perhaps something like the boxster spyder. basically lightweight racing seats, and a gutted minimalist interior with no a/c or radio. upgraded pads and cross drilled slotted rotors. bigger wheels and wider tires. supercharger and oil cooler. mechanical lsd. and shortersprings/firmer dampers. i'd imagine this ca be done for an extra 15-20k increase in price, and then we'd have a cayman and exige killer.

Totally agree, it would be a very fine line that Nissan would have to walk to get a more track/aggresively oriented Z produced that slotted in nicely between a "regular" Z and the GTR.

It can be done. like others stated, forget the carbon fiber and the roll cage,, just get the car to around 400-430 bhp (small twin turbo set up would do that the easiest), oil cooler std, clutch type lsd std, aggressive brake pads std, and sell it for around 45K.

I don't think this would cannibalize GTR sales, /\ that car, will never match the performance of a GTR (7:26 'ring time is haulin ***), but it would be competitive against all the cars we constantly compare the Z too. I believe there's room in the Z linup for this. Base, Touring, and tt Nismo basically. If they really went crazy, they could have a tt touring with sport pkg for those that want the power but not the track oriented stuff, but that puts the Z closer to what the 300zxtt was and it died off here in the us so that probably won't happen.

it would still be a great bargain and way cheaper than a ferrari or lambo. besides aren't the corvette zr1 and viper acr priced around that range even though they are barely faster than a gtr?

That makes sense, except I'd keep the radio and A/C because from a sales standpoint you'd want the car to still be desirable for someone who wants a track car for the street that has SOME creature comforts...

But yeah, I'd throw in some light weight seats, manual windows, get rid of what little sound deadening is installed in the base model car, upgrade the brakes, suspension, and engine (and add an oil cooler!!!). I'd say at a ~$60k price point it'd probably work.

The only problem is NISSAN really doesn't have the money... lol. And it's painfully clear that they don't really care in the first place. They'd rather show off their new Leaf.

I sure as hell wouldn't pay $100k for a GTR. It's not worth it. If I was going to spend that much I'd just get a ZR1... which is much more than barely faster than a GTR!

The GTR doesn't need to be any more expensive, remeber, not matter what the Z gets, the GTR still will have the DCT, awd, crazy good factory brakes, and all the high tech computer gizmos, adjustable suspension etc--our hypothetical Z won't get that stuff. \

It's really two different markets. Remember, the guys shopping for the GTR and also cross shopping, ZR1's, Vipers, GT3's, 911tt's. They're not considering mustang GT's, GT500's, Z's, camaro SS's etc.

As long as our "track Z car" can stay under 55K and stay manual trans and rwd, it won't match the GTR's performance but will come in nicely between the stnd Z and the GTR. I'm thinking a limited production type car, maybe 500 per year or so. Would have to have a numbered plaque too. :)

At 100K, the GTR is still a "worth it", just hope that doesn't happen.

ZRI laps the "ring in 7:25, it's only 1 second faster than the GTR. On a tighter roadcourse, numerous tests have shown that the GTR is faster. In pure staightling acceleration--1/4 mile, standing mile etc, yes the ZR1 is faster, but that's not the main point of the GTR to begin with.

Everyone knows NISSAN posted bogus numbers from the 'Ring. They used race slicks and all that jazz with a racing driver.

The ZR1 was all stock driven by one of the GM engineers... lol.

:roflpuke2:

I think the porsche fanboi's are still throwing out conspiracy theories about that one.

(I hope you were joking, hard to tell sometimes on the interweb). :ugh2:

No, back when the GTR and ZR1 teams were going back and forth on lap times it was revealed that the GTR boys were running full on slicks. :shakes head:

Though I don't disagree that the GTR would be faster around a tight track. The AWD power delivery and computer systems would really help.

But at any medium to large tracks the ZR1 is going to win.

It's kind of like the 370Z vs. Mustang GT. The Z might win on an auto cross course, but the GT will beat us on any other track.

