what ever happened to the GTR?
#46
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Actually, selective anesthesia is precisely what I chose to write, but thanks for trying to read my thoughts. Since you appreciate semantics, I may add that I initially considered writing selective analgesia, but found "selective anesthesia" to have more music to it.
No problem with the robotic feel, I found precisely the same, although I'm sure you quickly get over this initial remoteness and learn to use the car's dynamic abilities in much the same way we learned to handle heavier and more sophisticated Porsches over the years. If we were all looking for a "hands in the motor" type of experience, we'd all be driving 930s, not 997s. There is every reason to believe performance car engineering will be moving in the GTR's direction, electronics is one of only few areas of design that can still be improved upon. Whether you regard this favorably or not is another matter.
As for the motives to start this thread, aside from being entertaining, it's an occasion to comfort oneself in the blind faith for a given manufacturer. Should an outside contender with seemingly modest credentials challenge an established classic, it's always a good idea to indulge in a form of mockery or another, and to turn non-participants in the collective abuse into self-hating Porsche enthusiasts. And all this from the people who like to tell you about manhood! You gotta laugh!
Regards,
Chris
No problem with the robotic feel, I found precisely the same, although I'm sure you quickly get over this initial remoteness and learn to use the car's dynamic abilities in much the same way we learned to handle heavier and more sophisticated Porsches over the years. If we were all looking for a "hands in the motor" type of experience, we'd all be driving 930s, not 997s. There is every reason to believe performance car engineering will be moving in the GTR's direction, electronics is one of only few areas of design that can still be improved upon. Whether you regard this favorably or not is another matter.
As for the motives to start this thread, aside from being entertaining, it's an occasion to comfort oneself in the blind faith for a given manufacturer. Should an outside contender with seemingly modest credentials challenge an established classic, it's always a good idea to indulge in a form of mockery or another, and to turn non-participants in the collective abuse into self-hating Porsche enthusiasts. And all this from the people who like to tell you about manhood! You gotta laugh!
Regards,
Chris
Unlike me... hahaha... My English is NOT good...
but for me, I only need just one sentence that represent my point of view,
and that sentence is :
Porsche, There is NO Substitute
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Best Regards,
Prosper
#47
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I always prferred KARR (knight automated roving robot). He had a manly gritty voice and would eject the driver if needed.
#48
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I have similar sentiments as Guy. Enjoyed my modded 996 GT2 greatly. My 2010 GT-R has a completely different vibe but is surprisingly competent nontheless. With an Exhaust mod and new programming (all for about 4k installed), I am very close to the same performance as my GT700 GT2 in much more usable DD car. Enjoying the change but I'd also like to put a new GT3RS in my driveway.![Cheers](https://rennlist.com/forums/images/smilies/beerchug.gif)
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#49
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Bet they won't be making the GTR 2years from now.
#50
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Nelson I am all over the place man.. You know this all to well with yourself
I though of giving up the 2 for a GTR, I figured it would make me much happier as i'll have a sick DD, winter car plus competent performance wise for the summer/track, i'll just try and pick up a GTR as well.. One cannot be a replacement for the other IMO, unless it's absolutely necessary for an every day supercar, then GTR it is hands down!
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Yeah Martin, that's what I said. Not saying the the GT-R is all that..but it's better than I expected and just fine for my DD and I'll probably keep it longer than expected. Breaking into the 10's at 130ish in the qtr. with minor, low cost mods with no reliability issues at this power level, what's not to like? It handles fine stock too- just don't expect Porsche quality feel. I didn't buy it to keep forever anyway but so far so good!
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#51
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whoa... I am not sure you know the history of Skyline GTR's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Skyline_GT-R
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Skyline_GT-R
#52
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You should see the 911TT v GTR debate at 6speedonline. Beyond being cheaper and more forgiving to drive the Skyline has no measurable or objectable advantages! One thing to note was how the GTR felt disconnected from the road responding to input as if playing a video game. Whereas the Turbo felt more like an extension of the body.
Really wish I could read through the rest of these responses; I have to setup this damn Avaya PBX.
Really wish I could read through the rest of these responses; I have to setup this damn Avaya PBX.
#53
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Recent comparo with 997.2 PDK Turbo, GTR, and V10 R8.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBdGFTQ85Aw
Part 2: http://www.evo.co.uk/videos/supercar...tr_part_2.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBdGFTQ85Aw
Part 2: http://www.evo.co.uk/videos/supercar...tr_part_2.html
#54
#55
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whoa... I am not sure you know the history of Skyline GTR's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Skyline_GT-R
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Skyline_GT-R
The GTR is truly a great car, with excellent "bang for the buck" appeal. That's it. In ten years, NOBODY will care. It will just be another used car, with no collectible value.
