Slowgoin

Top Gear: Car of the YEAR.

http://www.topgear.com/content/timet...r/awards07/12/

efranzen

Top Gear did a review of it back in December.

http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...ries/12/1.html

I haven't been able to find if they've tested it at their track yet.

Steve_S14

they havent, it was top gear magazine that tested it, not top gear tv show

hopefully this summer we'll see new episodes where the stig rapes the gt-r

nmerhaut

Stopped in Classic Nissan south of Cleveland today to inquire about availability and price. They have 2 coming in not spoken for yet. $5000 down and they're asking $20-23000 over list according to Sean. He said some dealers in the South were asking $60000 over. Oh well. I guess asking and getting are two different things. I hope they choke on them but they'll probably sell both.

Slowgoin

I wonder how many people pay over msrp. Like when the ZO6 came out, some paid 5 - 10k over msrp. If they want to do that, it's fine with me. I just wonder what percentage of the market that is? Are we all going to pay msrp plus because of the one hundred or two hundred buyers who really don't care how much it costs. It seems that a very small percentage of buyers move the price for the majority. Input welcome.

M_C7

691 certified dealers and i would say no more than 10% are near MSRP for this model year based on all the research we at the owners club have done.

The difference between this and the z06 is the z06 was what about a 7K a year production car? this car is 12,000 max globally but to the 1000 per month engine production constraint. the US sales are projected to be 2500 max this year and up to 1500 from then on. so your looking at a 3rd of Z06 production.

Epik

The 11th season of Top Gear will feature episodes with Clarkson and crew at the tracks in Japan.

So yeah, I'm thinking GT-R.

Previously, Jeremy Clarkson had the following to say about the Skyline:

"The skyline's 4 wheel drive system takes the laws of physics and wipes it's shoes on them."

"The Skyline GT-R makes the Porsche 959 look like it came out of the design studios of Freddy Flinstone and on a race track, the Skyline would be faster than a Ferrari 355. In a battle between Japanese techno-wizardry and Italian design flair, Japan would win. The Skyline -- and I'm not joking -- is one of the best cars I have ever driven. But, at the same time, it's one of the very nastiest cars I have ever sat in."

"You would have thought if you designed a car to take on Porsche and Ferrari, you'd make it look a little more exciting than this."

Hopefully the new GT-R styling and interior impress him more than the R34. As for performance... well, he'll probably love that about the GT-R.

Subsea

The ZO6 is a fantastic car, with a few interior upgrades, readilly available in the aftermarket, it can be the ideal sub 100k sports car.

There is a lot of noise about the GT-R. Surprisingly so. It is a wonder there isn't a comparison to the upcoming CTS-V. Both 4-door cars are different from the 2 door sports car market.

The ZO6 is all American, GM, horsepower, rumble, rear-wheel drive, apple pie and Chevrolet. Why on earth is there so much noise about a GD Nissan? I would think that with the Corvette fan base we would be inundated with talk about the upcoming '09 CTS-V.

The spirit of the ZO6 will reside in the CTS-V as well as some of the improvements (like the seats perhaps) we hope to see carry over to the ZO6. I just don't get it. If the attraction is the ability to mod, the supercharger on the CTS-V will be easy to make a pully swap on just like the Nissan. I've been to a tight roadcourse (No Problem Raceway) and can tell you the CTS-V is a kick in the pants to drive. With all it's inaccuracies, the G meter indicated 1.2G and 1.1G on street tires. It was a blast.

I just don't get all the noise about the upcoming GT-R, when GM is producing the 4-door version of the ZO6. I'll skip the diatribe about brand loyalty and patriotism. I owned an SS Impala and the CTS-V is everything the Impala wasn't. It troubles me to think that GM actually does do its market research, does ocassionally build the cars we want and we remain a fickle market.

Personally I am torn between an '09 ZO6 and an '09 CTS-V. The 2 door vs 4 door quandry is my issue, but I wouldn't buy a Nissan if it levitated and sang Kimigayo. What's the deal?

blitzu

I agree with you on many points, but a few things... first do you want to drive in luxury with decent power? Or drive the FASTEST and sexiest looking car for under 100K? Next, the GT-R is turbo'd so changin pulley's on that won't do anything unless you're gonna do some kind of underdrive pulleys.

Subsea

OK. so you can swap a pulley on the CTS-V and get more than 565 HP; I am more perplexed. What is the deal? I suspect there is a rice subculture lurking about on the Corvette Forum secretly dreaming about type R stickers and metal coffee cans used for unintendend purposes.

blitzu

I think you really misread my post. And if you think I care for the GT-R in anyway more than a POS overratted 3800 crap car than you're even more mistaken. My point was that you stated "the supercharger on the CTS-V will be easy to make a pully swap on just like the Nissan." That's an inaccurate statement since the GT-R has turbos, and with turbos you don't perform pulley swaps, you up the boost electronically, or change the turbos for larger, more efficient ones.

And if you think for a second a pulley swapped CTS-V will hang with even a stock Z you'll find yourself wanting. Get the Z.... unless you want luxury, get the CTS-V.

Subsea

I got ya. My mistake. However, if the ZO6 got a few tweaks, the '04 CTS-V would remain the daily driver it is today and the ZO6 would close the gap on what it is intended to be, a production road course monster without need of modification to have endless fun with. Going that route would make me feel a bit guilty that GM built the 4-door sports car they never have and I didn't pull the trigger. It would be pretty sad if GM builds the '09 CTS-V and it isn't a blazing success. I'm still pretty surprised there isn't the same noise about it that there is about the GT-R. They look pretty similar (big tailpipes and all).

toxin440

different strokes for different folks.

