Nissan GT-R Declared 2009 World Performance Car of the Year

Nissan has bagged the 2009 World Performance Car of the Year award via the indomitable GT-R. The other two nominees were the Corvette ZR1 and Porsche 911 Carrera. Initially from a list of 23 contenders a panel of 59 international judges narrowed the list down to ten, then three and finally the winner.

The Mobil 1-sponsored World Performance Car of the Year award is part of the World Car of the Year competition. It was created as a sub-segment in 2005 in order to cater for cars that have a sharp inclination to high performance but not to the exclusion of all other attributes. Part of the qualifying criteria is that each finalist must have a minimum production run of 500 units per year.

On the winning GT-R one judge observed, "The drive of the GT-R, especially on a track, reveals an incredibly flexible all-wheel-drive chassis that lays down the rubber whenever you request it... for $77,000 it may be the world's best enthusiast car."

The Nissan GT-R is powered by a direct injection 3.8-litre twin turbo V6 engine with 24 valves. At its best it produces 480hp (357kW) and maximum torque of 588Nm (430 lb-ft) between 3,200 and 5,200rpm.

Past winners include the Porsche Cayman S in 2006, the Audi RS 4 in 2007 and the Audi R8 in 2008.