Taking a Nap with Natalie Portman: Breaking in our Long-Term Nissan GT-R

Should you be fortunate enough to be passed by a Lamborghini Aventador at speed, the exhaust note alone will practically shake the ground, though that may just be the shiver it sends down your spine. The Ferrari 458 was the only one of our 2011 Best Driver’s Car participants to send harmonic proof of its existence to the pits, regardless of what turn it was devouring at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Seeing an Audi R8 5.2 launch from a standstill defies all preconceived notions of what 3900 pounds of metal can look like when not moving, then moving very, very quickly. From behind the lens at Motor Trend, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to photograph some of the most magnificent machines in existence. But more often than not, our busy schedules and all-too-brief time with the cars usually only allows me time to admire them through my viewfinder whilst the writer-types reap the bulk of the seat time. Imagine my delight then when new boss man Ed(itor-in-Chief) Loh texted me on a lazy Super Bowl Sunday afternoon, “u want gtr?”
Ed was talking about our so-new-it’s-still-practically-hermetically-sealed long-term 2013 Nissan GT-R, and yes, I did want it. The timing could not have been better. I care as much about the Super Bowl as much as HBO cares about horses, and since I’m mostly alone in that sentiment, the roads would practically be empty. Just me, the road, and the car that reigns supreme in the eyes of the PlayStation Generation from which I hail. This all seemed a little too good to be true, and something called a break-in period proved that it was.
Our Pearl White GT-R Black Edition was still a long way from the 1200-mile odometer reading that dictates when it’s ready to be driven hard. The 368 miles on the clock were a digital stop sign that translated to: No rapid acceleration in gears 1-3, don’t go over 3500 RPM, no hard or unnecessary accelerating or cornering, and drive in Comfort mode for 900 more miles. So in the third-fastest-accelerating production car for sale to the general public, I couldn’t launch harder than I would in a Nissan Leaf. The old Nissan GT-R was capable of a Bugatti Veyron-besting, very God(zilla)-like 1.05 lateral g in our figure-eight testing, and I couldn’t take it past speeds that would conjure up more lateral g than falling out of a chair. In short, it would be like climbing into bed with Natalie Portman, only to find she is fast asleep and not to be disturbed. An awesome experience, sure, but so much for taking that ride I’ve really been longing for… in the car, I mean.