Autocar: Sutcliffe pits GT-R against 911 and R8 V10


martinbo

Staff member
I don't know if this is a repost - didn't see anything under the Internal Combustion forum. If it is a repost, please let me know with a link to the original thread and I'll merge...

Autocar's Steve Sutcliffe drives GT-R against 997.2 Turbo PDK and R8 V10 manual.

This is a grudge match showdown between the Nissan GT-R, Porsche 911 Turbo and Audi R8 V10 - and you can see the hi-res pictures and video here.

First up, our testers spent two days in the cars on normal roads, doing normal driving and seeing which could do 'normal' best.

See our exclusive Nissan GT-R v Porsche 911 v Audi R8 V10 pictures

Watch the Nissan GT-R v Porsche 911 v Audi R8 V10 video

The differences were stark: the GT-R's ride was harsh, and it was noisy - especially compared to the refined 911 Turbo; the R8 doesn't steer quite as sweetly as the 911, and its manual gearbox is a hindrance.

On the road, then, the testers rate the R8 as easiest to live with, followed by the 911 and GT-R. However, that order's reversed when they consider which is the most fun to have legal, on the road fun in.

To settle which is faster, autocar.co.uk then took the trio to a damp Castle Combe circuit and put Steve Sutcliffe out for a two timed laps in each.

It soon became clear that the GT-R is so stiff that it struggles in the wet. In contrast, the 911 is easier, faster and friendlier to drive in the wet, as is the 'how long can you hold it sideways R8'.

But as the day dried, Sutcliffe went out for his laps.

The 911 was first, and surprised Steve with the amount of steering wheel movement - especially over bumps. That said, the unwanted movement at the back of the previous generation car was gone, replaced by excellent body control and huge acceleration in each gear.

The R8 was well balanced and sounded fantastic, but its poor brakes and clumsy gearchange were major issues, making it the slowest of the three despite being the purest handling.

So it was left to the GT-R to take up the challenge, and on the dry track it did just that. The nervousness gone, replaced by near-perfect body control, massive stability on turn-in, extraordinary traction on the exit of corners and huge stopping power.

Despite being the heaviest and least powerful car at the track, the GT-R felt the fastest - and so it was - though only by 0.3sec over the 911.

So which is best? In theory it's the Audi, fitted with the Nissan's gearbox and 911's brakes, priced at the GT-R's level.

That car doesn't exist, so we have to pick the next best thing - the GT-R - performance bargain of the century.

Link: GT-R v 911 Turbo v R8 V10 - Autocar.co.uk

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I'm interested to learn if the R8 was running the optional composite brakes or standard steel items...
 

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