By on February 22, 2011

Nissan raised a tempest in a chatroom (or 20) when it claimed a 7:29:03 Nürburgring lap time for its GTR, and taunted Porsche that this time beat its 911 Turbo. Porsche took the bait, claiming that its drivers couldn’t replicate the GTR’s lap time and that Nissan must have used non-stock tires. Nissan fired back, and as the controversy became mired in he said-she-said nonsense, the fanboys gradually lost interest. And now, years later, Nissan is literally shoving the controversy into the faces of Porsche owners in hopes of getting even more mileage over one of the sillier controversies in the world of performance cars. But can you imagine this nearly three-year-old taunt actually stinging Porsche owners into considering a GTR?

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16 Comments on “Nissan Won’t Let The ‘Ring Controversy Go...”


  • avatar
    jaje

    It’s called vandalism no matter how easy the label is to remove.  If Nissan did this in America imagine the lawsuits!

  • avatar
    panzerfaust

    No, I can’t see this purile stunt getting Porsche owners to consider a GTR.  Porsche owners are cultlike in their blind devotion to this brand and are notoriously thin-skinned about criticism.  Also, Nissan is showing rather bad form here; Germans are very proud of their autos; you don’t mess with them, even if it is a sticker. 

  • avatar
    blowfish

    there is no question the Nissan can built a car as fast and cheaper than a Porsche from fatherland.
    Just overtime how much can u sway these die hard blind devoted fans.
    The Buzzards are infact circling above  just like planes trying to land onto Chicago’s Ohare airport and Indians had been singing their war dances around the wagens for a short while.

    • 0 avatar
      DearS

      LOL, I love it. GTR is very different then a Porsche, and comparison is ok. Folks change cars for something better, and a GTR may be “subjectively” better to said individual.

  • avatar
    carguy

    I don’t see the comparison between the two products. The GT-R is also faster to 60 than a Ferrari 458 but they don’t seem to highlight that. The fact is that the GT-R is very fast but not very involving to drive while the Porsche may be slower but more entertaining. This is like a V6 Mustang guy bragging that his car is faster than a Miata – it misses the whole point.

  • avatar
    mikenem

    Yeah, that would really piss me off.

  • avatar
    fredtal

    Marketing bullshit, pure and simple.  When I see a GTR at the race track I’ll take note otherwise it’s just the latest flash.  

    • 0 avatar
      Morea

      I’ve seen them at HPDE events at various road courses.  Make no mistake about it, they are very fast.  (I’m no fan boy, I just call ’em like I see ’em.)

    • 0 avatar
      jaje

      We’ve had two GT-Rs blow their engine at HPT in the last year. Seems they have about 13 quarts of oil in those cars that can really oil up a track.

    • 0 avatar
      Morea

      Yes, but were they fast before they blew?  ;-)

    • 0 avatar
      jaje

      Yes – but in a DE you should know that the driver really makes the car fast.  We’ve had novice students with them that can’t drive so many were also limited in that respect.  However, with GT-R it takes away a lot of control from the driver and puts it in the hands of a computer.  I’m used to driving and racing cars that have no traction control, stability control or ABS.

  • avatar
    Jaeger

    I don’t know whether this marketing stunt will win converts.  But I do find it quite entertaining to watch a bunch of perturbed Porschefiles pulling a plastic #%&*-you from their windshields.

  • avatar
    texan01

    I see a GT-R and I wonder how long it will be before it blows an engine, or a transmission thanks to image that they portray and capabilities that are touted.
     
    I’ve learned long ago, it’s not how fast it gets there, it’s how much fun are you having getting there. I’d rather tackle the ‘ring in my land yacht Chevelle than obliterate the record in a GT-R, twice before the Chevelle even laps once.

    • 0 avatar
      chuckR

      Yacht is a fitting word. These cars have only slightly greater utility than a yacht as a transportation device. GTR, Porker, Ferrari are all toys. Buy’em, enjoy’em, don’t worry about what the other guy/gal has.
      PS – in the yacht-yacht category, I’m looking forward to seeing the restored (actually completely rebuilt) last-of-its kind NY50 – Spartan. About a century old, wood, 50 on the waterline and 72 overall, it’s lines put most modern boats to shame. In fact, its lines put most man-made artifacts to shame. A classic toy to mess about in, just like those cars
       

  • avatar
    PeteMoran

    Mentioning the GT-R in a Porsche dealership gets a sharp pencil response on the 911 Turbo PDK.

  • avatar
    Kristjan Ambroz

    In the end I think it is a bit pointless – really, as the cross shopping between the two is close to the square root of (not very much). On the other hand it is vandalism and I am quite curious to see what the reaction will be here in Germany. Plus with a grand total of ~80 GT-Rs sold in Germany last year compared to over 10k Porsches it is all rather academic anyway, right?

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