Very interesting thread with lots of good information and analysis. I think the ONLY reason the GTR has stirred so much debate is obviously (not because of its great looks) but the ring times do not jive with the advertised power to weight – which in fact is probably true.

1. WEIGHT: GTR is a 3800lbs vehicle, a pig regardless of how much power it makes. I can best relate the driving experience of such a heavy car to my E63 at 507hp/4000lbs – exciting and comfortable. I will happily trade the extra doors for 5% time improvement at the ring, because it can easily be made up in driving skills. Anyhow neither car is suitable for sustained track use cuz of the excess weight.

2. POWER: After listening to Clarkson it is clear that the GTR has a “track mode” i.e. it “senses” when it is at or near a track via GPS! If it is programmed to change its speed limiter on a track (as Clarkson claims) it is only a logical extension that it can also bump up its ECU/Turbos settings if it is at the ring or the Top Gear track say within the first six months of the car being built and if the engine coolant temperatures allow it at the time.

The ring times for both the ZR1 and the GTR indicate similar hp (as evidenced in the side by side video) with power to weight indicating 650-700hp, GTR the much better handling car and the Z06 better suited for track use (lighter weight means less wear & tear). At the advertised 480hp/3830lbs GTR should come in somewhere between 996GT3 and 996GT2 .. still very respectable.

3. RELIABILITY: It is almost impossible to cool a 800hp passenger car. One of the most incredible experiences I had with the GT3 was tracking it at Willow Springs in 110 degree heat all day long with no significant coolant temperature change. To properly cool a 600-800hp you will need F1 scale air vents, something you will rarely find in a road car and the primary reason Lambos and Ferraris catch fire frequently (and Carrera GTs don’t.) If you mod a GTR for more power and race it, you will break it. Drivetrain will go first most likely as already reported. It will be hard enough to repair a stock GTR at a Nissan dealer (with only a few thousand around) forget a modded one.

4. PRICE: I think at $70K Nissan offers about the same value as the Z06 in terms of build quality, reliability, etc. Both of these car are cheaper and uglier versions of similarly performing Porsches (996GT2/GT3) as Porsches are cheaper and uglier alternatives to the Ferrari and Lambos of similar peformance.


My speculation is these cars will run similar to 996/997 TT/GTx on the local tracks with significantly worse reliability when pushed hard. If my theory about the GPS based hp increase is true or the owners figure out the cheat codes to access say 650hp - be prepared to be blown away on the straights. Just my 2 cents.

 

If you read this before you go check out Springbank too.
I had a chance to buy a cask of Springbank for ageing back in the early 90's. Think it cost around £1,000. The distiller kept it for you for as long as you wanted - you paid a small annual storage fee. If you wanted a 10 year old, you got it bottled after 10 years, if you wanted 18 yr old you bottled it after 18 years, although as it naturally evaporates from the cask as it ages, you get less left the older it gets! But seem to recall at 10 yrs you would have maybe 300 bottles, at 18 it was down to 200 (cant recall the nos a long time ago). You could sell what you didnt want on to the big blended whiskey makers. Never did it as I wasnt sure what I was going to do with 200 bottles of whiskey!
Prices then went through the roof for aged single malts, so I missed out on a good deal. Dont know if they still do this type of offer.

 

well if you would have bought that barrell, I would have had to say that you suck, but since you didn't I won't

 

Your Chivas is empty!

 

hoooollllllyyyyyy s__t!!!!! I'm thirsty...

 

Mate, they didnt have it...

 

no worries, I have doubles of every bottle.

 

not even one bottle of laphroaig..oban....disappointed.

 

I have laphroaig, but no Oban, never cared much for oban

 

Geez, this thread got a little off topic!

 

Oban! Love it

 

Great post quartermile. Fantastically clever...GPS track mode. Do you have any confirmation of that? I haven't watched the TopGear episode or kept up with any GTR news.

 

the car knows... but you still have to manual deactivate the governor.

there is no such limiter on usdm gt-r's...

i've had mine for 5 days now (still breaking it in), and it corners unbelievably well. i still haven't found it's limits.

it is heavy, and will run through tires in a heartbeat. you only feel the weight for about the first 5-10% of turn-in... it doesn't want to move. the steering is a lot heavier than i thought it would be, but not unbearable.

it is extremely driveable everyday... my wife loves driving it (she likes that when she comes into the city, she just slaps it into auto mode). the transmission is rather unique. you can feel the clutch engage/disengage. it shifts lightning fast.

but i've got to say, nevermind the 500hp, the awd, the .2 sec gear shifts, the 6 piston brembo's, 15" calipers, the 285 tires, 20" rims, adjustable bilsteins, or the lat g's it can take... those tech gadgets are awesome. mine came with an ipod mount that gives your steering wheel control over you ipod, a 9gb hdd for mp3s, a cf card slot for additional file control, and a nav system that is incredibly easy to use. the display config (especially that stopwatch function) is a nice touch to see what is really going inside that engine.

and my kids' carseats fit in the back.

 

on a side note:

isn't the new 911 coming out with launch control, and a dual clutch setup, much like the gt-r? i'm interested to see that thing move.