they could have just quizzed them really quickly on when to use “this” and when to use “that.” i have yet to meet a german who can use the “correct” one every time. most of the time, its the exact opposite of what i would think it would be.

and just to nitpick, but shouldn’t it be “nürburgring”?

Brakes: For the price difference you could have a $100K racing braking system installed on the GT-R and still come-in under the GT2.

Racing reliability: Maybe with the GT1 block (996 & 997 Turbo, GT2 & GT3) but the M96 block in the price comparable GT-R vs. 1999-2008 911, is no Honda.

I understand, and agree completely, with your notion of competing in racing to realy test both cars out fully. I’d love to see a Dakar prepped verson of each head out across the desert too, but I already know who would win that as well. My reasoning for handing both the GT-R and the 911 Turbo to Sabine would simply be to add another level of comparability and consistentcy to the ‘ring equation. Not that lapping the ‘ring is a good inicator of the car’s overall competitiveness. I would think that she could get a better level of consistent performance from each car, due to her intimate familiarity with the track, and at the end of the day we could put this silly thing to rest.

Mind you, I’m sure that even after she wrung the best out of each, there would still be argument from both sides.

It works the other way around too:
Didn’t the British use that tactic to uncover German spies in WW2? No matter how good they spoke English, no German could pronounce “squirrel” correctly.

(squirrel=Eichhörnchen, quick, what’s that in French?)

And we’re still not understanding the difference between a Nuburgring lap and racing. Don’t hand them to Sabine, hand one to Dyson and the other one to Penske for a season.

Hand one of each to Sabine for an afternoon, and be done with it.

Brake fade after a couple laps? Seriously, big time poseurmobile. In the world of real racing, as opposed to a glorified petrol pissing contest, I expect Porsche would play Mistress to Nissan’s slave.

Better yet, for a better comparison, take the total time for five full flying laps. I’d like to see if the GT-R even makes it that far without communing with the local flora and fauna.

Until then, there’s a very basic difference between Porsches and Nissans. It was interesting, in the Driver’s Republic article, that they said the GT-R’s brakes were fading after a full lap while the Porsche’s were just fine.

Reminds me of track days awhile ago when guys brought those enormous Mitsubishi 3000 turbocars. They’d do a lap at Road America and their brakes were cooked. The stock, owner-driven Porsches ran hour after hour.

I now have a very good idea what The Stig’s left nipple looks like.

The old 930 owner’s manual recommended flooring the car at least once a week, whereas Nissan is deleting launch control because “[They] just don’t want to deal with the warranty nightmare anymore.”

hmmm. Ike – herhn – shen. close? :-)

I think this is a strong attempt at an objective review. However, as there is no such thing as “official” ring times, we simply will never know the whole TRUTH.

I don’t see why the manufactures don’t meet up for a showdown, with an independent third party around to keep things on the up and up, and answer this once and for all. Then again, if they did, all this noise and speculation would stop. :-)

ha! that made my day. but if you can break the word up into its component “root words” (thats the best way i can think to describe it), then its really no harder than any other language, with the exception being all the difficult pronunciations.

if you ever want to make yourself sound like an idiot, try and say “eichhörnchen.” possibly the most difficult word to pronounce correctly. ever. ;-)

Have you seen the German phrase for “speed limit”? Or street names? It’s like a whole culture that never discovered the space bar.

This article may not be definite proof, but it’s a strong indication, as the auther himself says towards the end. He cannot see how Nissan could have done their laptime with this car.

To be fair, the Porsche and Nissan both have notional back seats. They’re functional two-seaters with not a lot of trunk space. But the general point is true, the Nissan is more a front-engine Gallardo competitor. The Corvette is a more natural competitor for the 911, and pistolwhips it on the value front, too.

But…as the article says in closing comments, the Nissan has four seats, shifts it’s own gears, and is much heavier and costs a ton less money (not to mention has a real trunk).

Track performance aside, they’re hardly even comparable vehicles.