The Turbo is an icon of automotive history. Truly one of the most succesful automobiles in all disciplines of motorsports, from rally to endurance racing and beyond. You take your pick.
#56
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This from the latest issue of Automobile magazine:
Fleet Updates: (this is their longterm fleet updates in each issue)
21,950 miles "January in Detroit does no car any favors, and that is certainly true here", observes senior editor Joe Lorio. "The suspension crashes over the city's moonscape streets, and there are all kinds of rattles and vibrations coming from the driveline."
22,872 miles The brake squeal is unbearable, and our dealer tells us that it's time for replacement. Total cost for pads, disc, fluid, and labor? A staggering $7346!
Fleet Updates: (this is their longterm fleet updates in each issue)
21,950 miles "January in Detroit does no car any favors, and that is certainly true here", observes senior editor Joe Lorio. "The suspension crashes over the city's moonscape streets, and there are all kinds of rattles and vibrations coming from the driveline."
22,872 miles The brake squeal is unbearable, and our dealer tells us that it's time for replacement. Total cost for pads, disc, fluid, and labor? A staggering $7346!
#58
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its the weight of the car. eats consumables due to all that mass. GTR is good at masking its girth, but it cannot beat laws of physics. pull of gravity is the same in that car as anything else on planet.
i like the GTR, but i keep thinking of Buttonwillow in May (very hot may). I followed a driver in one. Actually it was driving him, you could tell. I had a student in the GT3 with me right on his ***. He crested magic mountain (don't laugh norcal guys, its the only elevation we got in socal) about 8 feet off the apex and i have seen many cars fly right off that little off-camber hill and roll a few times. I told my student to get ready to watch a GTR flip....and it held on!!! wtf! anyways, 3 laps of the same bad line and GTR pulled in to pits probably with cooked magic diff or fluid. I don't think the driver ever knew it either. no way in hell would i ever want one after seeing that.
i like the GTR, but i keep thinking of Buttonwillow in May (very hot may). I followed a driver in one. Actually it was driving him, you could tell. I had a student in the GT3 with me right on his ***. He crested magic mountain (don't laugh norcal guys, its the only elevation we got in socal) about 8 feet off the apex and i have seen many cars fly right off that little off-camber hill and roll a few times. I told my student to get ready to watch a GTR flip....and it held on!!! wtf! anyways, 3 laps of the same bad line and GTR pulled in to pits probably with cooked magic diff or fluid. I don't think the driver ever knew it either. no way in hell would i ever want one after seeing that.
#59
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I don't understand the reason for the scorn heaped on the GTR. Locally a guy tracks one all season and he is as fast on OEM tires as a GT3 on R compounds. yes, the car does the driving, I've seen it too. Neat technology.
I don't care for the GTR myself, but I see no reason to dump on it. I see it as more of a competitor to the M3 than the GT3 and hopefully it will cause other makes to raise their game. On paper it is hard to understand why a GTR can outrun a 997TT - and it can. Nissan is sandbagging the power claim for sure. Still, it is a lot of car for the money if you can put up with the ride on poor roads. I also dislike rattles and squeaks and will pay money for a car which feels like it was carved from a single block of steel. But, that's just me
I don't care for the GTR myself, but I see no reason to dump on it. I see it as more of a competitor to the M3 than the GT3 and hopefully it will cause other makes to raise their game. On paper it is hard to understand why a GTR can outrun a 997TT - and it can. Nissan is sandbagging the power claim for sure. Still, it is a lot of car for the money if you can put up with the ride on poor roads. I also dislike rattles and squeaks and will pay money for a car which feels like it was carved from a single block of steel. But, that's just me
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#60
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This is an article from the march or april issue of EVO. 997.2 turbo, r8 v10, and gtr comparison.
"Rain always sounds worse on a conservatory roof,' I tell photographer Matt Howell as we sit down to our hotel breakfast. I can't explain away the wind tearing at the fabric of the Groes Inn or the fact that by the time we've cleaned our plates the sky has changed only marginally, from black to inky deep blue, even though the sun has officially risen. Secretly, I'm not that bothered. Parked in the rain-lashed car park are three four-wheel-drive supercars that are designed to be reassuringly, comfortably brilliant in such conditions.
