franki68
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Nissan gtrHaving some business in runcorn yesterday I decided to pop into middlehurst who are the official importers of GTRs,and managed to blag a 15-20 minute drive in a grey GTR.
Firstly the salesguy took me into the back where he showed me about 25 GTRs which were prepped to be delivered next week.I think the purpose was to show me the choice of colours.Black comprised about 80% of the cars with 2 red,1 white and a few greys.The black ones looked best and the white one as pointed out by the salesman had a small issue.The front lower skirt was a different shade of white to the rest of the car.Not a good indicator of nissans quality control.
Anyway the car...it is much better looking nin the flesh than in photos.Certainly not a beautiful car,but very aggressive and impressive looking.The interior is a real mish mash.Superb seats covered in exceptionally soft leather ,conflict with some real cheapo feeling stuff.The playstation graphics are fantastic ,and the steering wheel feels good in the hands .The rear seats are a joke,again there must be a race of people who have no loegs because these were really deep seats which would comfortably take a 6 footer,excpet there was absolutely no leg room.
Out on the road the car was very strange.Firstly the car disguises its speed like no other car I have ever driven.I mashed my foot to the floor and expecting perfromance like the 997tt ,braced myself for the feeling of my stomach being pushed back into my spine,but nothing happened ,however when I looked at the speedo I realised I had gone from 0 to 120 in the blink of an eye.I must mention at this point the speedo in the car is calibrated in such a way that it is impossible to even estimate your speed form it,you must watch the digital speedo to ensure you don't lose your license.
I was not allowed to use the paddles as they gave me some gibberish about running in,but what a fanatstic gearbox.Chagnes were completely smooth,just a constant hit of acceleration.
IT was however quite undramatic,the engine/exhaust noise was nothing special and the 4wd system made sure every BHP was utilised fully.
The steering was quite light,maybe a bit too light for my liking ,but very accurate.Hard to say about the handling as I really got no chance ot push it.I did try to have a bit of fun on a roundabout but it was very like the 997tt in that all you got was grip grip and more grip.
The ride was very hard and by far the worst of any car I have driven recently.However it was only uncomfortable on really really bad roads.The superb seats absorb a lot of the jolts.
To be honest I came away none the wiser,I certainly did not feel that the rule books have been rewritten.It was a bit of a sterile experience overall.
As much as I can appreciate thatit is a fabulous machine it reminded me of the rs6 ,mind boggling effortless pace,not sure how rewarding it will be.I got back into my car and thought,gtr feelgood factor =7 ,my car =10 .
another one crossed off the list.
What did happen which made me laugh was I said to the salesman 'you know I saw one in january which was obviously an import but since then I have not seen one on the road'..driving home (its about 25miles ) sat in the outside lane guess what pulls up behind me ? And then proceeds to drive in a manner that suggests he wanted his front bumper to mount my rear bumper...a race is on,except knowing I would be pasted,I moved out of the way ( iwas a bit naughty because I knew he was going to blast by me in an effort to impress me..and 2 cars in front on the inside was a police car I had spotted (and I was already cruising at about 90).Sure enough I move over ,he stamps on his throttle,and as he surges past me he spots the cops and slams on his brake ,it was realy really childish of me ,but made me smile I have to admit.
Anyway off he goes once the police car had gone ,and within 2 minutes I have a red gtr on my backside ,trying to prove how fast the car is.
So from 0 in 6 months I see 2 inside 10 minutes on the way home.More worrying is every gtr driver going to try to race every single car that costs more than the gtr ?
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Mark
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Re: Nissan gtr | franki68 wrote: | | the white one as pointed out by the salesman had a small issue.The front lower skirt was a different shade of white to the rest of the car.Not a good indicator of nissans quality control. |
I don’t think it’s a Nissan only problem – White is always a difficult colour and plastic is often a bugger to paint (match). If you look at most car bumpers, in certain lights/angles, you will see a difference in colour to that of the paint on the steel/aluminium of the same car. If the front skirt on the GTR has to be a particularly hardy plastic compound to avoid damage (I would assume it is), it might not take normal paint and is probably even more difficult to match. It might also be a much harder/stronger paint than on the rest of the car due to its exposure to chips and the like. Of course, none of the above makes it ‘ok’ to the eyes.
Re the test drive – lucky man. Would really like a go in one of these. I’ve seen a couple on the road now and they have immense presence. Apart from the shortcomings you mention, it still seems a hell of a bargain.
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Matt
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The B6 A4s suffer from the mismatched paint when they have the painted lower sills front and rear.
