RE: Chris Harris video: GT-R Track Pack vs 911 Turbo

RE: Chris Harris video: GT-R Track Pack vs 911 Turbo

Thursday 17th May 2012

Chris Harris video: GT-R Track Pack vs 911 Turbo

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
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!
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
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.

Enjoy the vid.

 

 

 

 


Author
Discussion

David87

Original Poster:

6,648 posts

211 months

Wednesday 16th May 2012
quotequote all
Haven't watched the video yet, but I sat in one of these Track Pack GT-Rs at the Sunday Service at the weekend. It was amazing. Two points, though:

1. Your extra £10k doesn't seem to get you much.
2. It had the weirdest, most Japanese-y seats I've ever seen.

myhandle

1,182 posts

173 months

Wednesday 16th May 2012
quotequote all
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.

David87

Original Poster:

6,648 posts

211 months

Wednesday 16th May 2012
quotequote all
myhandle said:
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.
I will name it the 911 Turbo SS.party

Mastodon2

13,818 posts

164 months

Wednesday 16th May 2012
quotequote all
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!

hungry_hog

2,187 posts

187 months

Wednesday 16th May 2012
quotequote all
love the alloys on the Turbo, BBS LM?

andyman_2006

718 posts

189 months

Wednesday 16th May 2012
quotequote all
Another good vid, and good review.

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.


johnpeat

5,326 posts

264 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
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!!' smile

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!?!?!?

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
this series of videos is just brilliant.
outstanding work chris harris and team, please keep them coming.

8 posts in and no clueless muppets moaning about porsche, what's this place coming to?

Edited by fbrs on Thursday 17th May 03:44

robm3

4,927 posts

226 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
Surely the 40K price difference makes it a little unfair as a 'real world' comparison though?

spiritof'76

1,358 posts

223 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
Nice piece that........... smile

Of the two......... Porsche for me, ok maybe it's a little numb but there is a bit of compromise in everything right wink

M@1975

591 posts

226 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
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.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
Chris, can't be completely sure, but a little drifting here and there shouldn't be too upsetting.

monthefish

20,439 posts

230 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
"bored of GT3 videos"??

Not me...
smile

david_h

579 posts

262 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
hungry_hog said:
love the alloys on the Turbo, BBS LM?
They are by "NEEZ" from Japan, google them, proper wheels.

JulesB

535 posts

158 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
Id take the Porsche, sorry Nissan fans. The Porsche is just too incredible, cant justify choosing a Nissan instead of it.

E38Ross

34,944 posts

211 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
JulesB said:
Id take the Porsche, sorry Nissan fans. The Porsche is just too incredible, cant justify choosing a Nissan instead of it.
and the nissan isn't incredible? it's what around £40k+ cheaper and how much slower? wink

Bash Brannigan

211 posts

186 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
I'd like to meet a GT-R owner, the Nissan just leaves me utterly cold and I'd like to hear the appeal beyond the empirical. I just don't get it!

E38Ross

34,944 posts

211 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
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.

boxsey

3,574 posts

209 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
dod said:
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 biggrin. 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. wink

wizz72

575 posts

227 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
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 wink...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.