📰 Auto News Nissan says next 370Z to compete with Porsche

[Mook]

When Nissan launched the 350Z in '02, it was working hard to reinvent itself and the new Z was clearly its halo car in the U.S. market. Now that that the revival has come and gone, expect the new 370Z to take on a new tack as a harder edged vehicle. In fact, Nissan plans to take on Porsche, the most classic of all sportscar manufacturers, with its newest coupe. Equipped with a larger 335-hp 3.7-liter V6 engine and having gone on a serious diet, possibly shedding as much as 200 lbs, the new Z will definitely have the cojones to keep up with its foes, including the Cayman, and its shorter wheelbase and wider track should conspire to make it quite the handler as well. We'll get our first official look at the new son-of-Godzilla at the LA Auto Show, shorty after which the Nissan 370Z should show up in Japanese dealerships with U.S. delivery at a later date. Hopefully, not too much later.

Click to read more...

 

[Poopshinanigans]

Its nice to see they are not following their history with the 240z. Going lighter with more power should be sweet.

 

[Angus]

nice, but since i won't be able to afford a gtr, wouldn't a Z fit that niche between altima coupe and gtr? So by the sounds of it, the price tag will probably go up as well... who knows and then what nissan product will fill that performance gap that I could afford?

hmmmm

 

[Mook]

i predict around 30k or so for the base

 

[Stink Star]

didnt porsche just offocially "call out" nissan for cheating at the ring with the GTR times? that may have something to do with this

 

[Mook]

yea, porsche has been bitching about the ring times since they happened...they're probably pretty unhappy the 911 is getting smacked around on every comparison test

 

[Freddy]

So Nissan's future plans is to step up their brand/image a bit?

 

[Burtonrider10022]

its not hard to beat a porsche....

 

[sickmint79]

didnt porsche just offocially "call out" nissan for cheating at the ring with the GTR times? that may have something to do with this

more infos?

 

[Mook]

Sour grapes or legitimate complaint? That's the question we're left pondering after reading that Porsche believes Nissan must have cheated to record its 7:29:03 lap time of the famed Nürburgring race circuit. Porsche claims that it had been suspicious of the Nissan's lap times, so it acquired a U.S.-spec GT-R for testing back-to-back with its own 911 Turbo and GT2. The result? The mighty Godzilla was toppled by the Teutonic German duo, with the GT-R posting times a good 25-seconds slower than Nissan's claim.

How can Porsche explain the discrepancy? "This wonder car with 7:29 could not have been a regular series production car. For us, it's not clear how this time is possible. What we can imagine with this Nissan is they used other tires," says August Achleitner, the man in charge of the 911 program. There is footage of the GT-R lapping the 'Ring at high speed, but it's taken from inside the car where the tires cannot be seen.

Considering the fact that Nissan saw fit to issue a press release commemorating the car's fast-lap, we doubt this is something that will be taken lightly. There's a big can 'o worms here, and Porsche's in the corner holding the opener.

info

 

[sickmint79]

sounds like a pretty legit complaint to me if they are comparing apples and oranges...

 

[Stink Star]

put walter rorhl (porsche's chief test driver/ best driver in history) behind the wheel of the GTR and if it still doesnt come close, then i will take the claim much more seroiusly

 

[sickmint79]

i'm sure they put someone competent enough in the driving seat to make the comparison and claim.

 

[Stink Star]

it was apparently their chassis engineer... similar to ZR1's time with the chassis guy driving the car. im sure if they put a better driver they would get a better time. that goes for both porsche in the GTR and GM in the ZR1

 

[sickmint79]

per
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordschleife_fastest_lap_times
the 430 scuderia got 7:39 at the ring

per
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...c_cars/the_lightning_lap_2008_feature?cid=320
at VIR, the scuderia got 2:54 and gtr 2:55

the tracks are different enough and beats me about the drivers though. so i could see 7:29 being legit. very odd if porsche drivers are coming in a full 25 seconds slower though. more tests!

 

[Stink Star]

let me re-phrase... im sure if walter rorhl drove the GTR it would get a better time than porsche's current time, but it could not possibly make up 24 seconds.... that is an impossible figure to recover

 

[Poopshinanigans]

let me re-phrase... im sure if walter rorhl drove the GTR it would get a better time than porsche's current time, but it could not possibly make up 24 seconds.... that is an impossible figure to recover

I agree.

Also, if the claim is false and nissans times are legit, then that puts Porsche in a come from behind situation. Either way i hope Porsche is cooking some nasty up to better drive the competition. Maybe Porsche got too comfortable and this is the kick in the pants to start an epic war that we all will benefit from.