[HattoriHanzo]

Its not a skyline JohnVon

About the numbers, the GTR is competing against the new 600hp Viper SRT-10 ACR, which beat the GTR around the Ring by almost 7sec!

But what is also amazing, is that the GTR and the Viper are pretty similar in times around OTHER tracks as well. At Willow Springs, the Viper only got the GTR by 2sec, 5sec at Laguna Seca, 7sec at Virginia Raceway, 2sec at Buttonwillow Configuration 13, 0.3sec at Willow Springs - Streets of Willow, and 0.8sec at El Toro, with the GTR winning by 1.5sec at Auto Club Speedway.

What am I trying to convey here? They all hold simular track times that are not too far off at other tracks, so they can be reguarded as comprable cars. So the GTR's time of 7:29 around the Ring doesnt sound too far fetched. I dont believe it was cheating. I would love to be proved wrong and cannot wait for a test between the Trio, the ZR1, the GTR and the ACR.

 

[HattoriHanzo]

I bet they'd say that.

Just comparing numbers, the 7:29 doesnt sound too far off.

 

[HattoriHanzo]

And this quote by Porsche has no credibility...

"But he eventually revealed his team clocked the GT-R at 7:54, with the GT2 getting down to 7:34."

Which makes no sense. How can every other GTR in the world beat the GT2 around a any other track, but on the Ring when Porsche drives it, the GTR loses by 20sec?

http://www.fastestlaps.com/index.php?page_id=compare&car1=46a06c22ab41a&car2=4717b80e35715

 

[HattoriHanzo]

I think the best way to settle this is for Car and Driver or Road and Track to just do a damn comparison of them all (Viper ACR, GTR, ZR1 and GT2) and see who comes out the winner. Have three drviers make passes with each of the cars, add em up and see what happens.

I been saying this for months now and cannot wait.

 

[HattoriHanzo]

Nissan Responds to Porsche's claim

On Tuesday, Porsche engineers announced they had bought a Nissan GT-R, tested it at the Nurburgring, failed to come close to Nissan's claimed times, and charged that Nissan must have used non-factory-available tires to achieve those times. Today, Nissan has fired back, telling reporters at the Paris motor show that Nissan did not cheat and that they could not explain why Porsche could not match their times.

"Quite simply we're not going to get into a war of words with Porsche," said Neil Reeve, Nissan's European spokesman. "The final word from us is that it was done on absolutely standard tires, which are available to customers in the showroom. They're not trick tires - absolutely standard tires, normal road tires. The GT-R comes with Bridgestone and Goodyear (Dunlop). One tire gives slightly better times around the 'Ring. We did it on Dunlop. They're available with the car."

With former F1 driver Tochio Suzuki behind the wheel, the Nissan set a blistering lap record of 7 min/29 sec. When an unidentified Porsche chassis engineer and 'Ring expert tried it, the best he could muster was 7 min/54 sec. The only known difference between the GT-Rs is that Nissan ran with the Dunlop tires, while Porsche ran with the Bridgestone tires.

When asked about the discrepancy, Reeve said, "I don't know, honestly I can't explain. I don't think it's for us to explain how they didn't match our time. We absolutely maintain (that) Tochio Suzuki - the chief test driver on the GT-R program - pounded thousands of laps; he got to know every inch of Nurburgring (circuit) and how the car performs on the Nurburgring and hence set that fabulous lap. More than that, I can't speculate. I can't explain why they couldn't match the time. We maintain that ... nothing special was done to the car."

According to Reeve, the issue has reached "quite high" in Nissan, but it's not necessarily cause for concern.

"The people who'd buy a GT-R or 911 Turbo are not the type of people to make a purchase like that lightly," said Reeve. "They're going to do an incredible amount of research, they're going to read every single road test that's available in every magazine that is on the Internet, and they're going to draw their own conclusion. Will it put doubt in their mind? They might find it surprising. In our experience in Europe, the GT-R has widely matched, at least, if not beaten, the 911 Turbo on various track tests. They can draw their own conclusions. We think its performance speaks for itself."

The possibility of a rematch at the 'Ring to prove the winner once and for all was brought up, and Reeve would only say: "We're considering our options. We're not saying more than that." Regardless of future plans and German claims, Nissan is standing behind the performance of the GT-R and the honesty of their claims.

"But let's not blow it out of all proportion," said Reeve. "We're not crying about it. We're not going to sook about it. I'm cheeky enough to say it's flattering that Porsche has bought itself a GT-R and flown it to Germany. They want to try it. I guess that's some kind of stamp of approval. It's great to have the competition. We're absolutely proud of the GT-R. It's a fabulous sports car, really epic. The level of performance that it delivers is really so impressive for the price at which it's positioned."

