It is a big car, with a lot of metal. It rides high, like you're driving a real car, and not a bobsled. An easy way to reduce weight is to make the car smaller. I'd rather this didn't happen. I enjoy being able to tote the kids, pack a 10' fold up canopy, 2 fold up chairs, luggage for the family for a weekend, plus two helmets, a cooler, etc..., or being able to see over the Corvette in front of me while carrying my kid's bicycle in the trunk...

Some people think the size is a bad thing. It is something I've come to appreciate.

 

Size may be not a bad thing bad weight certenly is...

 

Unless you can build a computer to make up for it. Which Nissan did.

Look the only thing I dont know about with the GTR is a new iteration, model, version, what ever you want to call it comes out every year. Sit there and say "well porsche does too" Really? There is a 911 Turbo and Turbo S. There is a 997.1 and 997.2. There is not a huge different between them
Nissan on the other hand makes one car in that lineup and changes it every year. While innovation is great do you really need to make such changes that you need a need mode, version, whatever number for it? To me that says "we #$@ed up last year, we are making it better this year" Not to mention it bred class warfare ( Im trying to be a politician) Oh you have a 11 GTR well I HAVE the 12 with 20 more HP and the Sewing machine 3000 stitching, you have the 11 with the sewing machine 500 stitching so mine is better.

Thats not a knock on the GTR, its a great car. You have to pick what you like. I thought about a GTR then i realized, wait a minute, what is drawing me to each car. The GTR draw was the numbers and such. Not looks personal like, just having a numbers car. So I went back to my first love the 911. Put 1000000000 911 TT;s on the road I dont care I love that 997 look

 

Ok I understand. Size and ride height are independent of each other - that should not be a concern.

I don't follow GT-R forum so don't know: Does Nissan ever consider making a 2WD GTR with manual transmission? I figure this would knock off maybe 200-300 lbs from the weight? If not why not? Does the handling suffer if not for AWD? To me a 3200 lbs 2WD GT-R would be a true world beater. They already have tremendous 'ring times - if the weight is reduced, watch out!!

OT: BTW, I am about to get a G37S but waiting to see what next model year is like. I hope they don't screw up the current beautiful styling. I am suspicious of their designer, as a long time Nissan owner who shed tears when I saw what they did to last gen 350Z (the current one looks terrible to my eyes).

 

Oh, I agree that weight and height are mostly independent... But I believe that the two are related somewhat (larger/higher car requires more materials). But obvious disproof of this is the new 991 (larger and lighter). I believe that other improvements had to be made to reduce weight while providing a larger footprint.

There has not been a 2WD factory GT-R since the re-release of the line in 1989 with the R32. They've all been AWD, and there is no changing that. Those who wanted a RWD model had to settle for the Skyline/G series (GT-S, GT-ST, GT350, GT370, etc...). I agree that less weight would have its advantages - but at what cost? If you reduce to RWD, you lose that historic acceleration (and a large reason why nobody wants to line up with a GT-R, pretty much anywhere, from a standstill), and ability to apply full throttle mid-corner, in places normally impossible to do so.

And Mizuno also said there is no plans for a single clutch manual transmission, as they affect the balance of the car. The car was designed around the dual clutch transaxle setup. It is easy to convert the car to RWD - just remove the axle going to the front (some people do this to dyno the car on a single axle dyno).

 

Not having owned either, but having buddies that have had a few GTR's and 996/997TT in our group, id have to say 997 all day long even if the 997.1 is a little slower than the GTR.

All those years you were growing up, im sure you didnt have a nissan on your bedroom wall right? Own the dream, you deserve it

 

I agree, but that's because it didn't exist yet. I don't have a clue why this would matter which car you'd buy....

I bet you didn't have a poster of the Bugatti Veyron, Pagani Zonda, Koenigsegg CCRX, Lexus LF-A etc... Does that make them less of a car? I don't think so. I bet there a lot more of those posters, including the GT-R, on kids' walls today. That also means nothing. My favorite since the '70s has been the Lamborghini Countach. You better believe I grew up and realized that car is best looked at, not driven. I like when other people own them, they sound awesome, but I'd personally never want to own one.

Sometimes the dream is better when it stays a dream. To me, the GT-R is the car that I want to drive after I wake up - a car I can use anywhere, all of the time.

 

Yeah I had posters of zondas on my wall, I think i was around 11 at the time I first layed my eyes on a zonda. Granted I also had 800hp skylines on my wall too lol.

I agree with you on many points though. Sometimes its not always clear cut, people often ask me why I didnt buy a 997.1 or GTR instead of the TTRS for example. To me the TT is just the perfect car and it pulled on my heart strings. Blame the UrQuattro for that, but all my life Ive wanted a 5 cylinder turbocharged audi, and a RS car. One dream now complete.

Audi RS4, thats one car I wish I would have kept as a dream, they are bloody slow.


Good luck to the OP with his career and whichever car he chooses, they are both great vehicles!

 

I remember as a tiny little kid, in the 70's, right before the fall of communism in Poland, as we were forced to flee the country (my family were stern supporters of the solidarity movement, anti-communists), my first and only toy I had, for a long time, was a little 930 Turbo car. As we were moving from country to country - that little toy was something I cherished. ...Ferdinand got it right with the 911!
The dream of owning a turbo has always been with me!

Maybe there's a kid somewhere in Japan, who feels the same way. 20 years from now, he may be posting on a holographic forum board, while flying in outer space on a hyper drive GTR, being nostalgic too.

Yup, I went from serious to ridiculous in 2.8s!

 

+1 (PurePorsche)

 

Ok...So I've made up my mind on the 997.1 Turbo. I love driving manual and plus I think it'll be the one thing that'll make my commutes to work less tedious. On that note- I think i've narrowed down my choices to two cars.

1. 2007 completely stock less than 15k miles and comes with Porsche CPO which I believe is from the time of purchase 2yrs or 50k miles
2. 2007 lightly modded with HRE wheels, aftermarket exhaust, ECU upgrade 10k miles but no warranty.

The second car asking about 6k more on the price

I understand that the engine in these porsches are rock solid, however, in terms of ownership, is it worth it to get the stock car with the CPO or the lightly modded car that has the looks and start to the modding frenzy that is inevitable for me.

Thanks again guys for all your help

 

Get the first one. No sense paying for someone elses mods. for 6k you can get what you want AND have a warranty. Its a supercar out of the box so you will be fine with the stock version till you decide what you want to do with it. Heck 6k and $5 will get you the Switzter 550 package. I havent seen any HRE that I HAVE to have so unless you HAVE to have those wheels go get the stock with the piece of mind of a warranty and a relationship beginning with your dealer.

 

to the op - youre doing well regardless. i graduated p&s and cpmc about 20 yrs ago (and with no debt) and was so happy to get a saab!! the attendings all drove garbage cars back then, probably due to neighborhood though. has that changed at all?

i currently have a 12 gtr and my last car was an 07 gt3. i like the gtr better overall street and track. ive driven 07 tt's and its probably better on street than gtr.

are you staying in city? neither will be great there. good luck

 

as someone out from residency/fellowship for 2 years now, I would def get a 997 with a warranty to limit your out of pocket exposure from both repairs and depreciation. The GTR may have a warranty but is going to depreciate a higher percentage than the turbo, and it's a porsche....

Don't spend it all, taxes are a *****

 

I agree with everything you posted except the part about resale. The GTR has one of the best resale values of any performance car you can buy, and will maintain its value much better than any newer 911 will.