Bernie Baake wrote:
Now that we've asertained that Nissan cheated and preped the skyline for the run. Lets get the scoop on what Porshe did to the carrera when it made its attempt at the record. Is anyone Naive enough to believe that that car was not preped to the nines for the run???? Get real, Nissan and every other manufacturer is doing the same thing when it comes to setting records. You may not be able to buy the skyline that ran the ring but you won't be able to buy the CGT or the Z06 that ran it either or the radical or any of the record setting cars. I don't see how you can talk about equal rubber, drivers and stock hp when one car costs 72K and the other 400K.
As far as I know there is no official keeper of track records at Nurburgring. If there was, it would only be those generated during sanctioned races in which cars fit into classes, etc. So obviously anyone can show up and do what they want and beat their chest and claim to be king of the hill. For example the recent record set by a Radical as the fastest street legal car. Technically correct, but we all know the Radical is far from a true street car (still would love to have one).
Here is a decent list of lap times...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordschlei ... _lap_timesThis includes the Skyline time. And as I mention above, the times for street cars is pretty much the honor system.
Could Porsche be showing up with a ringer? Sure. But I am guessing that they have little reason to do so especially since they don't have a history of inflating performance figures for their cars. Also, does Porsche need to go and prove anything to Nissan? No. Nissan apprently is using the Porsche 911 turbo as it's benchmark. I think that says a lot by itself and may explain why Porsche may not feel the need to "cheat".
Regarding the Carerra GT, I am sure Porsche setup the suspension (alignment, ride height) and probably have good tires on the car, but not race rubber. I would be suprised if they did have a ringer engine. If they try to load the deck at all it probably is via driver selection. Which for them is a no brainer as they have a number of good drivers they have close relationships with (or are on the payroll).
The 7:28 time that is listed for the Carerra GT is not the only time for that car. There is also a 7:32 time listed by different driver. I can easily see a four second lap difference being attributed to conditions, driver, etc. Someone (most likely a European car magazine) is going to buy a Skyline and see what it will do on the Nurburgring. Its not like any of this is a big deal or related to world peace
but the truth will come out after the car is released and then we will see what the true times are.
Bernie Baake wrote:
Its patently obvious, to everyone except die hard porshe fans, that if Nissan wanted to compete in the 400,000 dollar market they'd kick the shit out of Porshe, they're almost there now with an auto of much less cost.
Sign me up as a die hard Porsche fan! But I am puzzled about the "kick the shit out of Porsche" comment. There truly is nothing to back up that comment at all. If we want to talk about true super cars, then let Nissan bring one to the market and then we can talk. Otherwise what you are saying is pure speculation.
What Nissan is doing is apparently building an excellent sub-100k car. And what we are really talking about is how well a 100K car is doing when compared to a 400k car (which is a legitimate comparison.) But if you graph lap times to car cost, you are going to see a "knee" on that curve. Above that knee you are seeing diminishing returns when it comes to spending money to drop lap times. Or the car becomes less and less a “street car” (i.e. Radical and the Donkervoort) I haven’t drawn the graph, but my guess that the real sweet spot (bang for the buck) is for those street cars doing around 7:40-7:50 (911 GT3, 911 Turbo, Corvette Z06, etc). And again, I am guessing that this is where the Skyline will end up, but not in the sub 7:30 territory. Frankly any large automotive company could one-up the other if they wanted. It is just a function of how much money they want to spend to develop the car and how important the image of that car is to them. I can understand why the image of the Skyline is important to Nissan.
If you want to talk about Porsche getting their ass handed to them. The lets talk about how the motorsports division continue to insist that the 911 is the right platform for GT racing vs. building something like a GT version of the Cayman to compete against Ferrari.
_________________
Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.comMoney can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.
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) I can say that with the given assumption of a modern suspension and skillful driver, quick lap times are generated by…
