ZR1 vs GTR V-Spec

I know there is a car comparison section but nobody goes there so I decided to post this there. First off, regardless of which someone here may or may not like, keep it civil. Check the rules at the top of the racing page if you must before posting. Now, on to the discussion;

I find both of these cars to be amazing machines, both with staggering performance numbers that crush cars that cost multiple times of what they retail for. However, the benchmark for a cars all around performance, the Nurburgring has caused quite a bit of controversey between the V-Spec and the ZR1. The king of the road and track for cheap performance, the Corvette has come under fire from both the GTR base and the GTR V-Spec in recent events. The GTR base which is rated in the upper 400's hp (which has been proven to be an underestimate) put down a 7:38 lap time at the 'Ring. That right there has already beaten the lighter, and near equally powered Z06 C6. As many people expected, the ZR1 would have no problem beating a heavier awd car with less HP. Well, in some time it did by running a 7:26, which is what GM was hoping to get out of it. However, Nissans pulled the Ace out of it's sleeve and brought out the V-Spec GTR. This includes, different wheels, redesigned wing, 70+more hp than the standard GTR, and more carbon fiber bringing down it's wait by 330lbs from the standard GTR. Even without Nissan officially testing the car with their proffessional driver, someone took it on the Ring and ran a 7:25. With that, Nissan is expecting low 7:20's with their new GTR V-Spec. And not only with a quicker time than the ZR1, it also comes at a much cheaper price tag of around $70,000 as opposed to the ZR1's retail price of about $100,000. Though, both should have some dealer markups. This being, is epitomy of cheap supercar performance for the Vette threatend by a cheaper Japanese supercar? For quite some time now the Vette has held the king of the hill spot for being the best cheap speed all around in a practical car. So my question is this; has the GTR V-Spec trumped the Vette's spot as a the best performing reasonably priced car? Keep in mind, during this discussion, we aren't just comparing 0-60, 1/4, etc, but all around build of the car along with price. Aftermarket is to be kept omit because as anyone here knows, anything can be made faster aftermarket. So what do you think?

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/08/nissan-gt-r-v-spec-lap-times-stun-observers/

(Link quoting ZR1 engineer promising that the GTR will be surpassed by ZR1)
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/02/corvette-zr1-engineer-says-gt-r-wont-be-king-of-the-ring-for-l/

My money is on the Pontiac Fiero.


wait.. what?

Go to my.is and start this topic...

My money is on the ZR1 over the Spec V. Why? Given equal drivers, its a better Ring car. There are at least three points in watching the ZR1 vid where the driver looses it. If you put equal drivers in the cars, the ZR1 is the better Ring Car.

Besides, good luck finding any GTR save the first for 70k, lol. Spec Vs will be just as pricy as the the ZR1s.

Yeah but that may just be it. The ZR1 is probably a much harder car to keep in line. One of the advantages of AWD. Not to mention the transmission in the GTR can shift much faster than any person can manually shift which is required in the ZR1. And believe me, it wasn't a bad person in the ZR1 driving it. They tested it countless times and in the beginning were only able to get low 7:40's. And like I said, Nissan is predicting low 7:20's with the V-Spec. GM is expecting mid to upper 7:20's with the ZR1. And really, without their proffessional driver getting a 7:25, I have no doubt it will be possible. And even with all the CF, the ZR1 is heavier than the Z06 by about 200lbs. And I couldn't agree more that the ZR1 seems much more like a ring car with its overall layout, but it has yet see better results than the V-spec and has had many more runs on the Ring than the V-spec along with the V-spec not having its proffessional driver. With dealer markup, who knows how much each will be. But, in time that should die down some. Also, you would think that the CCX and Carrera GT would be more of a Ring car than the V-spec, but they aren't putting down as good of times.

What V Spec? I haven't seen a video of the V Spec yet, just rumors from Nissan fan boys.