 

[HattoriHanzo]

Personally, I love the ACR, GTR, 911 Turbo, and the ZR1. Each car has its own amazing capabilities and features. They each have there own faults. I would put my money where my mouth is and bet that not any one car is better than any other in every category. The ACR is an excellent track weapon, but is very uncomfortable to drive on normal roads, and is a pain as a daily driver, where as the GTR is not. In fact, you can cruise as 180 mph and have a quiet conversation with your passenger in the GTR. The ZR1 is a brute force to be reckoned with and can accelerate as well as it handles, but its tendency to oversteer can be alot to deal with, even if you are a good driver. It takes patience and skill in order to drive the ZR1 to its limits. Its not nearly this difficult with the GTR, It is very forgiving and easy to drive. What about the Porsche? The Porsche has as much poise, if not more, than any of those cars. Its heritage and pedigree are unmatched. It handles, accelerates, brakes, and endures with the best if the breeds. If you buy the Porsche, you not only purchase the name, but unmatched quality and superb customer service and some of the finest engineering today. The GTR is an outstanding machine, and is excellent in every category. Sure its not as fast as the ZR1 from a dig and roll, but the ZR1 can't carry four people comfortably, and some poeple like having a trunk and four seats. Sure the ACR is wicked fast on tracks and is a threat to the GTR in the turns, but its all negligible when a normal person is behind the wheel and not a race car driver. The GTR also has its issues. A lot of people don't like the fact that it comes with only paddle shifters and the fact that it weighs 3800 pounds. What its lacks in those departments, it makes up for in others. To say that any of the cars suck, or fail, or lose is completely asinine and is a blind and biased statement. They are all flagships of each company and are all well built machines.

:headbang:I agree entirely, and I think Motor Trend said it best, "You can drive the GT-R to a track day not knowing what your doing and probably set the quickest lap time of the day." Just goes to show how easy of a car it is to go fast, as the other cars are such brutal cars, but I do agree with the Porsche as well, its such an amazing machine, but you also pay for it. Buy a GT-R with a six pack of transmissions for the same price you'd pay for a GT2. :driving: All in all, this manufacturer horsepower wars make for some awesome machines that I hope to own and will oogle over for years to come.

 

[HattoriHanzo]

I disagree completely. Other than from a roll against the ZR1, the ACR will own all of the other cars in every category. The ZR1 may beat it at the dragstrip, but it has yet to do it.

Have you ridden in an ACR? Ive been lucky enough to drive one. if you want a performance car that is "comfortable", go buy a bugatti veyron. NONE of the above cars have the qualities of something like a Bentley, Mercedes, etc etc except for the 997 Porsche, and it gets spanked so badly in performance by the american cars its really a moot point.

The ACR stomps every other car on a road course, it has posted the fastest 1/4 time out of the bunch, and it really isnt that uncomfrotable. Go drive one and tell me you couldnt live with it everyday. If someone gave me an ACR and said "you have to drive it everyday though", i would say thank you sir may I have another. People complaining about comfort in this test are a bit ridiculous to me. All of the cars are within a similar comfort zone. None of them are going to ride like an S600, Phantom, or a Bentley Arnage.

I want my car to bust whatever cars ass it runs into in a specific category, and everyone of the above cars other than the GTR delivers.

Out of the bunch, I would personally take the ZR1. More than likely you will run into someone on the highway more often than anywhere else, and the ZR1 will simply pimp slap every other car in that respect.

It seems as if the ACR is more of a track day toy than a grocery getter.

For the street, Reece unbolted the front splitter (illegal for the street, it removes easily with eight bolts and fits under the hatch), dialed everything back to full soft, and raised the ride height further. Though booming with tire rumble, the V-10’s *Archie Bunker snore from the side pipes, and the occasional whap! of a backfire, the Viper can be endured for short trips. Tall gearing takes advantage of the big torque but renders sixth all but useless. The Viper seems to lug in its top gear at any speed between 80 and 140 mph. It has air conditioning to lessen the onslaught of sun on black paint (other colors are available) and a barely audible radio, though you can delete both with the optional Hard Core package.
It needs no trailer to reach the track, which is where the ACR belongs, far from life’s distractions. Engaged to be married? Park it. Expecting a baby? Sell it. Getting divorced? Burn it. Don’t bring your preoccupations into the ACR. Only your full attention makes this toy safe.

And to drool over