Nissan GT-R vs rivals

BRACE yourselves – an onslaught of new supercars is coming. Despite rising running costs, performance models are the talk of the industry – and Nissan’s is the most eagerly anticipated of the lot.

It’s been seven years since we caught a glimpse of the GT-R concept, and the eyes of the world are now on the roadgoing model. During development at Germany’s Nürburgring circuit, the firm targeted supercars from Porsche, Jaguar, Audi and even Ferrari – so you’d expect the newcomer to be very expensive. Yet the 193mph GT-R starts at £52,900 – nearly half as much as some rivals.

So is it really a giant killer? To find out, we’ve brought it together with a real British bruiser. The XKR-S is Jaguar’s fastest production model with the exception of the XJ220, and offers similar pace to the GT-R in a more laid back grand touring package. The question is whether it can justify its £79,995 asking price. Making up our trio is a model that has already achieved Nissan’s aim: the R8 has managed to launch mainstream marque Audi into the supercar elite. But which is the biggest thriller in the UK?