Others on that list are above 3400 lbs, by the way (that crazy X5, all the Lambo Murcielagos, some 911 turbos, etc.).

Not that I'm saying more weight is good or anything.

 

The extra ~200 lbs or so that AWD adds will increase the normal force on the tire by ~5-7%, which isn't going to increase the slip angle all that much.

On the other hand, the slip rate (ratio between the rotational speed of the tire and the actual forward speed of the car; kinda like slip angle but applied along the longitudinal [x] axis) will have to be dramatically larger on the rear tires of the RWD car, as those will have to provide perhaps 50-60% more thrust than they would in a AWD application.

 

Here is a small car with quite a bit of power, and watch how well it handles the corners,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJt0z2Ngy9U

 

I’m going back quite a few years here but when it comes to AWD and its advantage on a track, hasn’t AWD been banned from most forms of racing (From Indy and F1 for example) at least in part because it did provide a very significant advantage over the other cars?

It seems to me that when done correctly, AWD can give significant advantages and if that’s the case, I don’t understand why AWD is being disparaged here?

Just conjecture here but if a heavier and less powerful GT-R can beat the C6 ZO6's time at the 'Ring (as some mags/spies have already rumored) I would suspect that the AWD and AWS systems might well have something to do with it.

AWD is to an extent, part of the GT-R’s DNA but even so, I would say it highly questionable that the designers/engineers working on this edition of the GT-R would spend the time (and money) to have an AWD system on the new GT-R if the advantages of it didn’t far outweigh the disadvantages.

Doing so would only add costs and would only serve to decrease profits on the car and while this may be the “halo” car for Nissan, adding costs for the sake of adding costs is definitely not part of Ghosn’s DNA!

 

Couple AWD with turbos and sticky tires and you can pretty much go as fast as you want.

We've heard educated guesses at what horsepower will be, but nothing on torque. With forced induction you can have very high torque with relatively low horsepower.

 

Unless the GT-R's AWD and AWS systems allow it to break the laws of physics, I'm willing to bet that the rumored 7:35 lap time around the Nordschleife is incorrect and is several seconds faster than the car is actually capable of.

 

I love that show

 

Frankly, I don’t see the benefit in arguing about lap times from spies who say they timed it at this lap time or that lap time – it may sell magazines or drive people to websites but has little value otherwise.

I also suspect that any time, “official” or otherwise, will be disparaged and dismissed out of hand it if the time doesn’t fit preconceived opinions about the GT-R’s capabilities and especially so if it puts the GT-R faster than the Z06.

 

As for racing I don't know if AWD is banned because of competitive advantage or if it was not worth it. I know there are some uses in Sports Car Racing. If anyone would use it if there was an advantage it would be F1 and I don't know the rules but there has not been talk of AWD since I've been a fan. Although I'm sure it they have used a 6 wheel car and ones with fans to create a suction to the ground AWD must have been used at some time.

Just thinking out loud, AWD would add quite a bit of complexity, weight and make packaging in the all important nose of an F1 car difficult.

I think another factor here is the GTR has made a name at being AWD that's what it is. As you say DNA. Like a Vette or Camaro have to be RWD, or Ferrari's GT cars are always front engine and 911's are always rear engine. So is there an advantage or that's just what the car is and there was never another choice?

Just for thought isn't the top production Ring cars, 911 GT2/GT3 and Carrera GT all RWD...

 

I am not sure what type of AWD the new GTR has but I was watching some GTR videos last year and they were talking about the AWD technology that that car had and it was a very intelligent system. It was basically RWD until the computer sensed the car losing grip and then the front wheels would start to kick in.

 

If it's official, there's no arguing or disparaging to be done.

Unfortunately, this car is being way over-hyped in terms of it's capabilities. Some of the more uneducated import fans are treating the new GT-R like it's the second coming of Christ. It'll be an amazing car, no doubt. But it's not a world-beater.

 

That is how most real sports car AWD works.

The time is 7:38 and we will have to wait and see if the production models hit that number. We don't know what amount of boost, what tires, or what calibration the AWD system had. I thought there has also been at least one of the GTRs that was taken to the ring in the past by Nissan that ended up having a lot more boost and different AWD tuning than the production car, even though it was widely reported as being production. Was thinking it was the R33.

 

Unfortunatey, there are quite a few on this board who choose to ignore anything that doesn't fit into their already formed opinions no matter how "official" something might be.

 

Competative advantage wasn't the only consideration but was very much a part of it; non AWD cars simply couldn't keep up.

USAC banned it from Indy car racing around 1970 and F1 did so about the same time.

 

Not so fast...

There have only been a handful of AWD cars ever to be built for open wheeled racing. 1969 was probably about the biggest time for AWD in F1 but it was largely abandoned because it did not seem to offer an advantage and the drivers did not like the handling. As it turns out the 6 wheeled Williams FW08B was the direct cause of the ban on more than 2 drive wheels, even if that car powered 4 rear wheels. They stipulated that each car would have to have 4 wheels and only 2 could be the drive wheels. They also banned 4 wheel steering. None of the cars with more than 2 drive wheels showed much advantage at the races, although the six wheeled, 2wd Tyrrel P34 with 4 front steering wheels was more than promising although the smaller diameter front tires were not fully developed throughout the season and by the next year the car had become heavier with tires that were not as competitive.

There were also some FWD racecars built but they were crappy as could be predicted.