Nissan GT-R’s rolling launch control brings warp speed to the road [video]

By now, the world knows how fast the Nissan GT-R is in a straight line, not to mention around the twisties too. And at just US$101 000, it’s relatively affordable straight line speed at that. But what’s the most impressive tech gizmo behind its brilliance?

“Rolling launch control” is a bit of a gimmicky name and doesn’t quite come standard on the factory car, but to see it in action is pure theatre. The twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V6 engine is a colossus developing over 540-horsepower, but traditionally, turbocharged cars haven’t quite lived up to the hype, due to a number of technical issues.

Turbo-lag is the most common, where the turbo vanes (or blades, if you will) experience a pause before exhaust gases expelled by the engine can reach them, spooling them up, and in turn forcing fresh air back into the engine. But the team at Monstaka, a tuning company specialising in GT-Rs, has solved this.

By artificially spinning up the turbos prior to acceleration, the rolling launch control system can give the driver the power from the moment the accelerator is depressed. And the results are mesmerizing. Have a look at the manic results below.