As it happens, by the time we've gathered our things and paid our bill, the near-apocalyptic weather has magically blown through, leaving peaceful, watery sunshine. Over the next couple of days we'll experience a useful variety of conditions, enabling us to decide if Porsche's mid-life revisions to the 997 Turbo have done the job, namely to draw it closer to its arch nemesis, the thorn in its side, the Nissan GT-R.
Porsche's engineers haven't confined themselves to tinkering around the edges: the Turbo has an all-new, direct-injection 3.8-litre engine, a new paddle-shift PDK gearbox and, as I discovered driving here yesterday, a new attitude. There's a tautness to its demeanour that's more GT3 than previous-edition Turbo, suggesting a shift in focus towards control at the expense of a little comfort. And when you get the throttle to the stop and feel the air squeezed gently from your lungs as the bigger, 493bhp engine works rapidly through seamlessly shifting gears and into three figures, you know the GT-R has a real fight on its hands. Yet even as that prospect looms, you can't help wondering if in targeting the Nissan, the Turbo hasn't left more room for the third car in this test, the Audi R8 V10.
We've already put a couple of hundred miles under this trio's wheels getting here and there will be many more. On this occasion, north Wales is not the destination but the stepping-off point, as we set out on a tour of the principality's race tracks, of which there are three. Not a bad tally for a country whose national motorsport I'd always assumed was rallying. First stop is the much re-worked Anglesey Circuit, and from there we'll travel the length of the country to visit Pembrey and the Llandow on the south coast, cadging a lap or two where we can and hopefully discovering some brilliant new roads on the way.
All three of our contenders have four-wheel drive, 500bhp give or take, and pukka supercar abilities, yet only the Audi conforms to the accepted definition of a supercar. The two-seat R8 has its engine mid-mounted, and it's a belter, a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 that spins to over 8000rpm to deliver a mighty 518bhp. Sleek and low on its Fat Face logo-like alloys, it looks like a cooler way to blow £100k($152,480) than the rear-engined 911, which, in yellow, contrives to look just like A N Other 911. And then there's the Nissan, just £58k($88,438). It stands head and shoulders above the others, square-edged, bulky, dark and menacing, like an assassin in a leather trench-coat. It's packing 3.8 litres, six cylinders and twin turbos, just like the 911, but the six are in a vee, the engine is up front and, as of now, its 478bhp is pipped by the revised Turbo's output.
I can imagine the GTR frustrates the hell out of the engineers at Porsche. It feels rough hewn initially, the drivetrain occasionally fumbling a pull-away or shift and sending a thump through the car, the front wheels distracted and fidgety and the twin-clutch gearbox keen to shuffle into the highest gear possible if left in auto. As a consequence, the car feels a bit first-thing-in-the-morning dozy. Then you feed in a decent slug of throttle, the turbos spool up and the car snaps to, like it's just had a double espresso. Energized, the GT-R becomes alert, poised, purposeful, and you're engaged, interested. The GT-R has got you.
Yes, it's a bulkier car than the 911, heavier too — by almost 200kg(440.9 lbs), according to our scales — but once it's clear of suburbia it reveals a huge swell of low-down torque, a natural, easy gait and a comfortable ride. You feel connected through the wheel and seat, and, once you've selected paddle-shift mode, in charge. Relax a bit with the steering and your progress over Anglesey's bumpy, puddled B-roads is storming.
It's a while since I've been to Anglesey Circuit and it's a surprise to find the old hairpin and top straight are now the feeder road to the circuit office. From the top of this dramatically re-engineered track you now get an even better view across Caernarfon Bay to the white-peaked Snowdonia National Park. I always enjoyed the tricky old circuit and it's great to discover that the new one also has plenty of challenges and elevation changes. I imagine it's a tough lap to master, and a tougher place still to race at. Wouldn't mind a go, naturally...
Our schedule demands that we don't loiter. For the first leg south I drop low into the cockpit of the Audi. It feels more special than the others; the architecture is more dramatic, the instruments and switchgear higher quality. There is also an absolute stand-out feature — the open gate and manual gearlever.
There has to be a beefy clutch between the big V10 and the six-speed 'box but you're not aware of it. The left pedal is light and the take-
up creamy yet positive, a perfect complement to the slick, positive, click-clack shift. Wristing the knurled lever around the gate, you feel like a master of the manual shift within a mile, by which time you'll have also discovered what a superbly polished device the R8 is, the ride supple and refined, the car flowing sweetly down the road. And what a contrast the engine is. Both the Nissan and Porsche have very responsive twin-turbo powerplants, but they don't get close to the instant, solid, any-gear response of the 5204cc V10 at your back here. And while the others may deliver bigger, boosted mid-range torque, there's an endless thrill to revving out the flat-toned, warbling V10 and feeling the manic kick beyond 6000rpm.
We're heading for Barmouth on the open, meandering coast road, and the Audi feels well suited to it. Even more than the 911, it feels light-nosed and heavy-tailed, which is fine, except that when it flattens a cat's eye the rear wriggles slightly. It might be four-wheel drive but particularly in the wet you find yourself driving this R8 as if it was merely rear-drive, with due consideration for the mass behind you.
Just outside the Barmouth we stop for a car swap. We all agree that the Audi has a delicious, quality feel. 'Buttery' is how Ollie Marriage describes it. Stepping back into the 911 Turbo, the Porsche's focus and economy of movement are even more apparent. This is one tightly tied-down chassis, and although you corner it in traditional 911 style, picking up the throttle once the nose is settled and using the torque to nail the back tires to the road on the exit, it commits to a turn more positively than the Audi and is more reassuring for it. It's also remarkable just how much of the potent flat-six's energy the chassis can contain and deploy before the stability control twitches into life.
Leave the gearbox to do its own thing, pin the throttle and there's a good deal of shuffling before the appropriate gear is summoned and full boost arrives (it's even more long-winded in the Nissan), by which time the audi has gained a few car lengths. But why would you leave it in auto if you've specified the +/- paddles (hurrah!) and simple three-spoke steering wheel, a must-have £270($412) option that gives instinctive manual control of PDK's seven ratios?
This car also has the Sport Chrono option, a press of the Sport button offering a more alert gearchange strategy, punchier shifts and overboost (raising torque from 479 to 516lb ft for up to 10sec). However, for the most devastating hit it's best to have the correct gear pre-selected when you hit the gas at the end of a 30mph limit. From that point you'll be pinned to the backrest for as long as you keep the throttle down, which won't be long if you want to stay legal. When we got our test gear on it, the Turbo recorded 0-60mph in 3.2sec and 0-100mph in 7.3 in the wet.
So how come the Nissan is always on the 911's case? Through a testing series of curves on the A487 towards Machynlleth, the GT-R has the Turbo pegged. It's bigger, it's heavier, but once you're off and running it doesn't feel clumsy or outsize. Its responses and agility seem to belong to a smaller, lighter car. Partly this seems to be down to how four-wheel-drive it is. The Nissan's front and rear tire sizes are much more closely matched than those of the Audi and Porsche, reflected their share of the load, and although it's nose-heavy, its weight distribution is closer to 50:50. Understeer seems to have been engineered out, and when the solid outpouring from the gravelly turbo V6 does get the better of the grip it's the rear that steps out of line.
There are fabulous views down the valley to the wide River Dovey as we head for fuel and a late lunch stop in Aberystwyth. From there we elected to forego what look like lowlands on the direct route south and instead head down the B4340 towards the Cambrians. I feel pretty comfortable leading in the Audi. The high-hedged road crests, twists and falls almost without pause but it's a great challenge, and the instant response of the V10, and its top-end shove, are great assets. It's a car you drive as smoothly as you can, trying not to excite the back end or overload the front, and I feel I've done a good job when we reach narrower roads and stop for a breather. It's certainly been absorbing and there's a satisfaction in staying just inside the R8's perceived limits. That lasts until Catchpole saunters up, smiling. 'You were going as fast as you wanted, weren't you?' he asks. Yes, why? 'well, you know those sequences of corners you straight-lined? I slalomed them in the GT-R, just for fun...'
With darkness, and the temperature and rain falling, we head for our blind-booked hotel. We find comfortable accommodation, half decent food, and a full-length skittles alley and dartboard, which is fun, but the four of us being chatted up by a pensioner and leered at by a chemically altered, slightly grubby young lady is a bit unsettling. At breakfast next morning the receptionist tells us: 'You missed all the fun and frolics last night. Someone got naked... and you can probably guess who.' I don't want to.
The day has dawned cold and soggy and the Audi is a great place to be with its bright, clear instruments, glowing switchgear and supple ride. It's a fine thing but, by the time we arrive at our first destination of the day, Pembrey Circuit, it has confirmed what we agreed last night. There's much to like but despite the brilliantly responsive V10 and manual 'box, it's not as precise or rewarding a driver's car as the Porsche or Nissan. That V10 seems to compromise the balance. As we've said before, the V8 version remains our choice or R8s. This is now a two-horse race.
There's not much we can do at Pembrey because the track is booked for an exclusive test. Shame. I haven't been here since the early '90s, racing Caterhams in the rain, and would love to have had another look around the track, which I remember being challenging and fun, despite being utterly flat and airfield-based.
Marriage suggests we head for another motorsport venue on this coast. Well, not os much on it as a part of it. Less than an hour later we're on Pendine Sands, the home of land speed record-breaking in the mid'-20s, until the death of JG Parry-Thomas in 'Babs' on March 3, 1927. The sands are still glossy from the ebb tide and the beach stretches away for miles to our left, vanishing into an ozone haze. It's hard to imagine what it must have felt like to sit in a car like Babs, behind its open-piped 27-litre aero V12, ready for a fun. Empty beach plus car normally equals doughnuts and skids, but none of us has the appetite today.
I drove the 911 Turbo here, so for the last stint to Llandow Circuit, near Cardiff, I get into the GT-R again. It's telling that in the Audi and Porche sooner or later you find yourself looking to see how you can tweak the damping, change the feel, but you just take the Nissan as it is. Crisp, accurate, beefy steering relays a remarkable, almost hyper-real willingness to turn, followed by a feeling of pivoting around the gearlever and enormous grip. Picking up the power early settles the car slightly onto its tail and sets it up for firing out of the corner. It's not just effected, it's involving and fun. 'The impression people seem to have is that the GT-R is anodyne, that it does it all for you,' says Catchpole. 'It's not and it doesn't; you're in charge.' And what an engine, not just for its potency but for the stimulating sounds it makes, a guttural, clanking V6 burr overlaid with whiney, whistley turbos. You find yourself short-shifting just to hear its tone change.
The Porsche may be fractionally quicker in a straight line but the experience seems almost two-dimensional after the Nissan, as if all the character has been sucked out for fear it might compromise the efficiency. The new Turbo's acceleration is staggering, not far off a McLaren F1, but it's utterly linear, PDK denying it gearshift punctuation, the 3.8-litre capacity allowing lower boost form the variable-vane turbos for a more consistent delivery. It's a rocket sled, and in the corners it's Velcro grippy, but less 911-like in its attitude than it ever was. (Not surprisingly, it returns the best mpg — 18.1 over the 600-odd miles, compared with 16.0 for the Nissan and 15.8 for the Audi.)
It begs the question, was the 911 Turbo broken? The previous version set a GT2 and GT-R rivalling lap time at the Bedford Autodrome and then, switched back to the default damper setting, became the everyday, all-journey, all-season supercar. The new Turbo feels like it's missing that car's comfort setting. 'I think they should have ignored the GT-R,' says Catchpole. 'They've got the GT3s and 2s for that.'
We're almost done here. Tucked away in an industrial estate-like area is our final destination before home, Llandow Circuit. The unpromising locaiton reveals a neatly kept, simple, friendly track. We're let on to get a few tweaked-up cornering shots with all stability aids off, and bag the odd lap too. It's a brief, inconclusive insight into what happens beyond the limit. In all three you have to drive through a bit of understeer; once you've pushed the door open and fallen into oversteer you find that the Audi holds a big angle easily, the Porsche will if you back off to catch the initial swing and then get on it again, and the Nissan will fight you to get the slide back in line. (Interestingly, when Chris Harris ragged the three of them around a wet Bruntingthorpe he came to the opposite conclusion, which perhaps shows the limited usefulness of a fast, wet airfield...)
Just then the skies darken and the rain blows in again, effectively bringing the curtain down on an adventure that has been most excellent, even if it hasn't thrown up any surprises. We haven't discovered any blinding new roads, and nor did we find an all-weather supercar more appealing than the Nissan GT-R. The badge may still not sell the car to some, nor may the looks, but for depth of character and ability there's nothing here to touch it. The fact that it's more or less half the price of this top-spec 911 Turbo is no more than an interesting aside."