You do realize that the driver of the 7:26 ring time, Suzuki, had the OEM Dunlops used on that run hanging on a wall in his perforance shop that he opened up just recently right?

All the times for the GTR are very well documented (including video) showing the GTR wasn not "a ringer" that they used and Suzuki is Nissan's offical GTR test driver.

That's what they'd like you to believe... :stirthepot:

Alright, I'm going to stop now, cause we're getting WAY too offtopic now, I suppose we will just have to agree to disagree on this point. :)

Anyway, back on topic, I would love to have one of these boss302's in my garage at some point, I have to give Ford alot of credit, they have really, really stepped up their game over the last few years. Nice to see an american manufacturer doing so too.

true, zr1 performance over the gtr is marginal at best, or even nonexistent. even more, any decent driver can extract maximum performance from the gtr with all the technology on board. for the zr1, unless you are a touring car chamption or whatever, you will spend more time spinning around like a top than tearing up tracks and putting hot laps

Uh oh....this thread is starting to take a serious detour.... :)

If I ever SC my Z I am going to paint the valve covers Ford Racing Blue. :tup:

:facepalm:

this was nothing but sour grapes from the sore losers at porsche. no evidence was ever provided that nissan cheated in that test. and even if they did cheat, what is to say that the saints at chevrolet, porche, dodge, mercedes, and other companies do not also cheat during their own manufacturer-run record attempts? also i remember the engineer who set he ring recort in the cts-v saying that engineers are faster than race car drivers on the ring because tehy spend hunderds of hours over several weeks and months studying the track and the car and optimizing everything about their lap as opposed to professional drivers who hardly ever drive on the ring. besides, the gtr has proven its potency on several other tracks other than nurburgring. see List of Top Gear test track Power Lap Times - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Even in the top gear track, the gtr is surrounded by such prestigious company as porche 997 gt2, carrera gt, ferrari 430 scuderia, 458 italia, 599 gtb, slr mclaren, koenigsegg ccx, lambo murcielago, gallardo. whether 80k or 100k, the gtr will still remain the bargain supercar

Again, that's what they want you to believe. :stirthepot:

Before you get all mad remember that I :facepalm: at 99% of your posts in Mustang threads (though you've been good in this one :) ) so I hope you know I'm just f*cking with you guys.

true they improved the mustang a lot. 2 yrs ago it was a heap of junk. the 2011 model now has respectable numbers and decent performance. they still need to get rid of that damn live axle, and maybe shrink the car's size a bit, something along the size of the previous generation mustang will be good. the interior though still remains awful. when will an american car ever come with a good interior?

who? so top gear is part of the global nissan conspiracy to brainwash people into believing the gtr is fast?

:hello:

I'm going to test drive a GT tomorrow... with 3.73 gears.. i'm nervous for my Z :(

3.73s... good man!

Does it have the Brembo brake package?

you trading in the veyron for a mustang?

yeah, sure does, and its graphite, just the color i'd get... ah man :(

yeah, the payments were starting to kill me :tup:

That's awesome! Like I said before, you'll definitely feel a little more body roll than the Z but it's nothing sway bars won't clear up.

not so much worried about the handling, I just want to feel the roar of all that torque in a straight line...

I hear you man... it's an absolute rush. Try punching it at about 4k RPM in 2nd and HOLD ON. :driving:

for my Z's sake, I hope theres something that I absolutely hate about this car :rofl2:

The only thing I didn't like about the 2011 was the gauge font... but they make aftermarket guages that fix that problem. :bowrofl:

what is the best mustang forum? i wanna find out if there are any issues so far with the car

uhh oh red is getting pretty serious :shakes head:

hahaha, not just yet, I just wanna do some research, I wont be buying anything for awhile, I just want to find out what my next car is going to be, thats all. :tup:

I will shoot you a PM in a minute Red.

grazi.

This thing is a beast, can't wait to hear it in person.

I hope you did not tell him the mustang source. :shakes head: