Will the Nissan GTR Topple the Porsche 911 Turbo?

Not many cars can take on the 911 Turbo ( specially a japanese car ) , this be interesting to see.

I agree with you, Porsche is imo the best car manufacturer in the world. But lets not forget, this isnt just any nissan; the world is simply starting to find out what has ruled Japan for decades. This car will have no problems selling, there's enough people out there that will rather buy this one than the Porsche.

Who cares, let's get back to bashing Audi or Mercedes!

this car is not a direct competitor to the 911 turbo in the slightest, the 911 turbo is much more a gt, than it is an all out high performance sports car that what the gt2 will be for....the "nissan" i think will be a good sports car, but other than it having a twin turbo 6 cylinder i think the similarities to the 911 stop there. im sure the 911 will be much more refined interior and overall, i imagine the gt-r as more a zo6, viper, that crowd

no matter what you do with a Nissan it is still a nissan

I would take a 911 Turbo with no engine that I had to push with my feet first

bmwdrver, you should read up on it a bit. The car's going to run at least 450hp with all-wheel drive and they've been running it around the nurnburgring for a few years tweaking its design. The old GTR held the nurburgring record lap time for a few years. This car will be an absolute beast. Still, I'm not crazy about the front-end.

I think,and know that this 997 will have something in it's shadow.....Ladies and Gent's THE GT-R.It will be something

"no matter what you do with a Nissan it is still a nissan"


Isn't that classist? Shouldn't we be driving each car with a fresh understanding that any car could be better than our biases?

Remember someone that is buying a Porsche 911 Turbo would not ever consider a Nissan in a million years.

To those it doesn't get any better than driving a Porsche.

Agree with you. There is just something special about driving a car that has been in production for over 40 years and with the sound of that raspy flat six behind you. What a classic car. The person buying a Porsche is like the Person that buys a Rolex. It is something special. Sure a Timex tells time, and maybe more accurately too. But is no Rolex. Same for the Nissan, it might be faster than the 997, but sure is no Porsche.

Yeah but Nissan would a lot cheaper and probably can sell a lot more than 911s. Nissan is gonna be successful with this model "if" performance is up to par with Porsche.

Rolex?!?! Omega?!?! Sheesh. Just shows that good taste in cars has nothing to do with good taste in watches. Both are machine-made, mass-produced 2nd tier pieces (actually Omega is another level lower).

Rolex? Only rich Asians like Rolex, or low-level traders who think they made it.

This is probably THE biggest question facing the GT-R. By any measure, it's not easy dethroning arguably the world's #1 sportscar. Although both the 911 Turbo and GT-R have legendary histories and heritages, the Porsche has the edge mostly because the GT-R was never sold officially outside Japan. Many people in the US have never even heard of the GT-R other than sports car enthusiasts and video game fans.
The GT-R certainly does have the credentials to be a serious contender to the 911 Turbo. Carlos Tavares, chief of Nissan product development, has maintained that the GT-R will be the absolute pinnacle of the best Nissan has to offer. He also said his performance targets for the GT-R were directed specifically at the 911 Turbo. There is footage all over the web showing the GT-R testing on the track with a 911 Turbo following close behind.
With aggressive futuristic exterior styling, a monster engine tuned in collaboration with Cosworth, a price tag about half the 911, and suspension assisted by Lotus, look for the 2008 GT-R to make a huge presence upon it's arrival. Carlos Ghosn promised the next GT-R will not disappoint and will deliver 'top level driving performance.'
Toyota and Acura are scrambling to match the next GT-R with the introduction of the next Supra and next NSX, respectively. Regardless, look for the GT-R to make headlines in auto magazines when it hits the US.

Dave, you know where you lost the Porsche owners?....when you said the Nissan has "futuristic exterior styling".

This Nissan will compete more with a Corvette than a Porsche because that's the way it will be.

I love Porsches because of their classic style. A corvette might be faster, but I much rather buy a Porsche.

I am expecting the GT-R to be an awesome thing, but it surely won't cause Porsche to stop building the turbo 911.

Could we stop refering to a new model as the "----- killer"? A new car creates competition, not extinction.

There is a whole lot of room for the GT-R, R8, and future NSX and Lexus's exotic to exist.

I can't wait to see the first comparison test!

I have heard recent rumors that the GT-R will be pushing 500hp...??

I agree that very few people, or none, will be cross shopping these two cars. If i had $130K to buy a sports car I would definitely take the 911, but for someone looking for the performance of the 911 Turbo, but only have $80K to spend this will be a worthy competitor.

I think auto enthusiasts like ourselves will cross shop the GT-R with, say a loaded M3, RS4, maybe M5, etc. and I think that the GT-R has more than enough potential to take the cake over other cars in the segment, and will be worth the $10k premium over the M3 and RS4.