![](https://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj255/chicagogarage/misc/p1.jpg)
![](https://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj255/chicagogarage/misc/p16.jpg)
"Rain always sounds worse on a conservatory roof,' I tell photographer Matt Howell as we sit down to our hotel breakfast. I can't explain away the wind tearing at the fabric of the Groes Inn or the fact that by the time we've cleaned our plates the sky has changed only marginally, from black to inky deep blue, even though the sun has officially risen. Secretly, I'm not that bothered. Parked in the rain-lashed car park are three four-wheel-drive supercars that are designed to be reassuringly, comfortably brilliant in such conditions.
As it happens, by the time we've gathered our things and paid our bill, the near-apocalyptic weather has magically blown through, leaving peaceful, watery sunshine. Over the next couple of days we'll experience a useful variety of conditions, enabling us to decide if Porsche's mid-life revisions to the 997 Turbo have done the job, namely to draw it closer to its arch nemesis, the thorn in its side, the Nissan GT-R.
Porsche's engineers haven't confined themselves to tinkering around the edges: the Turbo has an all-new, direct-injection 3.8-litre engine, a new paddle-shift PDK gearbox and, as I discovered driving here yesterday, a new attitude. There's a tautness to its demeanour that's more GT3 than previous-edition Turbo, suggesting a shift in focus towards control at the expense of a little comfort. And when you get the throttle to the stop and feel the air squeezed gently from your lungs as the bigger, 493bhp engine works rapidly through seamlessly shifting gears and into three figures, you know the GT-R has a real fight on its hands. Yet even as that prospect looms, you can't help wondering if in targeting the Nissan, the Turbo hasn't left more room for the third car in this test, the Audi R8 V10.
We've already put a couple of hundred miles under this trio's wheels getting here and there will be many more. On this occasion, north Wales is not the destination but the stepping-off point, as we set out on a tour of the principality's race tracks, of which there are three. Not a bad tally for a country whose national motorsport I'd always assumed was rallying. First stop is the much re-worked Anglesey Circuit, and from there we'll travel the length of the country to visit Pembrey and the Llandow on the south coast, cadging a lap or two where we can and hopefully discovering some brilliant new roads on the way.
All three of our contenders have four-wheel drive, 500bhp give or take, and pukka supercar abilities, yet only the Audi conforms to the accepted definition of a supercar. The two-seat R8 has its engine mid-mounted, and it's a belter, a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 that spins to over 8000rpm to deliver a mighty 518bhp. Sleek and low on its Fat Face logo-like alloys, it looks like a cooler way to blow £100k($152,480) than the rear-engined 911, which, in yellow, contrives to look just like A N Other 911. And then there's the Nissan, just £58k($88,438). It stands head and shoulders above the others, square-edged, bulky, dark and menacing, like an assassin in a leather trench-coat. It's packing 3.8 litres, six cylinders and twin turbos, just like the 911, but the six are in a vee, the engine is up front and, as of now, its 478bhp is pipped by the revised Turbo's output.
I can imagine the GTR frustrates the hell out of the engineers at Porsche. It feels rough hewn initially, the drivetrain occasionally fumbling a pull-away or shift and sending a thump through the car, the front wheels distracted and fidgety and the twin-clutch gearbox keen to shuffle into the highest gear possible if left in auto. As a consequence, the car feels a bit first-thing-in-the-morning dozy. Then you feed in a decent slug of throttle, the turbos spool up and the car snaps to, like it's just had a double espresso. Energized, the GT-R becomes alert, poised, purposeful, and you're engaged, interested. The GT-R has got you.
Yes, it's a bulkier car than the 911, heavier too — by almost 200kg(440.9 lbs), according to our scales — but once it's clear of suburbia it reveals a huge swell of low-down torque, a natural, easy gait and a comfortable ride. You feel connected through the wheel and seat, and, once you've selected paddle-shift mode, in charge. Relax a bit with the steering and your progress over Anglesey's bumpy, puddled B-roads is storming.
It's a while since I've been to Anglesey Circuit and it's a surprise to find the old hairpin and top straight are now the feeder road to the circuit office. From the top of this dramatically re-engineered track you now get an even better view across Caernarfon Bay to the white-peaked Snowdonia National Park. I always enjoyed the tricky old circuit and it's great to discover that the new one also has plenty of challenges and elevation changes. I imagine it's a tough lap to master, and a tougher place still to race at. Wouldn't mind a go, naturally...
Our schedule demands that we don't loiter. For the first leg south I drop low into the cockpit of the Audi. It feels more special than the others; the architecture is more dramatic, the instruments and switchgear higher quality. There is also an absolute stand-out feature — the open gate and manual gearlever.
