- Sep 1, 2005
- 704
Fellow enthusiasts,
I apologize for the delay in posting this review. I hope that you will find it interesting, notwithstanding its late arrival.
As some will recall, I have posted several comparisons of the GT against the other exotics I have had the pleasure of owning. In those cases, as well as this, I tried to be as objective as I knew how to be. Certainly, I would submit that because I have owned all of the cars in question at the time I prepared the reviews, I gain nothing by denigrating the “other” car. Indeed, I continue to keep my eyes open for cars that may challenge what I believe to be the throne of superiority upon which the GT presently sits.
First, the essential information. I bought the Nissan GTR new earlier this year. The Ford GT is an ’06, which I also bought new, about three years ago. I have since added a Whipple Supercharger, and the car has been lowered and aligned. I will, of course, base my review of the cars in their stock form. Boring, yes, but also fair.
A final note before I begin. In the past, I have always posted these comparisons on both the Fordgtforum and the leading forum of the competing car. For this review, I will only post here. I have elected to do this simply because it will allow me to save an exhaustive discussion of the GT; I figure most of us already know what it's like to drive one. Besides, I’ve used up my vocabulary in describing the GT in my previous reviews and I don’t want to become redundant.
And now for the burning question: Is it possible for a car to be too good? Read on…
1. Overall Street Performance:
NISSAN GTR
The GTR is incredibly quick, especially given its porcine weight and dimensions. The turbocharged engine produces prodigious thrust when on boost, and when mated to the robotic clutch transmission, it has to be one of the greatest red light/green light cars on the planet. The mouth breather in the Camaro next to you simply doesn’t stand a chance against the mighty GTR. The primary source of the slingshot-holeshot has to be the tranny. It shifts so quickly that the engine can stay on boost with each gearchange. There is simply no loss of momentum between shifts, almost like a continuously variable transmsission. By the time you get to sixth gear, the poor Camaro is an impotent gnat vibrating in the distant background of your rearview mirror. Funny thing is, it requires zero skill to tap the GTR’s performance. (More on that later.) I should also mention that the GTR has all four wheels pulling together to make the magic happen.
Nowhere is the GTR’s power prowess more thrilling, at least for me, than in the two lane passing environment. Here’s how it works: 1. Identify sputtering minivan ahead with overburdened mom, who, bless her dear heart, is simultaneously wrangling the young’uns, putting on her makeup, and texting the dog groomer. 2. Glance at tach and calculate how many dowshifts will be required to dispatch said vehicle. 3. Flick downshift paddle with left hand as many times as your calculation from step 2 dictates. 4. Point car in direction of intended travel and nail the throttle. 5. Hold on. Note: do not be alarmed if the landscape blurs and the Minivan appears to hit a brick wall as you time-warp past. Warning, do not become so intoxicated with the thrust that you forget to shift. Redline comes quick in the GTR. 6. Repeat as necessary.
Finally, a few more words on the GTR’s transmission. While it is a bit clunky driving around in a parking lot, the road manners of the manumatic are great. It shifts very quickly and smoothly, especially in the higher gears. However, it is so refined that it's almost boring. I actually prefer the Ferrari F1 transmission in the F430. In the Ferrari, you can select neutral by pulling both paddles toward you at the same time. In the GTR, no neutral while the car is rolling. You basically leave it alone as you approach a stop, and the computer works its magic until you accelerate again. In this way, it’s just like the automatic transmission on your average Camry. And, when you put it in full auto mode, the transmission behaves just like a normal automatic. At least in the Ferrari, there was some finesse required to achieve a smooth gear change, even if it was a two pedal car.
FORD GT
In comparison to the GTR, the GT is old school. It’s got a shifter, and you actually have choose your own gear based on your cranial calculator. Moreover, only the back wheels get power. You have to have a degree of skill to tap even a portion the GT’s ability. However, therein lies its appeal. Now that more exotics are using the automated manual transmissions, the debate between two pedal and three pedal cars will rage on. This I will say for sure: the GT demands focused involvement where the GTR does not. Remember the Minivan mom I mentioned earlier? Well, you better hope you don’t come up against her in a drag race in the GTR while you are driving the GT. Anybody, I mean anybody can drive the GTR like a pro. The same cannot be said of the GT. Proof of this fact is evidenced by the growing number of GTs totaled by their less than attentive drivers.
