AutoBild Sportscars review: 911 Turbo vs. GT-R
Respect for the elderly - a virtue deeply rooted in asian culture. Not only Porsche Turbo-fans and -drivers show respect when the matter is the 34 year old icon. Even the objurgated youth has a feeling for traditions. The playstation generation eagerly renders homage to their new superhero - the all-wheel-driven Nissan GT-R, packed with high tech like the automated double-clutch-gearbox and the newly developed 3.8l V6 bi-turbo. The quad-doored ancestor Skyline 2000 GT-R saw the light of the day in 1969 - fire years prior to his german adversary. Only the shape remained well known though. Beneath the cultic metal you'll find two turbochargers with variable turbine geometry, all-wheel-drive with an electromagneticly controlled multiple disc clutch as well as adpataple dampers. Facing that, the 911 won't let itself be shifted off to retirement though. Moreover, the Nissan never was cagey about having the 911 turbo as the benchmark during development. A feud between legends - and generations - blazes up.
Young and old are unified by one criteria: 480 six-cylinder-bi-turbo-horsepower have to be under the bonnet. Operated by the starter button, six pistons take up their work gently mumbling, beginning their journey over the plasma-lined cylinder liner. Second gear comes up briefly rumbling, after that the DSG changes gears unnoticeably. Something you can not say about the Nissans suspension for the time being. On the curvy country road, the 20-inch-wheels teeter harshly in every small hole, the GT-R bounces nervously. Thus set the suspension to soft. While the Bridgestones whistle like a streamlet and the GT-R purrs along in sixth, the suspension now swallows more bumps. It's paradoxial, but the soft mode is best for going quickly, at least on rougher roads.
Open the taps! Record-breakingly quick and still hardly noticeable, second gear is engaged. Beneath the mighty wheeze of the turbo, mixed with the whistling wastegate and the V6 snarling, the japanese storms ahead. Only these sounds give away the forced induction, turbo lags or even interfering stutters are completely absent. 3.6 seconds are supposed to be enough to reach 62 mph - believable. Chassis movements are very well controlled by the trustworthy suspension. The GT-R also follows orders from the nicely weighted and precise steering in an instant. With rock-solid sturdiness despite the 1750 kilograms, the Nissan eats the country road tarmac, not being bothered by flange grooves or driving lapses. The operation of the two aluminium paddles, peeking from behind the steering wheel like fairy ears, is the only thing you need to be capable of the in GT-R.
Due to the earlier availability, we drive a right-hander. On the left-handers, the weight distrubution is supposed to be even better. The reason: the driver sitting on the left counters the weight of the front differential and the drive shaft, both mounted on the right.
Behind the leather- and carbon-lined cockpit of the german icon, the driver has to work quite a bit harder. Indeed, the Turbo turns in even more sharply and brakes harder with the optional ceramic brakes. But the Porsche rolls, dips and judders more when going through turns - a toll to the comfortable setup. Only when driving near the limit, the 911 feels at ease and confident, and doesn't feel too soft and underdamped. With the stability management turned off, you have to be careful though. Too much - or not enough - throttle in a bend, and the rear kicks out. Along the puristic behaviour, a firm six-speed manual challenges the driver much more than in the Nissan.
The reward is questionable though. As much fun as the battle with physics and the acting with clutch and stick may be - it costs time, and the GT-R stays in front. Of course, Porsche offers a five-step tiptronic. It does change at full boost and shaves off two tenths of the 911's 0-62-time, but still, it doesn't operate as agile and discrete as the one in the GT-R. Give us the DSG, Zuffenhausen!
The Japanese really seem to have made a pact with the devil of driving dynamics: despite the rear wheels missing two centimetres in width and 90 kilograms more, the Nissan bites the tarmac with enormous grip and better traction. Into the bargain, it even offers something like character. There's no doubt that the Porsche Turbo still has more charm. Still, the GT-R has personality. A car that emits a well-audible clatter when the second cardan shaft shifts power from the back to the front enters the hearts of car enthusiasts in an instant.
However, the biggerst surprise by the Japanese is the interior. We actually expected an astonishing driving machine with cheap plastics and coarse carpets, whose estimated price tag of 70.000 Euros only covers the mechanical finesses and welcomes the passengers with the usual, far-eastern grey in grey. But the needles of the speedometer and the rev counter flit over brash, high class dials, while the processed hides do not only nestle to back and hands, but also effuse a baronial aroma.
It's almost scary, but the last time we felt such a superior, omnipotent emotion like in the Nissan, we were sitting in the cockpit of the almighty Bugatti Veyron. There only is a handful of cars you can access the enormous powers as easily and safely as in the GT-R. On that note, it's almost unfair to mention that the Japanese only charge you half as much for their better-driving superstar than Porsche for their still facinating classic. Great for the consumer, annoying for the manufacturer: nowadays, engineering is out-of-date faster than ever before. A fact that the playstation kids only know too well.