Is the Nissan a better value? Sure. But at $70k or whatever that's one expensive Nissan, and I don't think many people who can afford a $130k 911 Turbo are even going to cross shop them. Chances are they could afford to buy both together and are choosing the Porsche because it's a Porsche. I don't even know how many M3 and RS4/RS5 buyers will buy the Nissan, for this kind of money they'd have been better off badging this an Infiniti.

NO badging as Infiniti. The original Skyline was a Nissan. 2.6 liter twin turbo. Is like if you asked asked GM to change the Chevrolet Corvette to a Cadillac Corvette.

Like it or not the majority of people buying cars this expensive, even really fast ones, aren't "performance enthusiasts". They're rich people who like status symbols and fast cars, and the Nissan accomplishes only one of those. A Porsche/BMW/MB/Audi does both.

You are so right.

In the Japanese tuner world, yes.

But in the hearts of real enthusiasts, obviously not.

Just like a "real enthusiast" would want an S4 Cab ? LOL

see, this is why nobody respects you on this site. You post rubbish without reading and understanding what other people post and then you attack others for their choice in cars? What's wrong with the S4? I would call it an enthusiasts automobile...

And, since you seem to have all the right answers and all the right opinions, what true enthusiast's car do you drive?

Yes, I love my S4!

What do you drive, "enthusiast", an Echo?

Who said anything about the GT2? No one is claiming that the GT-R will compete with the GT2. The GT-R won't touch it.

The 996 GT2 was also somewhere in the range of $190k, a six figure premium over the GT-R. And expect the 997 GT2 to ring in over $200K.

The GT2 is surely in a league of its own...the 997 version should be a magnificent machine.

"It has been said many times since the 996 911 Turbo, that the 911 has become a very fast GT."<--- Has become? Are you just realizing this? The 911 has been famous for great endurance racing performance waaaaay before the 996. The Carrera RSR Turbo came in 2nd in the 24 Hr Le Mans (not Le Man's...there is no possessive there) in 1974! 25 years before the 996 debuted!

Maybe I am misreading your post and if I am, I apologize, but that is what I gathered from it.

This will be another Supra Turbo, drifter car/poster car for those kids with wings glued onto their 200SXs with coffee can exhaust tips.

Anyone who thinks that Nissan can dial-up a better production car than 911 in that class is smoking their own retreds.

That's about like saying "Can Hyundai topple the Mercedes S600?"

Yeah I'm sure a lot of high schoolers will be ponying up 80K for the GT-R.

You watch, this car is going to be a real competitor, EVERYONE is underestimating this car because it is a Nissan.

i thinking that the new GT-R may be better than a porsche 911. i mean, if you think about it more people know porsche as a pretty high-end car. but many people know the skyline GT-R as almost a legend in the tuning scene and especially more of a pro circuit race car even in stock form. i'm pretty sure it would be awesome in the next few years to see the two titans of the automobile industry battle it out, Europeans and Japanese. the americans not so much, they got enough problems of their own right now to worry about sports cars.

Hello? Z06 anyone? Remember this is the car that can spank a 911 Turbo on the track. And if you consider who has what today, I think it's the Japanese that's doesn't have much in the way of "sports cars" as of now. I know they are coming, but right now the battle for sport car/super car braggin rights is between the Europeans and the Americans.

Right here is a video clip of the Nissan Skyline GTR versus the Porsche 911 Turbo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW1b4ShKSoI

If this video gives any indication of whats to come in 2008. Then, no the Skyline will not topple the 911 turbo.

you're comparing different gens...it has no relevance to how the new GT-R and 997 Turbo will stack up.

That's like saying the BMW 330i was slower than the last G35, therefore the same will be true for the new models. Obviously, the 335i is faster now. You're comparing apples to oranges.

Nice drag race. But thats the old GTR and the new one has a lot more to offer (I think). The issue I think is How much more units of GTRs can Nissan sell compared to 911 and will it affect 911 sales when GTR comes out?

The Corvette Z06 is in a league of its own with ultra-exotic performance, for the price of a not-so-exotic luxury sedan. You could get a fully-loaded E550 for the price of a Z06- which is nothing to most sports car buyers.

So, I don't see the point of your post (JDMman)?

They new Skyline GTR may be abel to take out a regular
Carrera,but it won't take out a RUF RGT!!!

Correction made:
"The" new Skyline GTR may be abel to take out a regular
Carrera,but it won't take out a RUF RGT!!!

Ruf RGT only has 395hp, granted its 3000lbs, but the GT-R will have 500hp and probably weigh about 3500-3700lbs. I think the GT-R would take it.

We're talking 7.6lbs/hp v. 7-7.4lbs/hp (GT-R)

Not to mention, the 997 Turbo has the same performance as the RGT. This was a pointless post. You're saying that the GT-R could keep up with a 911 Turbo, but not a Ruf RGT, both of which have the same performance numbers?

