Monday, May 23, 2011

If I had to pick...

...a favourite sports car, a true sports car, it would definitely be the GT-R.

First its looks: the lines were from Gundam and the dials from Gran Turismo, a truly Japanese inspired creation. And true to Japanese humility, it's about as understated as a sports car can look.

Haven't your parents ever told you not to judge a book by its cover?

A new Aventador, bright orange and nostrils flared, will run you at least $300k, pack a 6.5 V12, give you nearly 700 horses and get you from 0-60 in 2.9s. The definition of ostentatious.

A new GT-R will also get you there in 2.9s. It will do this while carrying an extra 200kg in amenities and it will do it with "just" 530 horses in a 3.8 V6 and it will do it while costing you a much more reasonable $80k.

The last gen GT-R finished the Nurburgring in 7:26, beating the much more expensive F458 by more than 6 seconds. The 2011 GT-R improves that to 7:24 (semi-wet), just topping the Enzo: the Ferrari built singular-purpose racing machine.

The Enzo does not cost $80 000.

Nor does it have power windows.

So why buy Italian? I suppose if you want to throw money into holes while looking ridiculous (and I concede that there is definitely a market to be tapped in this area), but engineering? Leave it to the Germans. And the Japanese.

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