As you would imagine, the Ford’s advantage in low RPM torque makes it feel more powerful in day-to-day driving than the GTR. I am a sucker for torque; you simply nudge the throttle and the car responds, like it has a wealth of power it aint even used yet. The GT certainly feels more brawny, more effortless, than the GTR at low revs. However, the GTR has very short gears, so the GT’s advantage is not nearly as pronounced as I thought it would be. The passing acceleration of the stock GT does not feel as ferocious as the GTR, and I attribute this to the natural tendency of a turbocharged car to build thrust as it accelerates.
One area where the GT dominates the GTR is high speed stability. It’s not even close in my book; I would rather drive the GT at 200 (done it) than the GTR at 150 (also done it). The GT is simply without peer in this regard, and it’s no surprise. Put them next to each other and look; the GT is the land missile, low, angry, mean. The GTR looks like a brick, and by relative comparison appears as tall as the aforementioned minivan.
ADVANTAGE: GTR
2. Handling the Twisty Mountain Road
NISSAN GTR
As is the case with every all-wheel drive car I have owned, there is a bit of a trade off when it comes to handling. The all-wheel drive cars can exit a corner with abandon; all four contact patches digging to move the car forward. Add computer driver aids to apportion traction to the wheels that need it, and you have a recipe for an even more fantastic launches out of tight corners. However, the steering feel always seems to suffer a bit. The Nissan is no exception, although it comes the closest yet to overcoming the tactile disadvantage. Having said that, steering feel still doesn’t measure up to the best of the rear wheel drive cars like the Porsche GT3 RS, the Ferrari F430 or the GT.
When driving the twisties, however, the GTR transmission once again shines. It really is entertaining to enter a corner on the brakes, and while keeping both hands luxuriously on the wheel with the right foot lazily on the brake, flick your left fingers a couple of times for a lower gear, and blast off out of the corner in the perfect part of the power curve. Yawn. Rev matching? Ha! The computer will do it for you. Heel and toe? What the heck is that? A dance move? Take the GTR to the track and watch your lap times tumble. Problem is, the minivan mom can take it to the track and probably do just about the same thing you can…maybe even while texting.
THE FORD GT
It comes back to what I wrote above; the GT is old school, and that's even more evident in the twisties. It is, frankly, a bit daunting to have all that power behind your head (driving only two wheels) and throw yourself into a corner with a rock wall on one side and a guard rail on the other, all the while blipping the throttle with the side of your right foot and braking with the ball of the same foot, clutching with the left, changing gears with your right hand and steering/reading steering traction with the left. Not a pastime for sissies. On the other hand, it sure is thrilling when you get it right.
ADVANTAGE: GTR. HOWEVER, after a few passes over your favorite canyon road, it becomes a bit dull. I get enough of my computer at work, thank you very much. I’ll take the GT.
3. Styling and Road Presence
I need to preface this section by observing that styling analysis is purely subjective. Your opinion is every bit as valid as mine in this area, and I offer my views for entertainment purposes only.
NISSAN GTR
Um, sort of like the girl who (I'm told) is more attractive after a few judgment-altering beverages, the GTR is lots prettier after you’ve done the high speed overtaking I described in the first section of this review. Truthfully, I think it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every limb on the way down.
A good, if somewhat primitive, indication of a car’s styling is how much favorable attention it attracts on the road. Based on that standard, the GTR is lucky to get a sideways glance from most motorists. Unless, of course, they happen to be male and between the ages of 14 and 24. The video game set is crazy about this car.
Sitting there in the parking lot, the GTR is easy to miss and looks like about every other car sitting around it, with the exception of those lovely, fat tires. Put it next to the svelte GT and it’s almost sad…
THE FORD GT.
The stance of the GT is slap-you-in-the-head wicked, especially on the road when it’s rolling along with all those towering civilian cars around it. Sometimes I have my buddy drive the GT while I follow in another car, and I am smitten all over again at just how impossibly low and hunkered down the GT is. It looks like a steam rolling rocket sled, an oversized slot car, a wedge shaped monster-dart cross bred with a hovercraft.
