EVO car of the decade,(but not in the office)
01-13-2010, 04:11 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
EVO car of the decade,(but not in the office)
So, the votes have been counted. After a week (and a bit) of voting on what you consider to be the best, most desirable and most important car of the last ten years, you’ve picked…. The Nissan GT-R.
A wise choice, and one we’d not disagree with. The way it’s advanced the performance car game and its ability to demolish cars two or three times its price is nothing short of astonishing.
Sadly, though, there’s reason to believe the vote was swung in the Nissan’s favour (and the second-place Vauxhall VX220’s) by a brace of enthusiastic owners’ forums. The rest of the contenders were left languishing as the Japanese giant and the Griffin-badged sports car battled it out in a distinctly two-horse race.
So to restore the balance (vaguely) we had a straw poll round the office to pick our winner, with ten of evo’s top scribblers picking their favourite from the final ten cars (view them here) to determine the office winner.
Chris Harris agrees with the Nissan GT-R, while Richard Porter and Ollie Marriage both shouted for the Lamborghini Murcielago SV. ‘Because it’s daft, because it’s unashamed; because it’s glorious, because it has the best engine ever, because of the way it looks, because it drives better than it has any right to’, said Ollie. ‘It may be the last of the truly nutty big Lamborghinis. As such, it'll become something that will cause us to look back on the 2000s with dewy eyed fondness’ reckons Porter.
Neither the GT-R or LP670-4 can hold off the inevitable landslide from one car though. Yep, it’s the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, aka Kermit, our eCoty 2007 winner.
Richard Meaden – ‘even by my partisan standards the 997 GT3 RS has left a lasting impression. I had some of my best drives ever in the green monster during 2007, both on road and track. Like the rest of the world, I'm in awe of the GT-R, and the LP670 SV defines the word 'supercar' more completely than anything since the F40, but of all the cars I was jammy enough to drive throughout the Noughties the RS was - and remains - the closest to my idea of the perfect modern drivers' car.’
Ian Eveleigh – ‘GT3 RS. Because if you bought any other car on the list you just know that one day you’d be driving it and you’d find yourself thinking, ‘I’d enjoy this road a lot more in a GT3 RS...’ Even if you had a VX220.’
New ed Nick Trott – ‘the car I most desire among these is the GT3 RS. It’s not the best (GT-R), nor is it the most impressive achievement (again, GT-R) but of all the cars in this list it’s the one I’d I’d tip my last gallon of fuel into.’
And the last word goes to oversteer-meister John Barker – ‘the 997 GT3 RS would be my everyday, never sell it, from here to eternity choice. The best 911 I've ever driven; perfectly imperfect.’
What are your thoughts? Happy or sad, head to the Car of the Decade forum and tell all.
A wise choice, and one we’d not disagree with. The way it’s advanced the performance car game and its ability to demolish cars two or three times its price is nothing short of astonishing.
Sadly, though, there’s reason to believe the vote was swung in the Nissan’s favour (and the second-place Vauxhall VX220’s) by a brace of enthusiastic owners’ forums. The rest of the contenders were left languishing as the Japanese giant and the Griffin-badged sports car battled it out in a distinctly two-horse race.
So to restore the balance (vaguely) we had a straw poll round the office to pick our winner, with ten of evo’s top scribblers picking their favourite from the final ten cars (view them here) to determine the office winner.
Chris Harris agrees with the Nissan GT-R, while Richard Porter and Ollie Marriage both shouted for the Lamborghini Murcielago SV. ‘Because it’s daft, because it’s unashamed; because it’s glorious, because it has the best engine ever, because of the way it looks, because it drives better than it has any right to’, said Ollie. ‘It may be the last of the truly nutty big Lamborghinis. As such, it'll become something that will cause us to look back on the 2000s with dewy eyed fondness’ reckons Porter.
Neither the GT-R or LP670-4 can hold off the inevitable landslide from one car though. Yep, it’s the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, aka Kermit, our eCoty 2007 winner.
Richard Meaden – ‘even by my partisan standards the 997 GT3 RS has left a lasting impression. I had some of my best drives ever in the green monster during 2007, both on road and track. Like the rest of the world, I'm in awe of the GT-R, and the LP670 SV defines the word 'supercar' more completely than anything since the F40, but of all the cars I was jammy enough to drive throughout the Noughties the RS was - and remains - the closest to my idea of the perfect modern drivers' car.’
Ian Eveleigh – ‘GT3 RS. Because if you bought any other car on the list you just know that one day you’d be driving it and you’d find yourself thinking, ‘I’d enjoy this road a lot more in a GT3 RS...’ Even if you had a VX220.’
New ed Nick Trott – ‘the car I most desire among these is the GT3 RS. It’s not the best (GT-R), nor is it the most impressive achievement (again, GT-R) but of all the cars in this list it’s the one I’d I’d tip my last gallon of fuel into.’
And the last word goes to oversteer-meister John Barker – ‘the 997 GT3 RS would be my everyday, never sell it, from here to eternity choice. The best 911 I've ever driven; perfectly imperfect.’
What are your thoughts? Happy or sad, head to the Car of the Decade forum and tell all.
01-13-2010, 05:33 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
As I recall they entered all the cars that had been cars of the year for the previous ten years. The GT2 had not been car of the year. ( I suspect it was up against the GT-R in that year)
01-13-2010, 06:32 PM
#6
01-13-2010, 08:13 PM
#7
Rennlist Member
Yeah, in the new Excellence magazine, they pitted Z01 vette vs the GT2. The vette came out on top (except in the tight corners)- if you look at the track figures, it was the big vette engine that allowed it to make up for the better handling of the GT2 to make a better overall track time. Having said all of that--there is a level of refinement that the vette didnt have vs the Porsche, said the writers. I hear that the Nissan is similar-fast and furious, but still very much a Japanese production feel and look to it. I havent seen a GT R personally, so I can only go by the magazines.