^^It's the "unofficial" time for the Spec-V. There was no video because I believe it was just somebody who owned it. It was witnessed by numerous people however. As I said, Nissan themselves haven't taken it around the Ring yet. I wish there was a video for it too, I would love to see it.

i personally would say that the gtr will give the corvette for a run for its money, not here in the us, but in every other part of the world. people will want to say usa usa, when really there maybe a better car out there.

people capacity:

gtr - 4 maybe 5 if in the rear middle
vette - 2

personally not just because im a nissan guy, but because i feel the gtr is a better car period. the thing weighs so much, just can be controlled as if it was a small car. reminds you of the supra anyone?

the advantages of the awd system that nissan has developed is pretty crazy engineering if you ask me. which one is more cool? the gtr. sure the vette and the gtr both has history, but its one hell of an accomplishment when you have to have special built rims for the car to hold on the tire, since it can corner so hard and easily.

besides, when you decide to get off the track and drive back home, you can in the gtr. you can too in the vette, but you wont be as comfortable. you can fit your family in it when your done too. this is something that isnt done with a vette, nor a carerra or anything.

now, watch the gtr race with jeremy clarkson, and tell me that the gtr isnt amazing.

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

im sold. nissan engineering at its finest. nissan will win easily in jgtc as it did with the 350z

All I can say is the most advanced AWD system in the world, a suspension that puts the Scuderia to shame, a super fast dual clutch gear box, and the history of every Skyline before it...

And it got beat by a pushrod V8 with leaf springs. I'm hardly a Chevy fan boy, everyone around here knows that. There are currently four GM products I would buy. But good on Chevy, they went out and proved to everyone that they can still kick ass and take names with the ZR1.

Besides, it wont void the warranty if you race the ZR1, and I've taken shits in a toilet that look better than the GTR. This is my last post here, because as I've said, I've argued this topic far to much with Nissan fan bois, and it just gets boring after a while.

What I have read has been contradictory to the rumor that the GTR has an underestimated HP rating. Car and Drive, or Road and Track, or one of those freaking mags, did a pretty in depth article on it. Even comparing it to the lighter Z06 it does not always accelerate through the quarter mile faster than the Vette in every test. The reasons they gave for its quick acceleration were the shorter times between shifts, and the shorter gearing. The Z06 does accelerate faster at higher speeds in every comparo I have read. Everything that I have read says that the vette feels more powerful. I guess better car is a pretty subjective thing. They are priced pretty much on par with each other. Someone shopping for a Z06 is not likely to purchase a GTR, and someone shopping for a GTR is not likely to purchase a Z06. Its rediculous to try to fault a car for having less seats. Who the hell would buy a 4 seat vette? They had a GTO and it didnt sell as well as the vette did, so I would say point proven. Most things that I have read have described the Vette as a pretty plush ride, hardly the shopping cart suspension you might expect. I would also not agree with anyone saying that the GTR has more "engineering" in it. I am sure that both cars had an incredible amount of "engineering" in them. I would agree that the GTR has more stuff in it, and that it gets the job done differently.

the thing weighs so much, just can be controlled as if it was a small car. reminds you of the supra anyone?

Not really, the supra never made me feel like it was a lotus or something.

Personally with what I would do with a car, I would pick the zr1 over the nissan.

True, both are engineered to be great runners. I think the Nissan does have more gizmos and things like that but the ZR1 is not to be cut short either. And really, I don't think that makes a difference in an engine is a pushrod, DOHC, etc. Pushrods have always had no problem making power so I see no reason why it would not work. And the GTR is definately a love or a hate thing as far as looks. I personally like how each one looks. One thing that I think would tremendously help out the ZR1 is some sort of wing.

a wing is doubtful for any factory street corvette. no one would buy it, any person would say it's to ricer-ish. the rear lip spoiler and front lip spoiler on the zr1 are plenty enough. a raised spoiler is reserved on vettes with the R at the end of the name...such as the C6R. as for 1/4 times, the vette is and has always been a muscle car, it's going to win the 1/4 against cars with power in the same area. chevy however, is just the first company to take on european supercars in mass.

i'd take either, but maybe they should throw a viper acr into the show or 911 gt2, both very powerful potent road holding/molesting cars.

as for underestimates of gtr power, nissan stated that the gtr makes 478hp, and has very little restriction and losses less than the average awd car does, they stated around 12%. the mag that i've read with the dyno test ran 433hp, about 11% i think...

