me vs the GTR

[RXBG]

on my way home from a relatively blah day of running errands my good deeds were rewarded. i came upon a GTR as it was getting on the highway. he didn't see me until i had got up behind him while i braked so we could merge. without warning he floored it and swung over two lanes. i did the same and caught up to him because we encountered traffic. we play a bit of cat and mouse and both cars seemed dead even from the handling point of view. i was able to see today how a long flat torque band and an extremely high rev limit can mimick the smoothness of a DSG. when one can stay in a given gear for a long time without experiencing a loss of torque the effect is similar to the smoothness of a DSG that has to row through two gears in order to accelerate.



the GTR-

the GTR's exhaust sounds really nice. loud too. as i could hear it quite clearly even with my windows up. i will have to say that, unlike most people think, the exterior design is actually pretty cool. it is a significantly larger car than the R8. but the rear is nice and wide and low. the front was quite wide and aggressive. kind of an exciting thing to look at. the side does look a bit bland, like a big flat slab of painted metal. the GTR i saw was white. it looks like a car that would cost as much as a maxima to neutral eyes. the interior i did not see, but i do not think it'll be as easy to defend.

i don't know what he thought about R8's before seeing this one, but i think he's got a lot of respect for them now. in everything i've read the GTR's lead over the R8 is in the power department only. it tests faster around curves mainly because of its higher power output. as such, i still believe that in the handling arena they are on par. after today i can honestly believe that an R8 equipped with a V10 will be faster than the GTR on the track.

for comparison's sakes, the 997 TT i posted about below accelerated much more violently than the GTR did and seemed, to my eyes as a regular driver on a real road, significantly faster than the GTR. i cannot go into details about my encounter today but it ended up being similar, with the exception of my refusal to go anywhere near as fast as i did the other time :nono:

:cheers:

let's see what pans out.

[Ruergard]

Big thumbs up for these write ups! Always nice to read some "real-life" stuff! :thumb:

[M3 owner]

The break in period for the GTR places allot of restrictions on acceleration, breaking & steering.Drive a GTR with some km’s on the clock & the only thing u will complain about is the MFB knob that provides access 2 all the goodies.The knob feels like it will eventually fall off but other than that...The hype about this weapon is very real.

[artur777]

RXBG,
nice write-up!

was the GTR visually much faster than R8?

[Michaël Barbé]

Love story's like this one! Did you had a hard time keeping up? I mean, you'd rather be in the Nissan for the moment?

MB
:rs6kiss:

[RXBG]

RXBG,
nice write-up!

was the GTR visually much faster than R8?


as we shuffled around the R8 was quicker. he settled in behind me and made no attempts to out maneuver me. i read this as a lack of confidence in his machine in that respect. once in the open straight he was definitely faster, but not by a huge amount. the GTR and 997 were both faster. i could tell i would not have been able to outaccelerate either one of them on the straights when i encountered them.

i never once wished i was in either of them. my only wish was that i had had the two extra cylinders that are coming. i'd venture to say that anyone we went by only had eyes for the R8 in both cases.

i think the GTR was broken in. that guy wasn't messing around.

[artur777]

RBXG,

have you already ordered R8 V10?
when will be the first deliveries?

[RXBG]

i am #2 on the list here. assuming an introduction in paris late next month it'll probably go on sale here in the US in the fall of 2009 sometime. i assume it'll go on sale in europe in the spring. as such i'd probably not take delivery till late 2009. maybe november or december. for me that is a suitable timeline as there is a big investment i want to pay off before then.

[Michaël Barbé]

i am #2 on the list here. assuming an introduction in paris late next month it'll probably go on sale here in the US in the fall of 2009 sometime. i assume it'll go on sale in europe in the spring. as such i'd probably not take delivery till late 2009. maybe november or december. for me that is a suitable timeline as there is a big investment i want to pay off before then.