You feel like a rock star when you drive the GT, and like it or not, you are the center of attention everywhere you go. Because there are so few GTs out there, it seems people never get tired of seeing one in the flesh. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come out the mall or the filling station to find a small crowd around the car with cell phone cameras in hand. It always makes me nervous and uncomfortable, but I know that if I didn’t own it, I’d be doing the same thing myself.
ADVANTAGE: GT.
4. Build Quality
NISSAN GTR
The build quality of the GTR is impeccable. The paint is perfect, and in “super silver” the car looks awesome. The interior is also beautiful and without any visible flaw. Very nicely put together, easily comparable to the fit and finish of a Lexus. Yawn again. The computerized display panel to the right of the gauges is amazing, and on it you can elect to track any number of parameters, including lateral g’s, steering input, boost, and even transmission temperature. I
FORD GT
The GT was virtually hand made in very limited numbers. It is also of impeccable quality (door panels excepted) and mine has perfect paint, but the fine details cannot (and were not intended to) duplicate those of a “mass produced” car like the GTR. The GT is certainly less common in its interior styling details than the GTR. I sure love the smell of the leather seats in the GT.
ADVANTAGE: DRAW
5. Driving Experience
NISSAN GTR
You sit very upright in the GTR. The position is very conventional, and the controls all feel very standard. It's very easy to get in and out of, and the road perspective feels tall and a bit distant. Sitting stationary in the GTR feels like just about any other car on the road, and the overall effect is of a large Japanese car, sort of like the Infinity Q45 that I owned for awhile as a company car. It's not until the GTR gets moving that you realize it's got something special going on. However, even then, if it didn't have that amazing gear box and potent engine, it would be pretty average in most other ways.
FORD GT
Nothing about the GT is average. The seating position is low, and while not uncomfortable, very different from the work-a-day sedan. The view out of the windshield is like no other car on the planet. The driver is so low, so close to the road, that you feel like you're in a F1 car that somehow escaped from the track. The driving dynamics are magnificent, from the supercharger whine behind your head to the way the car begs you to explore the upper ranges of the perfectly angled speedometer to the driver's far right. Driving the GT is an event, both for the driver and the other motorists on the road. The only cars I've owned that are similar are the Ferrari and the Lamborghini. (See photos below).
ADVANTAGE: FORD GT, and it's not even close.
6. CONCLUSION: Overall Ownership and Driving Experience
The GTR is a technological wonder. It does everything effortlessly and without drama, with the exception of the incredible thrill of feeling the car stay on boost from shift to shift. It is a true modern car, combining in one machine all that the industry has learned in the years during which the motorcar has been built. It is a true all-rounder, a car that truly does perform anytime, anywhere, and for every driver.
I have thought long and hard about it, and this is the best way I know of to sum it up:
Imagine that someone came to you and said “okay, you get one car and only one car to keep forever. HOWEVER, and you have to use it for everything; daily driving, fun days at the track, touring vacations, polishing in the garage, getting groceries when the roads are slick, etc. Which one do you pick?” My answer would have to be the GTR. It does everything so well. And it even has back seats.
On the other hand, imagine someone came to you and said “okay, I'll buy you the car of your choice. You can use it as seldom or as often as you want, in whatever capacity you choose. You can use your own money to buy other cars or trucks if you want them, but I’ll buy you one, special car. Oh, and by the way, you can’t flip it for a profit and you have to maintain it. (Dangit, there goes the Enzo) My choice would have to be the Ford GT, even over all the other cools cars that I have owned. It really is that good.
“So” you may ask “hypotheticals aside, who wins this comparison?” Well, it comes down to a matter of taste and personal preference. My parting observation is that the GTR, while certainly able, is a bit boring and detached from the actual joy of piloting a sports car. The GT, conversely, is all about the irrational exuberance of exotic motoring. It embraces the in-your-face combination of heroic Le Mans dominance and American muscle, with just a dash of British heritage for a completely unique driving experience.
In my mind, the GT still reigns supreme. Now all I have to do is wait for the 458 Italia.
The moral of the story: It really is possible for a car to be too good. The GTR is rolling testimony to that truth.
Thanks for reading. I would, as always, sincerely appreciate your feedback and observations, especially from those of you, if any, who own both cars.
BTW, for your viewing pleasure, I have attached some shots of my prior cars, some of which have been the subjects of prior comparisons. Enjoy.