Do some research.

Even if it can take out a 997 Carrera I rather buy a Porsche than the Skyline GT-R. One of my college friends is a Japanese guy who has a R32 skyline, he told me it was tuned to about 600HP in Japan. My other Friend a Middle East guy with a Lotus Esprit S4S at the time tuned to about 400hp. When this guy with the Lotus showed up all the Japanese guy could do was stare and be at awed at the Balck Lotus, The sound that 4 cylinder was emiting was loud. It represented Exoticness, even though he owns the Skyline.

Yeah Skyline might be faster, but for that Awe factor it can't beat Porsche, Lotus or Ferrari or Lamborghini. Totally different markets.

Car & Driver's January issue stated that the suspected engine is 3.8 liter, turbocharged to 500+hp

This sounds reasonable considered that 911 Turbo's 480HP is achieved by turbocharging its 3.6 liter engine.

It will be good for the 911 Turbo to have some competition, whether in the form of the Skyline GTR or a future boosted version of the Audi R8. I don't care which one wins as I can't afford anyone of them, but a comparo of these cars (if they materialized) will be interesting to read.

>>Yeah I'm sure a lot of high schoolers will be ponying up 80K for the GT-R.<<

I said "Poster Car", as in they will have POSTERS of them up in their bedrooms.

my fault, thought it said "poser" car...wish i knows how to reads lol

I have been in the Car Business for a while now and I am willing to bet that you will get cross-shoppers from the Porshe, BMW and Audi market. The reason the heritage of the Nissan GT-R. Remember people have been importing this car from Japan.
I think some of you brand snobs are totally missing the point. When you mention the heritage of the 911 don't forget about the GT-R.

Nobody thought BMW drivers would cross-shop to a G35 or and M35/M45, but they did. I can't wait to see these two go head-to head. The 911 Turbo is an absolutely phenomenal car, but if any car can come close to that feeling it's going to be the GTR.

Well, take both cars to Indy500 race track and go at it. That's how we will decide this thing. It would be fun to watch the race though. I would chose Al Unser Jr and Andretti as the drivers for this historic race.

People who buy Porsches won't buy a Nissan b/c of the badge. You can say the same about people who buy BMW. They just wanted that EU logo.

The GTR is a crazy driving car just like the 911 turbo, but putting physics in the equation the 911 is smaller in size compared in pictures with this GTR, so it will be harder for the GTR to beat the 911 in cornering, but sraight line speed it will be interesting to see who's better.

BOTTOM LINE:
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GT-R: will have the looks, Speed and pleasure of driving equal or better than the 911T

HOWEVER: The demographics that are attracted to these cars are VERY DIFFERENT!
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The person who can afford to buy 911T will never consider the GT-R even if GT-R beats the 911T in every aspect!
Only very few will.
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This is coming from G35Coupe and FX45 owner who's next car will be the GT-R

What was Nissan thinking when they designed the GT-R, the F-18?

Look at photo,
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-18-ef-usnhornt.jpg

GT-R will sell much more than 911 Turbo...

well that is consider as sucess in auto industery

^^^
Dude, Lexus has been around for 20 years IN NORTH AMERICA, BUT NOT IN EUROPE.

In fact it's really only this year with the introduction of the new IS that Lexus seriously take a stab at the European market. As far as "badge snobness" towards certain makes, are you referring those crappy European cars that you can't sell here in the U.S. because honestly they suck? No thanks, you can keep them.

Also do you honestly think that if Nissan were to badge this as an Infiniti, build it in very limited quantities and sell them for the same amount as the Porsche, that they'll have problem selling it? I can assure you that they'd sell EVERY ONE they make.

Perception is everything. How many Porsches do you see on the road these days. Quite a hell of a lot. And they ALL look like the 911 Turbo they're comparing the Nissan to. How special is that. Trust me, it ain't.

Now how many GT-R's do you see everyday? None. So if the word gets out that this is a "rare" vehicle, I bet rich folks would snap it up waaaaay before they'd do the 911. It's an "exclusivity" perception thing.

So if all we are doing is comparing, why dont we all just admit that by design nissan did take the step needed to make a super car while the porsche line is all the same whether you are buying a boxster,caymen or the cayenne.they all look the same to me.And if in fact I was lucky enough to have 130 thousands laying around I would still buy a GTR and bank the rest in an OFFSHORE account.

Funny that the 911 with it's "flawed" design beats about every car in it's class.
And the 911 GT3(RS) without the AWD to save it's ass is one of the best handling cars in the world.

just the amount of conflicting views tells the story, to understand the emotion you have to take the ride. The GTR is no lightweight ....0-60 in under 4 sec is nothing to sneeze about but if your lucky you will catch your breath...they wont be able to make enough of them