To make any car a truly great car, it needs to stand the test of time. Someone who doesnt know Porsches can identify that a 911 from the 1970's is the same model as a 2010. Can you say that for any other car? The GT R will sell for 1/50th of its current price in about 15 years, and the model will look vastly different if it even survives. A Porsche, on the other hand, will retain proportionatly more of its value, and, more importantly, still be a pleasure to drive, and identifiable for what it is.
GT R is car of the year, but not a car to own for longer than a year IMHO.
To make any car a truly great car, it needs to stand the test of time. Someone who doesnt know Porsches can identify that a 911 from the 1970's is the same model as a 2010. Can you say that for any other car? The GT R will sell for 1/50th of its current price in about 15 years, and the model will look vastly different if it even survives. A Porsche, on the other hand, will retain proportionatly more of its value, and, more importantly, still be a pleasure to drive, and identifiable for what it is.
GT R is car of the year, but not a car to own for longer than a year IMHO.
Trending Topics
01-13-2010, 08:47 PM
#8
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
That is an interesting question The GT-R will have a lot of appeal to very young people and may be the "dream car" of the future, just as older people had unobtainable dream cars in their youth. ( In my case, an early E type Jag). I think its premature to write off the GT-R. And that's no knock on Porsche, just an opinion.
01-13-2010, 08:59 PM
#9
Three Wheelin'
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: on the waterfront, Kobe, Japan
Posts: 1,434
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
That is an interesting question The GT-R will have a lot of appeal to very young people and may be the "dream car" of the future, just as older people had unobtainable dream cars in their youth. ( In my case, an early E type Jag). I think its premature to write off the GT-R. And that's no knock on Porsche, just an opinion.
if i needed a dd (which i do not) GTR would be that (and great to eat M's, most all on the road,plus cheaper to buy & maintain), and 964 would be sunshine car.
01-13-2010, 10:49 PM
#10
Yeah, in the new Excellence magazine, they pitted Z01 vette vs the GT2. The vette came out on top (except in the tight corners)- if you look at the track figures, it was the big vette engine that allowed it to make up for the better handling of the GT2 to make a better overall track time. Having said all of that--there is a level of refinement that the vette didnt have vs the Porsche, said the writers. I hear that the Nissan is similar-fast and furious, but still very much a Japanese production feel and look to it. I havent seen a GT R personally, so I can only go by the magazines.
To make any car a truly great car, it needs to stand the test of time. Someone who doesnt know Porsches can identify that a 911 from the 1970's is the same model as a 2010. Can you say that for any other car? The GT R will sell for 1/50th of its current price in about 15 years, and the model will look vastly different if it even survives. A Porsche, on the other hand, will retain proportionatly more of its value, and, more importantly, still be a pleasure to drive, and identifiable for what it is.
GT R is car of the year, but not a car to own for longer than a year IMHO.
To make any car a truly great car, it needs to stand the test of time. Someone who doesnt know Porsches can identify that a 911 from the 1970's is the same model as a 2010. Can you say that for any other car? The GT R will sell for 1/50th of its current price in about 15 years, and the model will look vastly different if it even survives. A Porsche, on the other hand, will retain proportionatly more of its value, and, more importantly, still be a pleasure to drive, and identifiable for what it is.
GT R is car of the year, but not a car to own for longer than a year IMHO.
Having had the pleasure of a ride around Mosport in the ZR-1, I only have two comments. Power and more Power. That being said, when you're at full throttle up the backstraight and at approx. 215 kph the traction control kicks in, it's quite unnerving, especially since it's a tad unrefined. The car rattles/vibrates. All I kept thinking is when are the body panels going to fall off.
Last edited by TurboS; 01-13-2010 at 11:19 PM.
01-14-2010, 06:52 AM
#11
Rennlist Member
I have heard lots of hype about its performance but I am not planning on trading my Porsche for a GTR at any time whatever the price. Personally, I think it is as ugly as most of the American "sports" cars. My .02 worth.
01-16-2010, 01:32 AM
#13
Rennlist Member
I do not recall a comparison test article between brands in Excellence ever, this must be a first, and a new direction for the magazine.
Having had the pleasure of a ride around Mosport in the ZR-1, I only have two comments. Power and more Power. That being said, when you're at full throttle up the backstraight and at approx. 215 kph the traction control kicks in, it's quite unnerving, especially since it's a tad unrefined. The car rattles/vibrates. All I kept thinking is when are the body panels going to fall off.
Having had the pleasure of a ride around Mosport in the ZR-1, I only have two comments. Power and more Power. That being said, when you're at full throttle up the backstraight and at approx. 215 kph the traction control kicks in, it's quite unnerving, especially since it's a tad unrefined. The car rattles/vibrates. All I kept thinking is when are the body panels going to fall off.
01-16-2010, 04:25 AM
#14
Yes, it was unusual for Excellence to feature another car for comparison in their magazine. But its the truth--check out their new issue--they did a head-to-head comparison of the Vette ZR1 vs the GT2. In fact,it was a pretty honest comparison, because at the end of the day, they did concede that the Vette won the challenge (hard for a Porsche-biased mag to do this, one would think). Having said that, Porsche has always made a point of getting "more out of less"--In the same magazine, there is an article on a new and modified GT2 that puts out simlar power to the Vette. Given that the standard GT2 (with 100 HP less+) was as close to dead-even with the Vette as could be, it would only be fair to pit a similarly powered GT2 against it- which I imagine might show a vastly different end result in favor of the GT2.
