Epic battle: Carmagazine goes to N-ring with Nissan GTR and Porsche 997 GT3

Yea, I would prefer the GT3 mk2 too, but what a nightmare decision. And if I had to pay from my pocket I think my choice would be different - the GT3 costs a third more here, $120k vs $80k.

Sportauto just relesed their result for the latest Porsche GT3, laptime 7.40 min
Now its only the GTR supertest left.

One (and probably only) good thing about the recession is that the GTRs are available here in the US at/below MSRP and even for invoice price (what the dealers pay) for 09 models. Don't know about the new GT3, but I doubt any dealers dare charge any mark ups in this economy.

wow, 8 secs faster than the mk1? :eusa_clap

Turbo, 9.97 seconds remaining.

Seeing as the GTR is not european, I somehow think they won't manage that time.

LOL, there are more than enough stupid dealers out here. There is a local Chevy dealer wanting to charge 8k more than MSRP for a Camaro SS. So far, no buyers.

Sportauto is unbiased magazine. If they can go faster then they will say it. They did 7.49 min with Corvette Z06 which is faster than many Porsches they've tested.
BMW claim M5 did N-ring in 7.52 min, Sportauto did it in 8.13 min. Sportauto has no reason to lie. Also its a well-respected magazine, lies would only hurt their credibility. So what you just said is nonsense NarutoRamen.

Actually , seem to be a time done by Sportauto. This guy called Kreso who have good connection with sportauto has revealed the time on RS6.com. Its not the first time he does a thing like thbefore a laptime is officiall.
You can find him here:

Porsche 997.2 GT3 Sport Auto Supertest - RS6.com | International Community

On the other hand he is a big Porsche/Audi fan so he might be overexcited

Yes. That's what he usually does. Credible guy but either way this month's issue should be out very soon.

And not just any test crew, Walter Rohrl himself.

Nope, I just don't trust them. They somehow manage to get good times from European cars but when it comes to Japanese or American, they are far behind. I just don't understand how there can be such a discrepancy when it comes to results. This is my opinion, so you can take it however you like.

I honestly believe the factory test drivers more because they know how to absolutely bring the the TRUE potential of the car. I want to know what the car can TRULY do, not what it can do in the hands of just some guy. :t-cheers:

Yeah but the problem is that, that just some guy, can use his same skill level and potential and apply it to every car, so we get a more better idea and fair opinion of the car's potential when compared to other competition for the specific automobile at hand, when all are tested by the same skill level of a person, being the same person testing them all the time.

I don't like Sport Auto's results for the 997 Turbo, F430 and ZO6 at the ring.

Not to mention they got the Z06 to 100 km/h in 4.5 sec, and 200 km/h, in 13.6 sec, that is pure BS, GT3 territory.

Also I had a problem with Nardo 2008 (AMuS) last year when they only managed to get the Viper, the 8.4L 612 bhp version, to 300 km/h in 46.6 sec, when a measly, 200 less bhp powered GT3, does exactly the same time, to that speed, very lame and disappointed with that, but that was not Sport Auto.

They tested that Z06 on a very hot day, the previously tested car did 0-100 km/h in 4,0 seconds and 0-200 km/h in 12,0 s (cold weather). It's all about weather conditions.
:t-cheers:

Those numbers I accept and I agree with.

The best ZO6 numbers I have seen have been 3.6 sec to 100 km/h and 11.8 sec to 200 km/h, so that is well within this ballpark.

and I have a problem with factory times since you have no idea if its a pre-production car or if the car will be exactly like this when it reach the open market. You can use factory times but when you want to compare with other cars , its just pointless. Different driver, different skill.
Sportauto is the best when you want to compare times with other cars, since they use the same driver.

and another thing about Sportauto, they rarely get down to factory times with german cars either. BMW says M5 did it 7.52 min, Sportauto wasn't even close. Like I said , sportauto did 7.49 min with Corvette Z06 and thats faster than many Porsches and faster than any BMW. Sportauto did 7.48 min with 997 GT3 RS which was on R-tires and its only 1 second faster than Z06 which wasnt on R-tires. Thats darn impressive time by Zo6 done by Sportauto. I'm not buying your arguments.

Pretty pointless to argue further about it , since Sportauto is well-respected magazine around the world and their laptimes are used worldwide.


EDIT: Its intresting you mention japanese cars since there havent been many sportscars the last years for sale in Germany that comes from Japan. If they arent for sale in Germany then Sportauto can't test them. If you check the Sportauto N-ring list there arent many japanese cars. The fastest japanese car they tried is Honda NSX-R and it did it in 8.09 min and this with "only" 280 hp. This is a great achievement and its done by Sportauto.
Neither Toyota Supra/or previous generation Skylines was tested by Sportauto. So its very intresting you say japanese cars are far behind, LoL, of course they are since there havent been many powerful japanese cars for sale in Germany the last years. I certainly hope you didnt expect European versions of Impreza or EVO being under 8 minutes. NarutoRamen, your theories about Japanese cars fail - big time

Nissan GTR and Corvette Zr1 will be for sale in Europe so in a near future you will see Sportauto trying them and the times wont be bad. Of course it wont be near factory times but Sportauto rarely are, so no biggies here.