Going to Drive a GTR in Half an Hour

[insite]

my buddy just picked one up; he came across it while on business in alabama & snatched it up to flip. will post my driving impressions later today. this should be a LOT of fun.

[insite]

holy shi1tballs! that car is ridiculous. SCARY fast. more later w/ pics.

[insite]

some pics:

[insite]

this car is VERY, VERY fast. faster than a 997TT. faster than the GT2 i have driven. faster than a Z06. it is also very easy to drive. it really is like piloting an xbox 360; DSG paddles, a touch screen with displays ad infinitum. the electronic driver aids are amazing; you can toss it into a sweeper at 120 and simultaneously mash the brakes. the electronics sort it out with nary a peep from the tires.

the interior isn't bad. it's not what we'd expect from an $85k car, but then neither is this level of performance. consider this: at fiorano, it tied the F430 scuderia, which tied an ENZO for god sakes. it is ferrari enzo fast.

it is also big. and heavy. but you would never know it from the driver's seat; it feels so nimble and eager. the suspension is excellent. well damped, but not harsh. the brakes are simply unbelievable. the car wears 20" wheels. the brake rotors (floating hats, mind you) are FIFTEEN inches in diameter. pedal feel was great.

amenities? not bad! good stock stereo, niceley integrated nav, GINORMOUS trunk. three bags of clubs. there are some odd plasticy bits, but this is not a car designed to coddle the driver. this is a car designed to move. FAST. and i mean FAAAST. make your head spin fast.

much different driving philosophy than porsche. not bad, just different. the only thing i didn't like while driving was that i felt the pedals were MUCH too far apart. only afterward did i realize why: left foot braking. this thing has no clutch pedal, so no need for close gas/brake. when you don't need your left foot to clutch, you use it to brake. this is a serious toy indeed. my friend (the owner) described it as an EVO for grown ups. i agree.

[Cloudsurfer]

Wow. Seems like the civilized, factory version of the twin turbo 350Z my friend has

Patrick

[Dar01]

Sounds like an awesome "driving" car!...but I gotta say, it is UGLY.......I look at the 350z and love the looks, but this?!?!?!? maybe its just me.....

[ekam]

Originally Posted by insite

you can toss it into a sweeper at 120 and simultaneously mash the brakes. the electronics sort it out with nary a peep from the tires.

This is the same dilemma I had when I was looking at the Evo X. Is there really any enjoyment of driving cars like this beside speed that automatically turns everyone into a professional driver since the computer sorts everything out for you? Did you feel the computer was getting in the way?

For the price it definitely can't be beat. If money is not an issue, it's either F430 Scud or GT3 RS for me...

[insite]

Originally Posted by ekam

This is the same dilemma I had when I was looking at the Evo X. Is there really any enjoyment of driving cars like this beside speed that automatically turns everyone into a professional driver since the computer sorts everything out for you? Did you feel the computer was getting in the way?

For the price it definitely can't be beat. If money is not an issue, it's either F430 Scud or GT3 RS for me...

i don't know that i'd personally choose a car like this over something like a 997S for even money. it's fascinating for sure, but it is a little muted. the computer never really got in the way; fairly transparent. it IS possible to engage the yaw control even in race mode if you push it hard. the harder you push it, the better it feels.

[Jacques79]

Too bad there's no manual transmission.

Goes to show Nissan wanted to put performance numbers and impressing people ahead of driving pleasure.

[Lordblood]

Holy **************** man your lucky! I love the GTR, ever since I saw it as a concept. I don't think it looks ugly, in fact its much better looking to me then the Corvette.

Can't blame it for being plastic, Nissan and other Japanese manufacturers tend to put in plastics to keep cost down, which in the GTR it is. $90k for a Enzo-fast car!

[Topless]

Nice pull insite! I have vowed to get my right foot deeply into one of those things soon.

[FIG]

I actually quite like the look!

Saw an imported one a few weeks back (not available here yet sadly), and up close, it's lines are rather nice IMHO anyways.

When they hit our shores (sometime next year?), my business associate will be entertaining the idea of coughing up $160K for the weapon .....