Nissan = Full of it

[Ry_Trapp0]

some mis-information going around? check it out:

HONED AT THE 'RING

GTR chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno told PistonHeads that his baby had covered over 3000 miles at the Nordschleife and avoided other circuits as they were deemed 'too easy'.

Nissan's original target was to beat the 911 Turbo at the 'ring but they ended up worrying the Porsche Carrera GT.

They didn't beat the GT's 7min 32sec lap time, but got a 7.38 in semi-wet conditions.

'We used cut slick tyres' said Mizuno.

'I was not interested in full slick times as this bears no resemblance to a road tyre. 1.2G of force was being pulled in wet and over 2 in dry'.

"Mizuno claimed a time of 7minutes 38 seconds, compared with 7:43 for a Porsche 911 GT3 and 7:32 for a Carrera GT, but he was anxious to point out that there had been "two wet patches on the circuit." Indeed, he mentioned the "wet patches" so many times that you wondered why Nissan simply hadn't waited for a dry day. Mizuno reckoned that a time of around 7:30 should have been possible in the dry, but that going much faster would have required hand-cut slicks, which isn't "real world." Bizarrely, Nissan admitted to having different test drivers for different lapping. While Chief Test Driver Toshio Suzuki operates in the 7:30-7:40 range, his right-hand man is a 7:40-7:50 man."

one says that they used "hand cut slicks" while the other insinuates that they didnt. both supposedly coming from the same person too. hhmmm...

 

[Sinovac]

This new Nissan is suppose to be awfully w-i-d-e too ... like 2 full inches wider than a 'Vette. THAT would help it a lot as far as getting it's extra mass around corners (and in the "confidence" factor), but that's about all it would help. 'Still need lots more h.p. & torque to MOVE the extra mass ... and brakes the size of trash can lids to stop it.

What I just don't understand is; why Nissan didn't go the V-8 route with this new ride? In the "mind games" dept, it would have been a BIG 'plus'. (Especially considering it's estimated sticker price.)

Good question about the V-8 but I have to say that sadly, the days of V-8 power in passenger cars are limited. Nissan's decision to use a 6 cylinder reflects, in my opinion, their comformity with most of the world's market. We are one of the few countries that must have V-8 power.

 

[nthfinity]

When watching the video, its clearly visible (when you've wasted so much time watching so many officially timed production car NS laps as I have) that this GTR is having HUGE cornering speed... the statement makes a lot of sense that it is indeed hand-cut slicks. Fun to watch, but more playstation then production at this time.

 

[Doc]

I hadn't even heard of a GT-R until a few months ago. I kept reading all of the hype and wondered where it had originated from.

Many others may have also seen the article in the WSJ last week. It seems that Nissan is using a different marketing plan on this car. They first placed it on the computer games. They then went to YouTube. The WSJ suggested that this has created such a stir that kids are buying the badge off eBay and attaching it to their Honda Accords. :biggrin

Of course, the WSJ wondered if the targeted demographic (16- 29 year old male video game players) could even afford to buy a $70K+ car. I think most of the big fans of the car will get no closer to the car than their Xbox.

The car does nothing for me. It looks like a family sedan. I'd prefer a Z06 or Porsche at that price point.