Why can't very capeable people do what Ford can ....

b1adesofcha0s

I'm a firm believer in "competition breeds innovation", especially for the automotive industry. Why wouldn't you want the Z to match or best the performance of the Mustang? Staying competitive with its competitors is the only way the Z will survive and live to get better. You're missing the fact that the Mustang is not only faster than the Z in a straight line, but also around a track.

Nissan should be setting their aims high rather than low. Why go after the V6 when you have the capability to take down the bigger and badder V8 mustang/camaro/etc. That's what it did with the GT-R and it has earned so much recognition because of it. They could have easily had it best the BMW and Mercedes in it's price range, but instead they went after more exotic supercars that cost like 5 times as much.

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UNKNOWN_370

NISSAN370Z=V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V6V 6V6V6V6V6V6
MUSTANG GT=V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V8V 8V8

INNOVATION???????? If nissan chooses to FI and reduce weight on the Z to be faster than a stang... Awesome. but dont forget what the Z is. And the Z is not and never was or should be a v8 or 4cyl.
Selling it out with a 5.6 to appease some domestic muscle-jocker is out of the question to ANY TRUE Z ENTHUSIAST.

REMEMBER THE GTR COST 106K NICELY EQUIPPED AND THE MUSTANG AT ITS HIGHEST IS 70K. gtr point not taken

Actually the shelby starts at $54,900
The nissan gt-r starts at $96,820

HUGE DIFFERENCE

Spikuh

I see letters and numbers, but little more.

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UNKNOWN_370

In other words... it took way more money to make a GT-R faster than a mustang shelby.
the culture of the mustang is a V8 standard vehicle built up to sports car status and succeeded incredibly.
The Z was built as a sports car from the ground up with different characteristics that set it apart from standard cars in its character, performance and behavior. The Z is not designed to be in NASCAR. that's why there's is no NASCAR Z.

This is amazing. you guys want the Z to be everything for under $50k. Handle like the cayman. beat the mustang and have the interior quality of BMW. I think you guys should be looking at ferrari and not Z. Unless you want the Z to cost more than the GT-R. its not feasible at sub 50k with everything the Z offers.

AND THIS IS NOT OUR DOMESTIC. It's JAPAN'S interpretation of a sports car.
Do you go to a french restaurant and tell them I want the frog legs but with gator meat? While going faster and innovation is somethiong we all want. Lets keep it in perspective to Japans vision of the Z. I personally dont need a mustang transplant in the Z. That's why ford throws R&D money on the stang to be what it is...

There's other ways for the Z to be fast aside from it copying muscle-car culture... The Z isn't a muscle car.

wolf370z

I think the problem boils down to the Z getting beat at it's own game. It's not much of a sports car if it loses to muscle cars on the track

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Good drivers just drive.

Davey

It is kind of disappointing that the turns vs. straights breakdown doesn't show that the Mustang is losing in the corners and then making up time on the straights due to the HP advantage.

wolf370z

I agree. It kind of is. Even worse when you start to think about the performance of the two vehicles after doing some basic mods. The Mustang GT just keeps getting further and further ahead. The 370z, without any sort of FI or similar displacement in its NA form just loses harder and harder. That is, assuming, both cars spend the exact same amount of $ in mods.

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Good drivers just drive.

b1adesofcha0s

Exactly! Back in 2009-2010 the Z was better and faster than the Mustang V8 and it was winning all of the comparisons with similarly priced cars. This is no longer the case.

Also the GT-R didn't start at $100k. When it came out in 2009 it was sold at $70k MSRP. The reason it shot up is because it outperformed all those cars that were way above it. They made performance improvements every year so it stayed competitive and the price rose with them every year. Even though it's price kept going up, the GT-R still can't be beat performance wise at it's price point and that is why it is still doing well. This is not the case for the Z. It can and is beat at its own game for the same cost if not even a tiny bit cheaper. The GT-R is Nissan's halo car and their most expensive one so it doesn't have a price ceiling. The Z may go up in price, but they do have to somewhat keep it in check based on their competition.

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whoady4shoady

You just shut the thread down!

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UNKNOWN_370

this

Davey

I agree that it would be great for the Z to compare to the GT - and really in everything but power it does very well. The Mustang has quite a bit more horsepower, and doesn't weigh that much more, relatively.

So, while the Mustang does corner well and puts down great track times, no doubt about that, with a similar power to weight ratio the Z is right with it, and IMO in a much more enjoyable-to-drive package.