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Parm
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I'd certainly like to have a go in a GT-R, simply to flatter my driving abilities ;) I've yet to see one on the road though. Of the limited colours available, black would be my choice too.
This months Evo has an interesting comparison of the Veyron vs GT-R.
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Nice Guy Eddie
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Good report Franki. I would have guessed the car would have been super quick but rather detatched. I always think this is the fault of these double clutch boxes as they make the car so smooth it becomes undramatic. I'd take a jerky Ferrari box over one anyday or even better a manual. Still you can't arguee with the price.
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franki68
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astonishing perfromance per £,and feels like it will do it for 20 years.Very impressive feat.
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tali
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There seem to be GTRs in doubles, my brother saw 2 also within a couple of minutes
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ALF
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Interesting. I can see the point of a car that seems quicker than it is, particularly if it has a characterful engine and is enjoyable to drive. The opposite is harder to justify, unless you live in a particularly deserted part of a country with no speed limits...
As to your "will they always race" question, I suspect the answer is yes, right up to the point where they lose their licenses. I'd love to see the insurance claims/conviction rate for GTR's, and indeed some other new cars like the Focus RS...
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"him"
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| ALF wrote: | | Interesting. I can see the point of a car that seems quicker than it is... |
<---
Indeed!
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simonp
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Ditto'd! 
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franki68
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| ALF wrote: | Interesting. I can see the point of a car that seems quicker than it is, particularly if it has a characterful engine and is enjoyable to drive. The opposite is harder to justify, unless you live in a particularly deserted part of a country with no speed limits...
As to your "will they always race" question, I suspect the answer is yes, right up to the point where they lose their licenses. I'd love to see the insurance claims/conviction rate for GTR's, and indeed some other new cars like the Focus RS... |
in fairness upon reflection ,the roads were completely empty ,so it is harder to judge your speed with no reference point.I think it is the ease it accumulated the speed that makes it seem 'slower than it is.'
For 60k though (and i know 60k is a lot of money ) you have a car that will outrun pretty much anything on the road,fair play to nissan.
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Boxer6
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I was thinking that the GT-R O.C. Forum might make interesting reading in a little while!!
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Parm
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Funnily enough, I saw my first GT-R today. Looked great to my eyes. Very muscular with a suitably deep bellowing soundtrack. Not particularly musical, but menacing all the same. Unfortunately this GT_R was being driven by an A1 cock who thought he was on a race track and not a public road. Tailgating, undertaking and squeezing back into tight spots ahead of the car being under/overtaken, causing everyone else behind to slam their brakes.
Still, I found myself wanting one...
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franki68
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| Parm wrote: | Funnily enough, I saw my first GT-R today. Looked great to my eyes. Very muscular with a suitably deep bellowing soundtrack. Not particularly musical, but menacing all the same. Unfortunately this GT_R was being driven by an A1 cock who thought he was on a race track and not a public road. Tailgating, undertaking and squeezing back into tight spots ahead of the car being under/overtaken, causing everyone else behind to slam their brakes.
Still, I found myself wanting one... |
there is a worrying pattern emerging here.
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DradusContact
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Runcorn, woop! I live there.
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"him"
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| DradusContact wrote: | | Runcorn, woop! I live there. |
Have you ever said that before?
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Boxer6
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| "him" wrote: | | DradusContact wrote: | | Runcorn, woop! I live there. |
Have you ever said that before? |
Has anyone? 
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BeN
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There are now plenty of GT-Rs running around here now.
I wouldn't mind a drive in one. Certainly I would prefer it to a 370Z.
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franki68
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Please bear in mind al l these test drives are quite unfair on the car involved.With any car you really need time with it to learn its character.
I recall my initial feelings about the r8 were rathe r muted.,and now look at my relationship with it...(i kicked the wife out and moved the r8 in.)
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franki68
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Having a think about all htese recent test drives,nissan gtr,jag xkr,maser,various 997s ,and out of all of them I would now choose the 997 last.Now 2 years ago it would have been my first choice,but several things happened.The iopposition got a lot better and the 997 became less fun to drive.
Didn't somone write into autocar moaning that they placed the r8 and nissan gtr above the 997 ? Have to say Autocar got that bit right
Anyway off to stockport to let them service my car ,(hopes the courtesy car will be something fun)
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Apex clipper
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| franki68 wrote: | | Having a think about all htese recent test drives,nissan gtr,jag xkr,maser,various 997s ,and out of all of them I would now choose the 997 last. |
You have such a cruel life.  I've yet to see a new GTR..there's plenty of Fast(Ish) and furious GTR yobbos around here though.
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