Do you value good power and luxury? -- Get a CTS-V
Do you value traditional ULTIMATE american muscle? -- Get a Z06
Do you value high boost AWD techn-wizardry? -- Get a GT-R

All the hype around the GT-R pushed me away from it. I would rather be admired and "fit in" with an established/respected corvette crowd, then meeting up with some high school kids in the parking lot of a walmart so they can all ********** in real life to a GT-R instead of the one on the PS3.

The actual economics of the GT-R throw off most arguments of value because seems like they will all be 100K+ and modding it will be ungodly expensive for quite a while.

Z06 for me

blitzu

I hear ya. I agree the Z should be at 600 HP to put the woman and children to bed. You know the '04 CTS-V's are still one of my top ten favorite cars out there... I loved everything they stood for and became. Big brakes, best motor for the time, fabulous interior, and classy looks all in a daily driver car.... nothing better. I'm not sold on the new one yet, I will have to see it in person before I make any decisions. Eitherway they are apples to oranges... the thing about the Z that makes it so fast and a world super-car destroyer is it's weight, not it's power. GM finally hit it perfectly on the head when so many other manufacturers have a hard time realizing. Weight is what rules, power is easily attainable.

Since you're a bike guy you would understand then the importance of what the 2005-2006 Gixxer 1000 was to racing world. Why that bike dominated most circuits without flaw. It was it's power the weight ratio. Not only did Suzuki create a 1000 CC motor that produced 180 HP, but they cut the weigth so substantially that it was only 5 pounds heavier than their 750 CC. Years past the closest in weight between the 1000 and 750 was 20 pounds made the 750 the ideal bike. Additionally the Gixxer 1000 became the lightest 1000 CC sport bike and most powerful for that year.... thus it destroyed the competition. It was a halo year for the 1000... now stupid exhaust requirements have the thing porked up again another 20 pounds.

For those who don't ride, 20 pounds on a bike is 300 pounds on a car. That's a lot of weight to loose or gain. Get the Z

Subsea

Not to go off track, but the Ducati 1098S is at 160 Hp (~170 with a Termi exhaust and ECU flash) and about 390 lbs. 2.2 lbs per HP, which would equate to a Corvette with just short of 1700 HP and some tires that don't exist. The sound, responsiveness and character don't come out in stats. Motorcyles are in a totally different league...except when you turn and the laterial grip doesn't match up vs a car. But piloting a bike through the twisties is a very pleasureable and tactile experience.

The Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki crowd have pushed bigger HP and lower weight, but in Moto GP Ducati has done very well due to better handling and the passion of its riders (and in a tiny way support from fans). Corvette could take a lesson. Even if the Datsun GT-R ended up making 50% more HP than the ZO6, would we be so quick to jump based on posted stats? From the posts on the GT-R it looks like it.

I am looking for character as much as numbers. The one potential fly in the ointment in the '09 CTS-V is they are looking to tone it down a bit vs the '04 CTS-V (notwithstanding the significant power upgrade). I hope they don't give it more manners. I guess I am looking for a Ferrari made by Chevrolet in the ZO6. They aren't that far away.. Ducati folks are pretty loyal and there are a lot of intangible reasons why. I'm kind of looking for the same in a Corvette I guess. The concept of a Nissan... I'd rather drive a Snapper.

I'm kind of rooting for GM with all its issues to resolve and a public that hopefully wants to see them come out of it, buy their cars and respond as GM builds what we want them to build.

Weight is a huge issue. It is so much of the dynamic driving experience. The CTS-V has close to a 1000 lbs on a ZO6, not that it feels like an Impala SS or anything.

blitzu

Agreed, but the those types of stats make the cars and bikes into legends

Subsea

Dude, you should get a commission. I'm about sold. I still don't get why there has been so much noise about the Datsun.

blitzu

It stands for all those people that have hated all the Z06 owners from day one because A. They couldn't afford one, or B. They spent their money already on something else.

All those people that have fallen under that category have waited anxiously for years for anything that could knock the Z off it's thrown. Well here comes along some car that defy's all physics, all rational, and everything anyone has ever come to know about cars power, weight, and aerodynamics. Somehow, this underpowered, 700 pound overweight, brick, has been media hyped into the machine that could knock the Z06 off it's thrown.

The haters loved it! They have swallowed all the BS that has come their way and like a $2 hooker they have been spitting it all back up onto us.

It's a joke, and nothing that impresses any person living in the real world. What it comes down to is this... here we are sitting with our world class machine that can produce and back up day in and day out every performance number ever quoted. Now where are all the GT-R groupies and their product? Exactly. I wait comfortably off to side in anticipation of all the disapointment that will come each and every time I cross paths with one of these cars when I will lay the smack down.

Until then... it's all smoke and mirrors from their end of it, my car is sitting comfortably in my drive way ready to go right now.

Enjoy your new Z

Subsea

If the Datsun ends up being all that folks on here say it is, then good for Datsun, but why is there such a strong bunch of GT-R groupies when the new ~60K CTS-V would be a more "natural" fit for ZO6 enthusiasts. I'll sleep on that one.

John Shiels

Is the bike radio control in your HP figures? My car is as fast as all the super bikes at Pocono's East Course where they run and has 450 RWHP. I eagerly await the GTR at the track.