Track Pack equipped Nissan GT-R gives Harris the perfect excuse to pitch it against its 911 Turbo nemesis
Track Pack, as descriptions of a motor car go, is one of the more straightforward. There is probably a list of equipment in every PHer's head which would fit into an imaginary 'Track Pack'.
GT-R was benchmarked against Turbo
Strangely, Nissan has just released its GT-R TrackPack, and I don't think its specification includes any of the stuff we'd have listed. No sticky tyres, no roll cage, no larger brakes, no aerofoil.
In fact the £85,540 Track Pack is actually pretty similar to the £10,000 cheaper vanilla GT-R. There are different seats, snazzy, lighter wheels and some new suspension settings. But that's pretty much it.
What grabs my attention is the list price. The first UK R35 GT-R I drove was £52,995 - this one is over £30K more and it is mechanically little different. Yes, the 490hp is now 550hp, and there are a load of upgrades, but most of those come with successive modelyear improvements. Where once the GT-R was an absolute bargain, that is no longer the case.
Track Pack Nissan GT-R ... on a track!
Should we have tested it next to a GT3? Possibly. But you've had enough GT3 content from me. Besides, with 4WD, paddles, two turbos, four seats and no cage, the GT-R shares more with the Turbo, on paper, than it does the GT car.
I didn't really warm to the direct injection 997Turbos when they were launched in 2009/2010. I just thought they were rather soulless devices capable of terrifying you through sheer speed but, once you'd experienced that trick, there wasn't much else to savour. But with time I'm warming to their charms - this car was so fast on the road it needed a careful touch and the 997 package feels so small after the GT-R.
It would have been nice to have a dry track, but sadly the excellent fellows at CircuitDays couldn't quite control the weather.
Turbo probably a closer match to GT-R
Before the evening event hosted by Circuit Days on the Indy circuit, I had a couple of very wet, slippery hours on the full Grand Prix track at anMSV event. For some reason I had never driven it before - what a brilliant, brilliant place it is.
It appears to be a Turbo S rather than a Turbo as in the copy - I believe you can still order a new 997 Turbo S for a few months yet. Perhaps there is room for one final 997 variant - a Turbo S with the engine in GT2 RS tune? It can be done, Porsche, it can be done.
It appears to be a Turbo S rather than a Turbo as in the copy - I believe you can still order a new 997 Turbo S for a few months yet. Perhaps there is room for one final 997 variant - a Turbo S with the engine in GT2 RS tune? It can be done, Porsche, it can be done.
Another great video. Impressive how serene the Porsche looked, obviously a blindingly quick car but Harris looked like he was driving to the shops. That alone would put me off buying - I'd rather a NA 911 tbh, with as loud an exhaust as I could get away with, and bucket seats, harnesses, manual gearbox etc.
Dear lord, I've just realised what I really want is a GT3 RS!
Its really hard to see where all that 10K in extra Track bits went on this gtr....although the wheels will no doubt come in at 3K!
Also as chris said, if you spent 10K on a standard GTR....lord knows how fast it would be you only need look at the litchfield cars and the mods they offer for less than 10K....gives an idea.
Still love the GTR, and that 911 turbo....was soooo quiet, and didnt really seem much of a track challenge, in some ways very mute and un-inspiring. and at 129K thats some 45K more than the GTR....still say its a no brainer GTR all day long.
Pair of nice cars - both pointless, in different ways - still nice tho.
The GT-R's price is just stupid - £10K to change the wheels, fiddle with the suspension and remove the interior makes some of Porsches 'specials' look like great value for money!!
The 911 looks dull to drive - I'm sure it's not, I'm sure it's super capable but it seems to fall between the cracks of 'track car' and 'road car' and 'excuse to charge more for an already pricey car!!'
The NurBurgring 24h article says something about Track-pack GT-Rs taking part in that 'out of the box' but mentions a rollcage which seems a staggering omission if that's not included for 10 large!?!?!?
Surprising how neither looked that quick, I'd imagine because both were completely undramatic even in the wet, also both were disappointingly quiet. Yes, I'm obviously a bit of a child, I like dramatic shouty cars! The gtr track pack unfortunately appears to be a marketing exercise, shame, better seats a day a half cage and I think they would sell really well. As mentioned, chuck 10k at a stock gtr and you get some very impressive results.
for the record, i'd have neither. i'd take a carrera S over both of them. they both (the turbo and turbo S in particular) sound really, really dull. and it's not as if the C2S is slow.
Chris, can't be completely sure, but a little drifting here and there shouldn't be too upsetting.
Looks like he was on an MSV trackday as a paying punter so I guess he had to behave himself . Less than a minute for both cars on a damp Indy circuit is non too shabby.....not that he should have been timing on a trackday.
I suspect in the dry the GTR may further widen the gap with regard to lap times ? But i would still take the Porsche,albeit as Chris said with a manual shift,and while we are on the subject of 'minor' changes could you also give mine a GT3 badge please../cough ...wait im digressing,sorry.Personally i thought the Turbo looked a little dull to drive as a track weapon(or perhaps Mr Harris was just behaving a little too much that he actually made it appear that way),blindingly quick granted,but not as lively in some other areas as you might hope,especially aurally.Note that the Nissan was having a little 'wag' on a slightly more drying circuit,weren't 911 Turbos notorious in the 80's even in the dry?
Im betting those chaps in the Caterhams were having just as much,if not more fun out there in those conditions,and how much is one of those? For the price that 911 costs i will have a Francis Tuthill special please.
Interesting article though. Keep them coming.Thanks.
. Less than a minute for both cars on a damp Indy circuit is non too shabby.....not that he should have been timing on a trackday. 
