2009 Nissan GT-R

Okay, we've strapped Japan's latest monster car to a four-wheel Dynojet dynamometer and tortured it into giving up a 430.6-horsepower rating at the wheels. That translates to between 507 and 574 horses at the crank depending on how much power one assumes the drivetrain is siphoning off in the form of mechanical friction (heat) and hydraulic pumping losses. Judging by the heroic acceleration numbers this two-ton Terminator has been credited with by various testers around the globe, it's tempting to peg power near the top end of that range, but a charge up the Angeles Crest Highway and numerous brief blasts along public roads suggest this is no 570-horse beast. Rather, we expect this car's performance will be explained by more than mere horsepower alone, and a day on the runways at El Toro Marine air station should tell us all we need to know.