http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=6594

Z06 acquits itself very well! GTR is an impressive car, I give it it's due. Still think it's ugly, but it is fast.

 

Interesting read, yeah I agree it would take the ugly award for sport cars. There would be no contenders even in the ballpark.

 

I feel like I have read this article linked off of here before.

 

Similar comparison:
https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=590236

 

styling is subjective. i think it looks better than the vette and the porsche

 

I feel I'm an unbiased car fanatic when it comes to the Z06 & GTR.

I'm a GM fan, but appreciate the Japanese offerings. (Currently own an STI and Murano)

With that said, the driver in this test is Steve Millen.
http://www.stillen.com/

Notice the link in the bottom of his site?

He even has a Nissan/Infiniti appreciation day!
http://www.stillen.com/news.asp?id=79

With that said, I don't doubt that a GTR can run a better lap, and I'm not doubting Steve's ability to drive the Z06 to its potential. But I can't believe with 100% certainty that the results weren't skewed a little in some way shape/form by Steve.

 

I just think with all its do-dads wise the GTR is going to be so fragile its going to break..
Just seams to me for the price to performance it cant last that long without some serious upkeep..

where the 911 an the vette are proven daily drivers.

 

This crossed my mind, too.

Would be interesting to see how the results looked with Millen driving the GT-R and with Heinricy driving the Z06, for example. Or, let both of them drive both. Hell, invite Hurley Haywood and have them all drive all three!

Perhaps they should have just let their own testers drive the cars. Although in that case, the results might have been similar, as several journalists have noted that the Z06 requires a little more finesse than the AWD cars, which can be more forgiving of drivers without primo driving ability. On the other hand, when Car and Driver did their "Lightning Lap," the Z06 demolished the 911 Turbo (and beat the street-legal race car GT3 911), and even the Z51 bested the 911 Turbo. All in the hands of their own journalists. So an apples to apples comparison would be nice to see.



EDIT: This is in no way discounting the very impressive showing by the GT-R. The car is a serious performer, without question. I'd also take the Z06, without question, over the GT-R.

 

So how much profit do you think Nissan will make per unit on the GTR? Or do you think it's price actually causes a loss per vehicle?

 

Nissan will never come out and say it.. but i'm guessing they are losing money on each sale.. they have to be

the GT-R has so much high tech stuff in it.. and priced the way it is.. i'm not afraid to admit that it has replaced the Z06 as the best-bang-for-your-buck king... it seems like a real quick car and for relatively cheap

that said, i too am of the opinion that it's ugly (though my buddy.. who happens to own a G35 sedan... thinks it looks good)... i'd still take a Z06 over the GT-R

 

You have to consider though, even if they sell the cars at a loss they may make that money back in the after market and maintenance...

 

Depends on how big the loss is.

 

That's quite a lot of assumptions to make.

I've seen plenty of broken "vettes and 911s in my time...let's also keep in mind that Ghosn's stated desire for this car is a supercar that can (even should) be driven every day.

Obviously, every car needs to be maintained properly and it's generally true that the more complexity the more there is to maintain but I don't know that you can pait a broad brush and say the GT-R is going to be any less dependable on a day to day basis than a typical 911 or Corvette.

One more comment on the looks - it's impressive in person. That aside, the engineers have consistently said that every bump, crease, inlet, etc in the car is there expressly there for a performance reason, not for the sake of looks so in that department, to each his own!

 

I just read that article and the one in Car and Driver. I am impressed. The car looks pretty good. I really like Gordon Murray's input on it also. Afer seeing the pusher at the Dallas Auto Show, I came away liking it for the most part.

But I have to say that there is 1 single element of the car that could be changed that would make this car an absolute homerun.

Nissan needs to chop the roof off and make a convertible!

Sure, it will worsen the coefficient of drag lowering top speed. It will probably add a couple hundred pounds slowing it down and making it handle a little worse. With the performance stats it is producing now, it can give up a little. But it will look NICE.

 

[QUOTE=Robert_Nashville;5315770]That's quite a lot of assumptions to make.

I've seen plenty of broken "vettes and 911s in my time...let's also keep in mind that Ghosn's stated desire for this car is a supercar that can (even should) be driven every day.

Obviously, every car needs to be maintained properly and it's generally true that the more complexity the more there is to maintain but I don't know that you can pait a broad brush and say the GT-R is going to be any less dependable on a day to day basis than a typical 911 or Corvette.
QUOTE]

Yes and no..its brand new..and in the past articles about the car I have said I could be wrong.. and you just made the same comment that I was trying to makie in my post.."it's generally true that the more complexity the more there is to maintain "
And sure you could make the argument.."I've seen plenty of broken "vettes and 911s in my time.." Yea every car breaks down..EVERY car..So its not a blanket statement..the vette and 911 havne many more years of tested road than the GTR..and if the GTR is more of a matinence kinda car to keep that perfromance is it really worth the bang for the buck if it cost more to maintain it in the end? I am kinda comparing this to the Evo's and the STi's in the matinence and upkeep record they have. Not performance..Those two cars are performance bargains and little pocket rockets..and cheap to buy for the performance you get..but the mantain the owners have to keep on it and keep paying to keep them performing as they do..the cost to keep those 4 bangers running like they do it a pretty penny..is the GTR going to be like that?
If these cars in 2 years show they are holding up real well and no signs of breaking down then hey I was wrong..but again at what price is this cars matinence like? And thruthfully I don't know. But if in a couple of years we see on message boards how bullitproof this car is then hey..good for Nissan..but if not like many things the internet lets out secrets on problems cars have.
How much is Nissan eating if thats the case to make a car like the GTR run like this? If its not covering developement costs and sales they are just doing this for show..then thats impressive..or is it something else?
Just speaking outloud to say what I think..we all don't know what will be of the car in real life.