There has to be a beefy clutch between the big V10 and the six-speed 'box but you're not aware of it. The left pedal is light and the take-
up creamy yet positive, a perfect complement to the slick, positive, click-clack shift. Wristing the knurled lever around the gate, you feel like a master of the manual shift within a mile, by which time you'll have also discovered what a superbly polished device the R8 is, the ride supple and refined, the car flowing sweetly down the road. And what a contrast the engine is. Both the Nissan and Porsche have very responsive twin-turbo powerplants, but they don't get close to the instant, solid, any-gear response of the 5204cc V10 at your back here. And while the others may deliver bigger, boosted mid-range torque, there's an endless thrill to revving out the flat-toned, warbling V10 and feeling the manic kick beyond 6000rpm.
We're heading for Barmouth on the open, meandering coast road, and the Audi feels well suited to it. Even more than the 911, it feels light-nosed and heavy-tailed, which is fine, except that when it flattens a cat's eye the rear wriggles slightly. It might be four-wheel drive but particularly in the wet you find yourself driving this R8 as if it was merely rear-drive, with due consideration for the mass behind you.
Just outside the Barmouth we stop for a car swap. We all agree that the Audi has a delicious, quality feel. 'Buttery' is how Ollie Marriage describes it. Stepping back into the 911 Turbo, the Porsche's focus and economy of movement are even more apparent. This is one tightly tied-down chassis, and although you corner it in traditional 911 style, picking up the throttle once the nose is settled and using the torque to nail the back tires to the road on the exit, it commits to a turn more positively than the Audi and is more reassuring for it. It's also remarkable just how much of the potent flat-six's energy the chassis can contain and deploy before the stability control twitches into life.
Leave the gearbox to do its own thing, pin the throttle and there's a good deal of shuffling before the appropriate gear is summoned and full boost arrives (it's even more long-winded in the Nissan), by which time the audi has gained a few car lengths. But why would you leave it in auto if you've specified the +/- paddles (hurrah!) and simple three-spoke steering wheel, a must-have £270($412) option that gives instinctive manual control of PDK's seven ratios?
This car also has the Sport Chrono option, a press of the Sport button offering a more alert gearchange strategy, punchier shifts and overboost (raising torque from 479 to 516lb ft for up to 10sec). However, for the most devastating hit it's best to have the correct gear pre-selected when you hit the gas at the end of a 30mph limit. From that point you'll be pinned to the backrest for as long as you keep the throttle down, which won't be long if you want to stay legal. When we got our test gear on it, the Turbo recorded 0-60mph in 3.2sec and 0-100mph in 7.3 in the wet.
So how come the Nissan is always on the 911's case? Through a testing series of curves on the A487 towards Machynlleth, the GT-R has the Turbo pegged. It's bigger, it's heavier, but once you're off and running it doesn't feel clumsy or outsize. Its responses and agility seem to belong to a smaller, lighter car. Partly this seems to be down to how four-wheel-drive it is. The Nissan's front and rear tire sizes are much more closely matched than those of the Audi and Porsche, reflected their share of the load, and although it's nose-heavy, its weight distribution is closer to 50:50. Understeer seems to have been engineered out, and when the solid outpouring from the gravelly turbo V6 does get the better of the grip it's the rear that steps out of line.
There are fabulous views down the valley to the wide River Dovey as we head for fuel and a late lunch stop in Aberystwyth. From there we elected to forego what look like lowlands on the direct route south and instead head down the B4340 towards the Cambrians. I feel pretty comfortable leading in the Audi. The high-hedged road crests, twists and falls almost without pause but it's a great challenge, and the instant response of the V10, and its top-end shove, are great assets. It's a car you drive as smoothly as you can, trying not to excite the back end or overload the front, and I feel I've done a good job when we reach narrower roads and stop for a breather. It's certainly been absorbing and there's a satisfaction in staying just inside the R8's perceived limits. That lasts until Catchpole saunters up, smiling. 'You were going as fast as you wanted, weren't you?' he asks. Yes, why? 'well, you know those sequences of corners you straight-lined? I slalomed them in the GT-R, just for fun...'
With darkness, and the temperature and rain falling, we head for our blind-booked hotel. We find comfortable accommodation, half decent food, and a full-length skittles alley and dartboard, which is fun, but the four of us being chatted up by a pensioner and leered at by a chemically altered, slightly grubby young lady is a bit unsettling. At breakfast next morning the receptionist tells us: 'You missed all the fun and frolics last night. Someone got naked... and you can probably guess who.' I don't want to.