a person who wants a vette will get the vette, same with the gtr. i'd still spend 110g and get a 911 gt3, no need for a back seat, if u can spend 70-150g on a car i think u can afford the gas in the toyota camry for the family. nobody buying any car of this caliber only has one car in the family. the spouse has their own, and usually a truck to get the car to the track. i live 20mins from Virginia International Raceway, 90% of the cars there are street leagle, but are trailered there. a ceo isnt going to drive his track car to the damn track. he's going for the weekend with a motorhome a trailer, car, and minibike to get around. if u have an accident at the track, how u getting home? u dont, if u can afford racing a car u can afford the practical cars at the same time.

From R&T via Autoblog about the V-Spec GTR:

2 seats only

Whelp, there goes that argument.

I think its rediculous in those magazines when they give one car less of a score for things like being a 2 seater, or "gotta have it".... what kind of crap scoring is that?

I think its rediculous in those magazines when they give one car less of a score for things like being a 2 seater, or "gotta have it".... what kind of crap scoring is that?

Those measure the most important metric of any car's performance:

Metric shit tons of advertising dollars give to the magazine.

^I agree. Having two seats in cars like that is often impractical anyway. Yes, I have a 4 seater car. Could I seat 4 people? Maybe if they were amputies. In a car that is supposed to be made for the performance that these cars are calibrated for, I don't think they should have back seats anyway. And I knew you would be back cassie. ;)

^I agree. Having two seats in cars like that is often impractical anyway. Yes, I have a 4 seater car. Could I seat 4 people? Maybe if they were amputies. In a car that is supposed to be made for the performance that these cars are calibrated for, I don't think they should have back seats anyway. And I knew you would be back cassie. ;)

I'm like herpes. You can get rid of me for a week or two, but damnit you know you just can't kill me.

I have seen cars lose those comparos completely off crap scores...gotta have it, fun to drive, number of doors, rear seat space.... I mean the doors and seats might matter in a mini van comparo, but when it comes to sports cars... give me a break. The freaking GTR scored 5 points on that last comparo for seats, and of course the vette and viper got 0. How can you score seats negatively if the car doesn't have them?

if it were negitve scoring, would they get points off instead of just 0?

many mags running stories of the gtr state the rear is big enuf to fit 2 170lb 5'10 males, easily.

as for y it has the rear seats...it classifies it as a gt not a sports car, making insurance cheaper. same reason the supra, stealth, 3000gt, and 300zx(available) had rear seats. corvettes are sports/exotic cars as is the viper, no need for the adding of weight of the rear seat. the 911turbo is the same thing, u want no rear seats with arguably the same performance get a gt3.

people will do the research they feel fit before buying either of these cars, for that matter any car that's costing over 50g.

the 911 turbo is my dream car, but i'm still going to test drive other cars b4 deciding for certainty. u cant just think about ur reasoning for wanting the car, gotta think the way the company does. guy who buy zr1 can go buy thte cobalt, more money for chevy/gm. people who buy vspec can go buy gtr or g37 4dr. more money for nissan

I dont see why you would want four people crammed into your GTR or ZR1 anyways. Screw you guys, I paid 50k+ for this car, you greedy bastards can walk.

These types of cars need to be rated on performance and performance alone. I seriously doubt someone is going to be looking at this price range and saying "OK, so its between the ZR1 and the GTR... Which one can seat more when I go on cross-country trips, and has a bike rack"

You are going to be asking "OK so which one kills more people?"

I would take either of these cars, to be honest. ZR1 for the pure "Oh sweet christ I just got sideways at 150" and the GTR for the "I think my spleen detonated on that last launch"

^ good point.

granted if i were to spend 70g on a car, i would chose neither of the two to be honost. i dont like new cars, to many electronic items making repairs more expensive, and less feedback to the driver. i'd find a ferrari 328 or mid 90's 911(in which case i'd have enough to buy another car)

i feel in the end that 100g(a zr1 pricetag) brings out a few choices. that money gets u a lot of things. shit i'd rather spend 100g in 2 forms, 50g to a house downpayment, and 50g to a downpayment on a base model 911