Thursday 8th June 2017

German vs. JDM shootout: Time for Tea?

M3 vs. 911 vs. NSX vs. RX7 vs. GT-R vs. Evo VII vs. STI - place your bets!

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Nothing like a classic Best Motoring video to brighten up a dour afternoon, particularly with that there election hanging over us. And this is an especially good one, even by Best Motoring's very high standards.

It's the c. 300hp icons from the turn of the millennium, pitched against each other in a Tsukuba shootout. So yes, all of your Japanese Gran Turismo icons are there, and all instantly recognisable from just three letters: STI, Evo, RX7, GT-R, NSX. A decent line up already, but here they're joined by an E46 M3 - look, on 18-inch wheels as well - and a 996-era Porsche 911 Carrera. A fascinating comparison if ever there was one.

Conditions are not ideal, the damp tarmac probably favouring the 4WD cars, though we'll try not to let that spoil the fun. The starting order was decided by a qualifying shootout and the drivers, as always, look very handy. Indeed this comparison looks so tantalising that we've not even seen it until the end yet; we'll sit down and watch the rest of it now. Here goes!

Watch the video here
 

[havoc]

Evo's 4wd cleverness and (comparative) lack of weight really proving out there. Showed the Scooby up in a big way...

The M3 surprised me - really struggled in the corners, only stayed ahead of the NSX for so long because of the extra straight-line power...so had no answer when the GT-R barreled up.

RX7 I'd have expected to be quicker due to its' light weight, but clearly it didn't have the grip or traction of the other 2wd cars.

Edited by havoc on Thursday 8th June 18:36

[TommoAE86]

Personal opinion but the Porsche and BMW looked so bland compared to the Japanese cars... was fun looking test

[cuda]

havoc said:

Evo's 4wd cleverness and (comparative) lack of weight really proving out there. Showed the Scooby up in a big way...

The M3 surprised me - really struggled in the corners, only stayed ahead of the NSX for so long because of the extra straight-line power...so had no answer when the GT-R barreled up.

RX7 I'd have expected to be quicker due to its' light weight, but clearly it didn't have the grip or traction of the other 2wd cars.

SPOILER ALERT!

[Iamnotkloot]

Interesting video - loved the dubbing too!

[300bhp/ton]

I don't get this...

The linked video says Sports cars, despite the cars being an M3, Evo, Impreza etc.....


Mention sports car and something like Mustang on the same forum page and all hell breaks loose, but is completely overlooked when it's German and Jap cars in question

[C.A.R.]

Love these videos. I'm sure I'd seen this one before but watched it again anyways!

Big RX-7 fanboy here, but not deterred by that performance, considering the conditions. Also looked hilarious to drive - dorifto!

[tosh.brice]

Iamnotkloot said:

loved the dubbing!

I wonder what relation the American English bears to the original

[300bhp/ton]

C.A.R. said:

Love these videos. I'm sure I'd seen this one before but watched it again anyways!

Big RX-7 fanboy here, but not deterred by that performance, considering the conditions. Also looked hilarious to drive - dorifto!

The thing is, if you look at the lap times and the hot laps times, all of the cars are really really close for their quickest lap. So it goes to show, different answers to the same question, actually produce similar results.

All of the are pretty fab really.

[Kawasicki]

driving looks a bit slow to me, pathetic

[kars]

e46m3 in stock form is heavy barge and with stock staggered wheels/tire setup it's hopeless on a tight track
And the brakes oh well... definitely not ready for track work

[FN2TypeR]

cuda said:

SPOILER ALERT!

You quoted it

[howardhughes]

Kawasicki said:

driving looks a bit slow to me, pathetic

With respect the cars shown most likely belong to the likes of you and me,
therefore they were probably told not to rag the backside off them...

[Kawasicki]

howardhughes said:

Kawasicki said:

driving looks a bit slow to me, pathetic

With respect the cars shown most likely belong to the likes of you and me,
therefore they were probably told not to rag the backside off them...

good point

[MDMA .]

Kawasicki said:

howardhughes said:

Kawasicki said:

driving looks a bit slow to me, pathetic

With respect the cars shown most likely belong to the likes of you and me,
therefore they were probably told not to rag the backside off them...

good point

It's an old video. I think they are all new, manufacturer supplied ( 2001 ) model cars. When talk about the Skyline, he says it's new.

[anonymous-user]

So german vs German and jap vs jap.

No german vs jap,

Son, I am disapoint.

[cib24]

C.A.R. said:

Love these videos. I'm sure I'd seen this one before but watched it again anyways!

Big RX-7 fanboy here, but not deterred by that performance, considering the conditions. Also looked hilarious to drive - dorifto!

Yeah, it's not the easiest car to drive in the wet. If you check out some of the other Best Motoring videos that feature the RX-7 on dry days it's basically just as quick as the NSX on Tsukuba and usually finishes top 3 and sometimes first.

[e8_pack]

That carrera held its own well. Would have been a better comparison if it was dry.

[Guvernator]

Before I even clicked the link I'd have predicted one of the Japanese cars would win. While I love the best motoring vids, they are a little biased towards their home market cars.

[anonymous-user]

Guvernator said:

Before I even clicked the link I'd have predicted one of the Japanese cars would win. While I love the best motoring vids, they are a little biased towards their home market cars.

The M3 seems a bit sus to me too. For the first 4 laps it's kicking ass, quick off the line (passes STi which is 4wd!) quick out the turns (the NXS seems well down on power), pretty much nailed to the back of the ass engined nazi staff car and then, suddenly,everything passes it? In the dry, you could blame the small front tyres and lack luster braking power (no big multi-pot calipers back then on M3's) but in the wet, hmm, i think there's some sand bagging going on in the latter stages of the race......

[Legacywr]

Just awful!