I apologize for the delay in posting this review. I hope that you will find it interesting, notwithstanding its late arrival.
As some will recall, I have posted several comparisons of the GT against the other exotics I have had the pleasure of owning. In those cases, as well as this, I tried to be as objective as I knew how to be. Certainly, I would submit that because I have owned all of the cars in question at the time I prepared the reviews, I gain nothing by denigrating the “other” car. Indeed, I continue to keep my eyes open for cars that may challenge what I believe to be the throne of superiority upon which the GT presently sits.
First, the essential information. I bought the Nissan GTR new earlier this year. The Ford GT is an ’06, which I also bought new, about three years ago. I have since added a Whipple Supercharger, and the car has been lowered and aligned. I will, of course, base my review of the cars in their stock form. Boring, yes, but also fair.
A final note before I begin. In the past, I have always posted these comparisons on both the Fordgtforum and the leading forum of the competing car. For this review, I will only post here. I have elected to do this simply because it will allow me to save an exhaustive discussion of the GT; I figure most of us already know what it's like to drive one. Besides, I’ve used up my vocabulary in describing the GT in my previous reviews and I don’t want to become redundant.
And now for the burning question: Is it possible for a car to be too good? Read on…
1. Overall Street Performance:
NISSAN GTR
The GTR is incredibly quick, especially given its porcine weight and dimensions. The turbocharged engine produces prodigious thrust when on boost, and when mated to the robotic clutch transmission, it has to be one of the greatest red light/green light cars on the planet. The mouth breather in the Camaro next to you simply doesn’t stand a chance against the mighty GTR. The primary source of the slingshot-holeshot has to be the tranny. It shifts so quickly that the engine can stay on boost with each gearchange. There is simply no loss of momentum between shifts, almost like a continuously variable transmsission. By the time you get to sixth gear, the poor Camaro is an impotent gnat vibrating in the distant background of your rearview mirror. Funny thing is, it requires zero skill to tap the GTR’s performance. (More on that later.) I should also mention that the GTR has all four wheels pulling together to make the magic happen.
Nowhere is the GTR’s power prowess more thrilling, at least for me, than in the two lane passing environment. Here’s how it works: 1. Identify sputtering minivan ahead with overburdened mom, who, bless her dear heart, is simultaneously wrangling the young’uns, putting on her makeup, and texting the dog groomer. 2. Glance at tach and calculate how many dowshifts will be required to dispatch said vehicle. 3. Flick downshift paddle with left hand as many times as your calculation from step 2 dictates. 4. Point car in direction of intended travel and nail the throttle. 5. Hold on. Note: do not be alarmed if the landscape blurs and the Minivan appears to hit a brick wall as you time-warp past. Warning, do not become so intoxicated with the thrust that you forget to shift. Redline comes quick in the GTR. 6. Repeat as necessary.
Finally, a few more words on the GTR’s transmission. While it is a bit clunky driving around in a parking lot, the road manners of the manumatic are great. It shifts very quickly and smoothly, especially in the higher gears. However, it is so refined that it's almost boring. I actually prefer the Ferrari F1 transmission in the F430. In the Ferrari, you can select neutral by pulling both paddles toward you at the same time. In the GTR, no neutral while the car is rolling. You basically leave it alone as you approach a stop, and the computer works its magic until you accelerate again. In this way, it’s just like the automatic transmission on your average Camry. And, when you put it in full auto mode, the transmission behaves just like a normal automatic. At least in the Ferrari, there was some finesse required to achieve a smooth gear change, even if it was a two pedal car.
FORD GT
In comparison to the GTR, the GT is old school. It’s got a shifter, and you actually have choose your own gear based on your cranial calculator. Moreover, only the back wheels get power. You have to have a degree of skill to tap even a portion the GT’s ability. However, therein lies its appeal. Now that more exotics are using the automated manual transmissions, the debate between two pedal and three pedal cars will rage on. This I will say for sure: the GT demands focused involvement where the GTR does not. Remember the Minivan mom I mentioned earlier? Well, you better hope you don’t come up against her in a drag race in the GTR while you are driving the GT. Anybody, I mean anybody can drive the GTR like a pro. The same cannot be said of the GT. Proof of this fact is evidenced by the growing number of GTs totaled by their less than attentive drivers.