The day has dawned cold and soggy and the Audi is a great place to be with its bright, clear instruments, glowing switchgear and supple ride. It's a fine thing but, by the time we arrive at our first destination of the day, Pembrey Circuit, it has confirmed what we agreed last night. There's much to like but despite the brilliantly responsive V10 and manual 'box, it's not as precise or rewarding a driver's car as the Porsche or Nissan. That V10 seems to compromise the balance. As we've said before, the V8 version remains our choice or R8s. This is now a two-horse race.
There's not much we can do at Pembrey because the track is booked for an exclusive test. Shame. I haven't been here since the early '90s, racing Caterhams in the rain, and would love to have had another look around the track, which I remember being challenging and fun, despite being utterly flat and airfield-based.
Marriage suggests we head for another motorsport venue on this coast. Well, not os much on it as a part of it. Less than an hour later we're on Pendine Sands, the home of land speed record-breaking in the mid'-20s, until the death of JG Parry-Thomas in 'Babs' on March 3, 1927. The sands are still glossy from the ebb tide and the beach stretches away for miles to our left, vanishing into an ozone haze. It's hard to imagine what it must have felt like to sit in a car like Babs, behind its open-piped 27-litre aero V12, ready for a fun. Empty beach plus car normally equals doughnuts and skids, but none of us has the appetite today.
I drove the 911 Turbo here, so for the last stint to Llandow Circuit, near Cardiff, I get into the GT-R again. It's telling that in the Audi and Porche sooner or later you find yourself looking to see how you can tweak the damping, change the feel, but you just take the Nissan as it is. Crisp, accurate, beefy steering relays a remarkable, almost hyper-real willingness to turn, followed by a feeling of pivoting around the gearlever and enormous grip. Picking up the power early settles the car slightly onto its tail and sets it up for firing out of the corner. It's not just effected, it's involving and fun. 'The impression people seem to have is that the GT-R is anodyne, that it does it all for you,' says Catchpole. 'It's not and it doesn't; you're in charge.' And what an engine, not just for its potency but for the stimulating sounds it makes, a guttural, clanking V6 burr overlaid with whiney, whistley turbos. You find yourself short-shifting just to hear its tone change.
The Porsche may be fractionally quicker in a straight line but the experience seems almost two-dimensional after the Nissan, as if all the character has been sucked out for fear it might compromise the efficiency. The new Turbo's acceleration is staggering, not far off a McLaren F1, but it's utterly linear, PDK denying it gearshift punctuation, the 3.8-litre capacity allowing lower boost form the variable-vane turbos for a more consistent delivery. It's a rocket sled, and in the corners it's Velcro grippy, but less 911-like in its attitude than it ever was. (Not surprisingly, it returns the best mpg — 18.1 over the 600-odd miles, compared with 16.0 for the Nissan and 15.8 for the Audi.)
It begs the question, was the 911 Turbo broken? The previous version set a GT2 and GT-R rivalling lap time at the Bedford Autodrome and then, switched back to the default damper setting, became the everyday, all-journey, all-season supercar. The new Turbo feels like it's missing that car's comfort setting. 'I think they should have ignored the GT-R,' says Catchpole. 'They've got the GT3s and 2s for that.'
We're almost done here. Tucked away in an industrial estate-like area is our final destination before home, Llandow Circuit. The unpromising locaiton reveals a neatly kept, simple, friendly track. We're let on to get a few tweaked-up cornering shots with all stability aids off, and bag the odd lap too. It's a brief, inconclusive insight into what happens beyond the limit. In all three you have to drive through a bit of understeer; once you've pushed the door open and fallen into oversteer you find that the Audi holds a big angle easily, the Porsche will if you back off to catch the initial swing and then get on it again, and the Nissan will fight you to get the slide back in line. (Interestingly, when Chris Harris ragged the three of them around a wet Bruntingthorpe he came to the opposite conclusion, which perhaps shows the limited usefulness of a fast, wet airfield...)
Just then the skies darken and the rain blows in again, effectively bringing the curtain down on an adventure that has been most excellent, even if it hasn't thrown up any surprises. We haven't discovered any blinding new roads, and nor did we find an all-weather supercar more appealing than the Nissan GT-R. The badge may still not sell the car to some, nor may the looks, but for depth of character and ability there's nothing here to touch it. The fact that it's more or less half the price of this top-spec 911 Turbo is no more than an interesting aside."
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