GTR on Top Gear Track

[wild1poet2]

I'm a big fan of the Top Gear show. Why can't I get a job like that? LOL

Anyway, last night's show tested the GTR on the track. The Stig ran a 1:19.7 on their track placing it number 7 on their leader board. It is in some exotic company. That's amazing for a car that costs $70,000.

It's faster than the Porsche Carrera GT.
BTW: The Boxster S is 59th with a 1:28.7


http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/20/video-the-stig-runs-the-gt-r-around-top-gears-track/


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Laps#Power_Laps

[blue2000s]

I'm sure it's a great car, but it's over 4000 pounds!

[fragdude]

It broke Jeremy's neck! lols

[wild1poet2]

LOL
Jeremy was joking around for the show wasn't he? (I'm naive)

or did his neck get that tired from the G forces that he pulled something? there sure was a lot of response when that happened. Some guy on a lawnmower even showed up.

[fragdude]

The lawn mower was a bit over the top, but I know a few years back his doctor told him he couldn't power slide cars for at least a few months because of his back. So, he might have been joking, might not have....He is old and I can't imagine that he has many "healthy" habits ( i know he smokes a ton).

[2000SoCalBoxsterS]

Wow! I gotta get me one of those GTR's. Forget the Vette Z06. And who cares if it's 4,000 Lbs? What counts is performance.

[fragdude]

Its gonna be real hard to get them. I was at a nissan dealership test driving a 350z for a friend (he can't drive manual too well), and I was talkin to the guy about the GTR. He was the owners son, and since they had 3 dealerships, they were getting 2 GTRs and they already had something like 5 down payments (this was in March). He also said the dealer markup would be really heafty (20k being nothing "huge").

[2000SoCalBoxsterS]

When the Mustang Shelby GT 500 came out they were getting $20K over sticker. Then about a year ago they were getting about $10K over sticker. Then last March my friend bought a 2008 Shelby GT 500 for $2,500 over sticker. I'm sure now you can get one $2,500 under sticker.

I can wait a year or even two for the euphoria to wear off at get a GTR at sticker or real close to it.

[wild1poet2]

I was thinking there may be some good used GTR's in a few years. Probably be reliable too although lot's of high tech in the car.

Kinda makes it interesting now. Let's say you got $70K to $75k to spend on a car. Or even $90K to $100K I suppose. What do you get?

It could force the competition to step up and offer more performance to close the gap.

[fragdude]

It will be interesting what this car does to the super car market, especially since its in the U.S. now. I wonder how many used ones there will be though? I doubt they are gonna be commin over here in huge numbers at first because they probably take a while to put together. And if it is so good, why would you want to part with it

[blue2000s]

You want to know what will happen with this car in the US and what will happen over time? Set the wayback machine to 1991 and look at the NSX. Great car, they'll sell a few, it'll be cool to see one on the road, and they'll slowly drop in price but hold well. There will be new cars that outperform it and the buzz will die down, just like everything else.

Ferrari people won't think about buying one and people buying a GTR won't think about buying a Ferrari (but compare it to one all the time).

In 10 years, the '19 Evo (or whatever the hot economy car is at the time) will be blowing the doors off the '09 GTR.

[renzop]

If you are like me, you do not race your car on a track (I said race not HPDE). Instead your car spends all its time on the street. So, ultimate speed is not important rather driving fun is. That's where the GTR falls down IMHO. It may post good numbers and that's exciting until your first accident, ticket or death. Then you realize (if you are not dead) that driving fun comes from driving a car that responds to your commands, not one that commands you. The GTR sounds like a soulless speed machine. I would get as much enjoyment out of going super fast in it as I would get as a passenger on a 747.

[wild1poet2]

IDK Jeremy did say it was made to go around corners and it does have a slick DCT and AWD. It'd be fun. But I enjoy driving anything with a motor.

But I agree that after awhile most any car with a roof turns into just a commuting car on the street.

I'm glad Nissan is building cars like the GTR and setting the performance bar higher.

For pure road fun though, nothing beats a motorcycle.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by renzop

If you are like me, you do not race your car on a track (I said race not HPDE). Instead your car spends all its time on the street. So, ultimate speed is not important rather driving fun is. That's where the GTR falls down IMHO. It may post good numbers and that's exciting until your first accident, ticket or death. Then you realize (if you are not dead) that driving fun comes from driving a car that responds to your commands, not one that commands you. The GTR sounds like a soulless speed machine. I would get as much enjoyment out of going super fast in it as I would get as a passenger on a 747.

In general I agree with you on the value of feedback, and a 4000 pound curb weight does not bode well, plus, what fun is a sports car with an automatic transmission. No matter what they call it, if there's no clutch, it's an automatic. But don't you have to drive the car before making the statement you made?

[mylamb]

Yeah - looks like they're going to be at least $100K for their first year on sale. Check it out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___2009-Nissan-GT-R-Premium-GTR_W0QQitemZ120284816420QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20Trucks QQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120284816420&_trksid=p3756.m14.l1308

I saw that Top Gear too - awesome car but why isn't it better looking? I mean is it really better looking than a Nismo Tuned Z? I don't think so. At $100K+ they're going to compete with 997 S', R8's, and AMV8's. Granted, it will spank them all, but if I were in that market, I would probably go for the car that you dream about; the one that a kid has tacked up on his wall, or saved on his desktop. Having said that, I'm still glad it exists.

[Ike]

Hey MotorHeads,

Anyone figure out who The Stig is? Bonus points for Stig's African brotha, and Fat Stig.

The only clue I have is that he is an ex F1 driver.

Ike

PmajorS: That GTR car does not even have the style of the 986.

[Jeph]

Have you all heard/seen about this?
Here's the actual car they used in that filming.



Here's the story: http://www.egmcartech.com/2008/07/22/top-gear-crashes-nissan-gt-r-press-car/

[Blkboxster]

Originally Posted by mylamb

Yeah - looks like they're going to be at least $100K for their first year on sale. Check it out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___2009-Nissan-GT-R-Premium-GTR_W0QQitemZ120284816420QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20Trucks QQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120284816420&_trksid=p3756.m14.l1308

I saw that Top Gear too - awesome car but why isn't it better looking? I mean is it really better looking than a Nismo Tuned Z? I don't think so. At $100K+ they're going to compete with 997 S', R8's, and AMV8's. Granted, it will spank them all, but if I were in that market, I would probably go for the car that you dream about; the one that a kid has tacked up on his wall, or saved on his desktop. Having said that, I'm still glad it exists.

call me a idiot but im probably going to bid and hopefully win, if that happens bye bye cayenne and Cl...

[Manxie]

Originally Posted by Ike

Anyone figure out who The Stig is? Bonus points for Stig's African brotha, and Fat Stig.

There's a few theories on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_stig

One suspect is Russ Swift http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Swift. I know him from TT Week, when he drove our Italian Job Mini as part of his display routine.

Video at bottom of page at http://www.italianjob.info/media/index.html

I'll have to ask him about it next time I see him

Mike

[wild1poet2]

Question: Would a sport bike get around that Top Gear test track faster than any of the tested cars? Some of the tested cars?