Well two weeks in and I think I have a pretty good feel for the car. I will share my own personal opinions. Please understand that I am presenting these as opinions and not facts.

A little background info always helps when looking at where someone is coming from, so here is a bit about me.

I'm a 31 year old driving nut. I say driving nut because I consider myself more into driving than being into cars. I can basically enjoy driving anything regardless of the badge on the front of it and that goes both ways from Ferraris to a toyota Yaris (sorry about the square tires on the toyota enterprise). I have had a pretty short history of nice car ownership because I did not start making any money till I was about 27. The list is short so I'll just put it up. Cars from the beginning to the end.... Miata(first car) 93 honda accord, audi TT, Lamborghini Gallardo, Ferrari 430 Spider, Porsche 911S and GT3RS. There have been others that my lady primarily drives but those are the cars that I have specifically chose for myself. So you can see that I'm not loyal to one brand and I can honestly say that I'm still trying to figure out my car taste preferences.

Now to the GTR. Well the performance just speaks for its self. Its amazing. The straight line acceleration is flat out ridiculous for any car, let alone one that is this big and heavy. The brakes feel like they could launch a passenger through the windshield if the driver chose to. When the road gets twisty the GTR corners with such confidence that I find myself wanting to go back and do the road all over again. You would have to be at a track to get anywhere near its limits. Basically the car does not really have a weakness from a performance stand point. These are Facts, anyone that denies these facts has some sort of ax to grind.

But with all cars there are aspects that are subjective and this is where my thoughts are focused for this thread. I personally like the look of the car. I don't think it is beautiful but I do think its attractive. I find the interior is tolerable for a car in its price range. interior has never been super important to me so one has to be really good or really bad to stand out in my mind. Actually the only one that stands out in my mind as super bad is the corvette.

As a daily driver I find the car pretty comfortable and I could easily live with it . The suspension is harsh even in comfort setting but I think this is to be expected if you want a car that can corner as the GTR does.

My only dig on the car is that I PERSONALLY FEEL it lacks soul. Now this is about as subjective as subjective can get because what in the world is soul in a car? I can't really define it. I can tell you my little crappy 91 miata had it, my TT did not, my 430 had to much of it for my personal tastes, the 911S has some but not enough and the Gallardo is just right for me. Please keep in mind I'm speaking of all these cars in stock form.

I think part of the problem is the GTR goes about its business in a manor that is a bit isolating. The car is very quiet. The only thing noisy on the car is the transmission. The turbos literally suck up all the noise. The all wheel drive system makes corners so uneventful that if feels like my dog could go around a corner as fast as I can. This is great on a track but for me I want a car to make me feel like I'm part of the equation. Basically for me all the things that make this car great as a DD take away from its appeal for me as a super car.

To sum up things if I was given a choice to take any car up to 100k to the track and just go for lap times I'm choosing the GTR hands down, and I'm not even giving anything else a tiny thought, but if someone said you have to take a car to the track and no lap times will be taken, but the objective is to make you smile all day I'm afraid the GTR is going to be left at home. For me personally I apply this same line of thinking to my own personal rides on the street.

My head LOVES the GTR, but my HEART is not yet convinced. Feel free to weigh in. I would love to hear all of your opinions even if they stray very far away from my own

 

I did not feel the soul of the GTR(nor did it stir my soul) the few times I drove it.
In the process of buying one to see what it is all about.
I know what you mean.
You may want to post on NAGTROC to get more feedback.

 

A Ti cat-back and quality tune increases the amount of 'soul' exponentially.

 

Scott

Hoping the Akropovic Titanium exhaust with HKS resonated mid-pipes and cat-less downpipes
will fix the sou-less issue.

E85 Tune with 3" intakes to let out the full potential, your thoughts?

 

i went miata, 350z then GTR and had visions of some other cars (but couldn't get away with it (wife)) and agree with what you say, and also feel that an exhaust would help. After owning 6 mos and with an inability to afford track time, i'm somewhat frustrated at times, but am head over heals in love with it and don't want any other car.

 

This topic has been discussed before. Again, I think you are confusing "Controlled Performance" with "Soul". For example, rear wheel drive vehicles have a lot more "Soul" than AWD. The better behaved car will have "Less Soul" unless you are at its extreme. If you want real "Soul" then carnival rides are best, because you never know what to expect in a "Thrill Ride".

 

impressive progress for 4 years
how did you feel about the GT3RS?

 

Not needed, pushing the stock turbos that far is asking for trouble - E85 only helps cover up that situation. We wouldn't run them any harder than ~525awhp.

P600 stock turbos
P700 upgraded turbos...

 

Call me crazy, call me stupid, or just call me a marketing dream... After watching this video, I bought a GTR that week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkYgI1vExBA

Whatever the marque, IMHO - soul is akin to passion and I see more people passionate about the 'R than when I drive the '3.

Just last week, a lady (fairly pretty, I might add) in a 370z chased me down on the freeway and waved her arm out acknowledging how she loved this car! And this is not limited to just the younger generations in their 20~30's. I've had gentlemen in their 60's asking to riders on Ducatis nodding to acknowledge the 'R. My kids were with me many times and they could not believe how many people are just going gaga over this car...

Another tid-bit worth noting is that in 4 years, Nissan sold only around 4100 GTRs in US, where as Porsche sold probably that many in just '3s alone in the US each year. And think that we have 20+ variants of the 997s...

Soul is very personal and from my vantage point, it looks like there are a lot of people that are willing to show their passion about the 'R and quite a few more put down the money to make their dreams come true with Porsches.