As you would imagine, the Ford’s advantage in low RPM torque makes it feel more powerful in day-to-day driving than the GTR. I am a sucker for torque; you simply nudge the throttle and the car responds, like it has a wealth of power it aint even used yet. The GT certainly feels more brawny, more effortless, than the GTR at low revs. However, the GTR has very short gears, so the GT’s advantage is not nearly as pronounced as I thought it would be. The passing acceleration of the stock GT does not feel as ferocious as the GTR, and I attribute this to the natural tendency of a turbocharged car to build thrust as it accelerates.
One area where the GT dominates the GTR is high speed stability. It’s not even close in my book; I would rather drive the GT at 200 (done it) than the GTR at 150 (also done it). The GT is simply without peer in this regard, and it’s no surprise. Put them next to each other and look; the GT is the land missile, low, angry, mean. The GTR looks like a brick, and by relative comparison appears as tall as the aforementioned minivan.
ADVANTAGE: GTR
2. Handling the Twisty Mountain Road
NISSAN GTR
As is the case with every all-wheel drive car I have owned, there is a bit of a trade off when it comes to handling. The all-wheel drive cars can exit a corner with abandon; all four contact patches digging to move the car forward. Add computer driver aids to apportion traction to the wheels that need it, and you have a recipe for an even more fantastic launches out of tight corners. However, the steering feel always seems to suffer a bit. The Nissan is no exception, although it comes the closest yet to overcoming the tactile disadvantage. Having said that, steering feel still doesn’t measure up to the best of the rear wheel drive cars like the Porsche GT3 RS, the Ferrari F430 or the GT.
When driving the twisties, however, the GTR transmission once again shines. It really is entertaining to enter a corner on the brakes, and while keeping both hands luxuriously on the wheel with the right foot lazily on the brake, flick your left fingers a couple of times for a lower gear, and blast off out of the corner in the perfect part of the power curve. Yawn. Rev matching? Ha! The computer will do it for you. Heel and toe? What the heck is that? A dance move? Take the GTR to the track and watch your lap times tumble. Problem is, the minivan mom can take it to the track and probably do just about the same thing you can…maybe even while texting.
THE FORD GT
It comes back to what I wrote above; the GT is old school, and that's even more evident in the twisties. It is, frankly, a bit daunting to have all that power behind your head (driving only two wheels) and throw yourself into a corner with a rock wall on one side and a guard rail on the other, all the while blipping the throttle with the side of your right foot and braking with the ball of the same foot, clutching with the left, changing gears with your right hand and steering/reading steering traction with the left. Not a pastime for sissies. On the other hand, it sure is thrilling when you get it right.
ADVANTAGE: GTR. HOWEVER, after a few passes over your favorite canyon road, it becomes a bit dull. I get enough of my computer at work, thank you very much. I’ll take the GT.
3. Styling and Road Presence
I need to preface this section by observing that styling analysis is purely subjective. Your opinion is every bit as valid as mine in this area, and I offer my views for entertainment purposes only.
NISSAN GTR
Um, sort of like the girl who (I'm told) is more attractive after a few judgment-altering beverages, the GTR is lots prettier after you’ve done the high speed overtaking I described in the first section of this review. Truthfully, I think it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every limb on the way down.
A good, if somewhat primitive, indication of a car’s styling is how much favorable attention it attracts on the road. Based on that standard, the GTR is lucky to get a sideways glance from most motorists. Unless, of course, they happen to be male and between the ages of 14 and 24. The video game set is crazy about this car.
Sitting there in the parking lot, the GTR is easy to miss and looks like about every other car sitting around it, with the exception of those lovely, fat tires. Put it next to the svelte GT and it’s almost sad…
THE FORD GT.
The stance of the GT is slap-you-in-the-head wicked, especially on the road when it’s rolling along with all those towering civilian cars around it. Sometimes I have my buddy drive the GT while I follow in another car, and I am smitten all over again at just how impossibly low and hunkered down the GT is. It looks like a steam rolling rocket sled, an oversized slot car, a wedge shaped monster-dart cross bred with a hovercraft.
