As if beating a 911 Turbo on the famous  Nürburgring wasn’t enough, Nissan has seemingly gone another PR stunt further and this time set a benchmark time up Jebel Hafeet.

President of the UAE Automobile and Touring Club, Mohamed Ben Sulayem, took a standard GT-R up a 7km stretch of the mountain, setting a yardstick of 3min 39sec.  Abu Dhabi Police closed the road especially for the event, which was created to mark the regional launch of the 473bhp GT-R last month.

Two weeks after setting the first official time up the Al Ain peak four school boys were inspired to do the same and raced a hired Range Rover against the clock to see who was fastest. Mr Ben Sulayem then publicly warned of the risks of dangerous driving and said that ‘racing on public streets is irresponsible and dangerous’.

But Nissan has thrown down the gauntlet. If the famous road can be closed again, it’ll be time for Porsche to step up to the plate.