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Well some of you guys asked for my opinions of the GTR after yesterday. For those of you who don't know. Since I am a sales manager for my Nissan store, I got the opportunity to go to Vegas and do a full day at the track with the GTR getting to drive it on a road course and auto-X. It was 115 in the desert, and a .2% humidity rating. I'm not going to go into full detail, I took a lot of notes but I won't bore you with every detail that you could find on NissanUSA.com . I did take pictures, but I left my camera in Vegas, what a freaking idiot. Anyways, let me know what you think. 
A couple cool notes: They had 18 GTR's there, and most likely that will be the biggest gathering of GTR's ever again (other than the factory.) They had an R32 and an R34 to compare the looks and technology of the older versions compared to the R35 (GTR.) They also brought out a Z06 and a 911 Turbo to do a tech and style comparison for the dealers, since they are the main competition. I've driven both before and was impressed with the performance especially of the 911 and of course the 7.0 litre vette will always be a great performer. I'll include my comparisons to the two throughout my eval. Exterior: Overall, the car has weird looks to it, especially compared to the R34 and previous Skylines. The only think that has really carried over is the signature tails. The big thing that they were selling to us is that this car was designed from the ground up with performance in mind. They explained each slant of the sheet metal and panels and why they were significant to the performance. From the wing to the wheels all stats were covered and explained. In fact, if you remove the spoiler or the wheels or change any single part with a non-Nissan after market piece the warranty is voided. This is because they say at least that each part is meant to compliment another and any changing to the body will result in failure of some components. It's a big car, surprisingly big, and has a pretty mean stance once you get up close to it. It comes in a variety of colors, black, red (they call it "real red") 3 stage silver which is a $3K option, titanium (first production year only, by far the best color), gunmetal and artic white. All colors have a hint of pearl and/or metal flake. When explained all design elements seem to come together nicely, and the few things that I didn't like about the car seem to make sense. After first look I wasn't convinved about the front air dam. It however, is very functional and showed us test results from when they reduced the size and how much of a heat increase there was. It was by far the coolest engine bay, after a day of driving hard on the track that I have ever encountered. Interior: The interior is pretty well layed out. Everything is extremely comfortable and you don't budge in the bucket seats. The two things that I disliked were how ridiculously small the back was, makes our 2+2's look like suburbans, and that they put the same carpeting that is on the floor on the side panels of the door. I found it to be the only cheap looking part of the car. The display pannel and computer sytem was unbelievable. It has 12 different display settings. You can program 2-6 to show any gauge the car has to offer, which is pretty extensive. You can even see your steering direction, your turning since you started the trip, average MPG's and even have a small Ipod movie playing next to your other gauges. the 1st is a standard boost gauge, oil pressure and engine temperature. You can also program a number of other settings on there, which I won't go into. It has cup holders, which is more than we can say and a 9 speaker Bose sound system that has no rival. Bluetooth, and intelligent key and all the other standard Nissan SL options. Performance: I was very very impressed by the GTR. I was a skeptic like a lot of you going into this. I've driven a lot of cars; Porsche's, Highly modified imports and domestics, shit I even got behind the wheel of a Ferrari once. This was honestly my favorite ride I have ever taken. Although I don't think Paddle shifters will ever be able to replace a standard stick shift transmission I was impressed by both the paddle's and the auto tranny. It really did shift is .2 seconds and pulled back exactly like a Z with an HKS ALC2, for those of you who are familiar. It was quick and fast and pulled your ass to the back of the car. It took turns like no car I have ever been in, the VDC system transfers power between the wheels to gain optimal performance for the specific roads and turns that you are taking. R-mode was unbelievably different than the standard setting and when I was taken on the hot lap around the road track I was stunned by the driving (it wasn't me unfortunately but a professional, he got it up to 140.) I only got it up to 115 but that's still pretty good on the short track and 2 laps on my own. The top speed is 197. The braking was the most significant thing about the car, and all the guys there said the same. I'm sure that the 6 piston front and 4 piston rear GIANT FREAKING calipers and the 15" rotors inside the 20" forged aluminum tires certainly compliments that ability. I was really really impressed by the following the most: The shifting was very impressive, I kept it in Auto mode because I didn't want to crash the damn thing, yeah I know I'm a pussy. However, it was way faster shifting than any of you haters could acheive, and I only had a little help ;). The braking, again, was unbelievable. It hugged the road and never felt as if it was leaving it even at high speeds, and I'm sure the part time AWD system certainly helped out. Overall the car seemed extremely balanced, it has 4 of the 6 cylinders behind the front axle for optimum balance capability, and really showed it. The vents are actually real! The two hood NACA style vents, used on fighter jets reduce engine heat by 7 1/2% and the side vents that you can see are actually functional from the wheel wells to funnel extra brake and engine heat, also reduces the air flow underneath the car and results in more down force. Brakes, wheels and suspension: The Brembo brake calipers were huge, especially the front 6 piston one. and are not mounted with a cross bolt but rather to the chasis behind the rotor. The 15" rotor was cross drilled and has a diamond shaped internal vent system. The wheels are Rays Engineering forged aluminum 20" wheels specifically designed for the GTR. They work with the front panels to funnel extra air into the brake system for better cooling. The suspension is a Billstein coilover system that rests really high in the rear and is fully adjustable. I guess I'm honored to have been a part of all of it. It's also cool to know I'm probably the youngest person in the US who's driven one (21) since there are no test drives and I was easily the youngest by 10 years. Anyways, hope you guys have the opportunity to drive one some day. Thanks for reading.
 CTZCC To me, the WRX is like a ugly chick who can f*ck...cool fine and dandy, but I wouldn't be braggin about it.. - Jodecy
I got more rhymes than Azheat's mouth got dongs (n/m) - Kenny
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NZR: GTR dealer training reflection - 
07:27:19 06/21/08
