and relative simplicity.

We agree on many things, Schoysman and I, like the Nissan Primera GT being one of the top front-drive cars of all time and the view that this R35 would be more fun if it had a conventional manual shift instead of a semi-automatic gearbox. It’s an age thing.

If only it was dry, because ultimately, the conditions on the Nordschleife are just too challenging for this amateur. Dirk Schoysman is regularly featured in the world’s car magazines and I don’t want the question, “What was your worst moment on the Nurburgring?” to have the word “Goodwin” in its answer.
-Colin Goodwin/Autocar