Make sure you post a nice write-up then, comparing the V8 and V10!:hahahehe:

MB
:rs6kiss:

[RXBG]

Make sure you post a nice write-up then, comparing the V8 and V10!:hahahehe:

MB
:rs6kiss:

in the meantime i am playing low key. don't talk much about it with the wifey. just here with you guys. always nice to have something to look forward to, not that i am not overwhelmed with joy at my R8 now. :jlol:

[Michaël Barbé]

in the meantime i am playing low key. don't talk much about it with the wifey. just here with you guys. always nice to have something to look forward to, not that i am not overwhelmed with joy at my R8 now. :jlol:

That's it. You've got something to get excited about every day. No 2 things: the fact that you can drive an R8 every day you want to AND the fact that there is waiting an even faster one for you:hihi:

MB
:rs6kiss:

[artur777]

in the meantime i am playing low key. don't talk much about it with the wifey. just here with you guys. always nice to have something to look forward to, not that i am not overwhelmed with joy at my R8 now. :jlol:

I see your point!
It's nice when you have R8 V8 and waiting for V10..
It's really nice

Write in future other funny stories you get in w/R8

[Benman]

RXBG,

Nice write up.:thumb: Nice to see the GTR looks are growing a little on you. Not R8 good looks mind you, but the looks are growing all the same. ;)

I have only driven virtually the two cars. The physics engine used make the R8 and GTR near matches in the handling department (like you state). I agree that the upcoming V10 should make things real interesting in the power department. ;)

For me, the GTR is obviously much more affordable, and a car I'd likely buy. But then, if $$$ were no object, I'd clearly rather have the V10 R8. :bow:

Ben:addict:

[Damienr8]

Nice little story there Rodrigo. You mentioned that the GTR was "significantly" larger than the R8. Were you just exaggerating or is that really the case?

[RXBG]

damien- it looks bigger. especially from my driver's seat. it was taller than me and about as wide.

benman- my brother in law is considering one. i could almost do the same but for a few things- that interior just looks grotesque and lame. also- no true manual. that kills it for me. and finally. after owning an R8....... nuff said.

[Benman]

...after owning an R8....... nuff said. I hear you... if funds weren't a concern, that would be the one for sure. :heart: But the GTR is good enough for lil' ol' me. :D

Ben:addict:

[Leadfoot]

Sorry RXBG but the GTR was toying with you, it IS a lot faster in real life. Sure in give and take conditions of traffic the R8 will keep up but given an open road the GTR will walk off into the distance and there ain't anything you can do about it.

It's real rival will be the V10 R8.

[mm1]

Statements that an V10 R8 will be faster because you hada trafic light/highway race with a GT-R (as I understand) and could keep up is just plain silly:). How can you tell how a car in front handles on highway.

[RXBG]

Sorry RXBG but the GTR was toying with you, it IS a lot faster in real life. Sure in give and take conditions of traffic the R8 will keep up but given an open road the GTR will walk off into the distance and there ain't anything you can do about it.

It's real rival will be the V10 R8.


i can promise you he wasn't toying. it is just that he did not have enough room to pull away in a nice clean straight line. the GTR is faster than the V8 R8, i never said it wasn't. however, it doesn't handle better. a GTR was bested by lightly modded A4 1.8t at a local autocross this last weekend and both drivers knew their cars well. it is in fact a big cumbersome car. and it will be bested by the new NSX and LFA handily for that reason. and the V10 R8.

[crespo]

Ya, it's definitely faster. The only way you could beat it on a track is if you bring in the same amount of traffic you had on the highway :p . I'm sure the R8 can handle at least on par with it (all the technology in the world can't beat a well-tuned mid-engined sports car's balance), but the power difference is substantial.

Still cool story, though. I also bumped into a GT-R a couple of nights ago in my A5. It was also white (like my A5!), and was definitely being broken in. Obviously I didn't challenge it or anything, but we did do a side-by-side cruise down a couple streets. He also got on it at a couple of lights and the sound, while not exotic, was still very much loud and purposeful. A non-exotic supercar sound, if you will.

And it is a HUGE CAR! I agree with what you said about the looks: great rear, cool front, meh sides. But it's so big it looked like a big slab of white next to the oh-so-pretty curves of the A5 (self-flattering notwithstanding...).

Cool story, can't wait for the V10.