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let's not get the 'soul' of a car confused with the 'ego' of the owners' of supercars. owners' that enjoy their cars' talk of; performance and pride of ownership; not how much soul their cars have. " MY CAR HAS MORE SOUL THAN YOURS!!"; yeah right. according to motoring journalists [like that numbnut from Garage 419, Mr Angry] the GTR can't join the supercar club because it is quote, "ugly", "unquote", no other reason given. good objective writing!!. all the wannabes that are moaning about the 35 being too easy to drive should; get in and take the car to it's limit. all cars have a 'limit', once the limit is reached perhaps the 35 will 'edge' out the 'edgiest', like all machines, push it hard enough and serious injuries will be the best any dreamer can hope for!!. that should be 'edgy' enough.

What is the character of the GTR?

If it was a person what would it be like?

It's like a friend that likes to take you for a thrash Gives you a hand driving as fast as you can and trys its best not to kill you.

On the other hand a spirited car like a TVR looks at you with contmept. It despises you so much that it's prepared to smash itself to bits just to kill or maim you.

To me the character of the GTR is that they are a blank piece of vinyl. The nature of GTR is they give you a solid engineering basis for you to run off and customise so that it is "your unique performance car" so that n the end its the owner that gives the car character.

And dont hang shit on TVR, i want a Cerbera or Sagaris before i get too old :banana:

If you fellas remember that recent post with a video of an R35 versus tuned 3rd gen GTR's? Well the R35 kept up with the quicker 33 and 34 through Tsukuba, which is mighty impressive. What's more, the in-car footage shows that the most composed and relaxed driving experience was in the r35. The 33 driver clipped the 34, they all man-handled the wheel, they were really focusing hard.

Yes it makes the R35 appear 'soulless', even boing to an enthusiast. I've had the most fun driving when the sensation of speed, traction and danger were at their peak. But in fact that composed driving experience would allow you to throw the car around harder. It didn't appear to be at its absolute limits. So imagine a highly modified R35, being thrown into corners at the limit of traction? That'll be one f**king hell of a tactile experience.

Nissan makes FAST cars.......and thats what they are good at, you want a soulful car, go drive a AE86, DC2, Exige etc etc

Nissan has been instructed to build a car that will shit on everything else regardless of how its done. They've done the job and good for them.

So harden up.

I prefer engineering competence to a wayward, poorly-balanced chassis that people want to try and redeem by saying it has "character "

This quote from the current issue of Wheels mag sums it up well:

...If the Porsche [997 Turbo] is more characterful, the Nissan is still dripping with charisma, partly because anything that can demolish a road the way it does is going to enthral any car lover, but also because it's so interactive

Why complain that it lacks 'soul' or some shit if you've not even driven it? I'm sure most every SAU member would consider selling body-parts to be able to thrash one for a day.

I've been in an R35, and soul-less is the last word you'd use to describe it. I loved every minute of it, and would happily own one over a car something like a Z06. Competence and character can't go hand in hand, apparently.

Don't know how it drives, but I sure do want a raunchier exhaust system... Even though it will beat most cars, in the progress it won't be as fun as listening to engine sounds such as that of a ferrari, lambo, maserati, aston, porsche, bmw, audi etc. Even HSVs and FPVs sound raunchier. And yes, I know you can fit an aftermarket exhaust system, but after spending 160k on a car, one would think twice spending more money on it.

Nissan makes FAST cars.......and thats what they are good at, you want a soulful car, go drive a AE86, DC2, Exige etc etc

Nissan has been instructed to build a car that will shit on everything else regardless of how its done. They've done the job and good for them.

So harden up.

AE86... Soulful :) Just a corolla made popular by the initial D series

haha just remember these are Americans saying its not soul full ............

there views on cars are 22" rims and a v8

"like i say why would you have 2 more pistons when you can have the 6 and me much faster :)"

of course there going to cry about the groundbreaking limits this car is pushing because Americans always want to be the people who make and live at the top and anything they do/make is perfect so i think they are the journalists in America have problems :)

And dont hang shit on TVR, i want a Cerbera or Sagaris before i get too old :)

I did like the TVR too. Only because it's a raw bastard of a car. I was going to get a 'wedge' a long while back and later tried out a cerbera but, really they do have a peice of crap build quality, even the Cerbera. Although the sound is pretty intoxicating the cars aren't real great to drive frequently. It's good to try them out but, by the end of the drive even a good one gives you the impression your R32 gtst is a much better car in pretty much every way.

I drove a datsun 1200 ute with a turbo A14 for a few months just because as a young lad I always wanted one. It was fun but, basically sucked unless your a midget and enjoy smelling exhaust fumes while you drive.

Character wise I'd say the good old chook cars I had in the past do a better job than the TVR's. My old RX2 or RX4 coupes were what the TVR does try but, fail at. Mad, crazy no safety belt style speed.

My favorite character car in recent times has been my old Volvo station wagon with the worked V8 in it. I could drive that thing forever it had so much appeal. Every morning I'd get up and it would make me laugh just to look at it. All it needed was a light weight LS1 or better a Indy Maxx alloy big block hemi and a manual gearbox.

So I've just disqualified myself from being taken seriously :)

  • 2 weeks later...
Its always been the same with GTRs. There are lots of professional drivers out there that dotn like how they drive. A few years ago when the R33 was new, they pitted it agaisnt 575 Ferrari, 355 Ferrari, 911, NSX, 3000GT, M3, Elise, GTi Golf etc etc at a race track with Tim Harvey, Richard Burns and Jeremy Clarkson all driving. The UK Spec R33 GTR was the quickest around the track, yet didnt make the top 5 when it came to selecting the best handling car there. (The aim of the shootout was to find the best handlign car on the market)

They just didnt like how the ATTESA did it all for you and the car didnt respond to all the drivers inputs.

To me this video had credibility.....until the 575 won as the best handling car :banana: (and that was an old 575 before the handling upgrade).

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_...html?vid=244892

Jay Leno thinks that the R35 is a car he can get "emotionally involved with". And its not like he hasn't owned a few cars in his day.

No soul? I'd trust a guy who's lived with supercars, classics, daily drivers and motorbikes as long term propositions over journos whose livelihood depends on maintaining strong relationships with (certain) car manufacturers, and the prejudices of the people who vote about his opinion on cars with their dollars.

The majority of Leno's audience won't stop watching The Tonight Show because of his opinions on certain cars. People can, and do, stop buying magazines based on the attitudes of the people who write articles for them.

To me this video had credibility.....until the 575 won as the best handling car :rofl: (and that was an old 575 before the handling upgrade).

wasn't it a 550 Maranello?

they are a different kettle of fish to an early model 575

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