You feel like a rock star when you drive the GT, and like it or not, you are the center of attention everywhere you go. Because there are so few GTs out there, it seems people never get tired of seeing one in the flesh. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come out the mall or the filling station to find a small crowd around the car with cell phone cameras in hand. It always makes me nervous and uncomfortable, but I know that if I didn’t own it, I’d be doing the same thing myself.
ADVANTAGE: GT.
4. Build Quality
NISSAN GTR
The build quality of the GTR is impeccable. The paint is perfect, and in “super silver” the car looks awesome. The interior is also beautiful and without any visible flaw. Very nicely put together, easily comparable to the fit and finish of a Lexus. Yawn again. The computerized display panel to the right of the gauges is amazing, and on it you can elect to track any number of parameters, including lateral g’s, steering input, boost, and even transmission temperature. I
FORD GT
The GT was virtually hand made in very limited numbers. It is also of impeccable quality (door panels excepted) and mine has perfect paint, but the fine details cannot (and were not intended to) duplicate those of a “mass produced” car like the GTR. The GT is certainly less common in its interior styling details than the GTR. I sure love the smell of the leather seats in the GT.
ADVANTAGE: DRAW
5. Driving Experience
NISSAN GTR
You sit very upright in the GTR. The position is very conventional, and the controls all feel very standard. It's very easy to get in and out of, and the road perspective feels tall and a bit distant. Sitting stationary in the GTR feels like just about any other car on the road, and the overall effect is of a large Japanese car, sort of like the Infinity Q45 that I owned for awhile as a company car. It's not until the GTR gets moving that you realize it's got something special going on. However, even then, if it didn't have that amazing gear box and potent engine, it would be pretty average in most other ways.
FORD GT
Nothing about the GT is average. The seating position is low, and while not uncomfortable, very different from the work-a-day sedan. The view out of the windshield is like no other car on the planet. The driver is so low, so close to the road, that you feel like you're in a F1 car that somehow escaped from the track. The driving dynamics are magnificent, from the supercharger whine behind your head to the way the car begs you to explore the upper ranges of the perfectly angled speedometer to the driver's far right. Driving the GT is an event, both for the driver and the other motorists on the road. The only cars I've owned that are similar are the Ferrari and the Lamborghini. (See photos below).
ADVANTAGE: FORD GT, and it's not even close.
6. CONCLUSION: Overall Ownership and Driving Experience
The GTR is a technological wonder. It does everything effortlessly and without drama, with the exception of the incredible thrill of feeling the car stay on boost from shift to shift. It is a true modern car, combining in one machine all that the industry has learned in the years during which the motorcar has been built. It is a true all-rounder, a car that truly does perform anytime, anywhere, and for every driver.
I have thought long and hard about it, and this is the best way I know of to sum it up:
Imagine that someone came to you and said “okay, you get one car and only one car to keep forever. HOWEVER, and you have to use it for everything; daily driving, fun days at the track, touring vacations, polishing in the garage, getting groceries when the roads are slick, etc. Which one do you pick?” My answer would have to be the GTR. It does everything so well. And it even has back seats.
On the other hand, imagine someone came to you and said “okay, I'll buy you the car of your choice. You can use it as seldom or as often as you want, in whatever capacity you choose. You can use your own money to buy other cars or trucks if you want them, but I’ll buy you one, special car. Oh, and by the way, you can’t flip it for a profit and you have to maintain it. (Dangit, there goes the Enzo) My choice would have to be the Ford GT, even over all the other cools cars that I have owned. It really is that good.
“So” you may ask “hypotheticals aside, who wins this comparison?” Well, it comes down to a matter of taste and personal preference. My parting observation is that the GTR, while certainly able, is a bit boring and detached from the actual joy of piloting a sports car. The GT, conversely, is all about the irrational exuberance of exotic motoring. It embraces the in-your-face combination of heroic Le Mans dominance and American muscle, with just a dash of British heritage for a completely unique driving experience.
In my mind, the GT still reigns supreme. Now all I have to do is wait for the 458 Italia.
The moral of the story: It really is possible for a car to be too good. The GTR is rolling testimony to that truth.
Thanks for reading. I would, as always, sincerely appreciate your feedback and observations, especially from those of you, if any, who own both cars.
BTW, for your viewing pleasure, I have attached some shots of my prior cars, some of which have been the subjects of prior comparisons. Enjoy.
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