The Nissan GT-R does it again!

The Nissan GT-R trounces the competition at Buttonwillow’s famous Time Attack configuration!

When the car was announced with a weight of 3800 lbs I did not think it would make much of a showing compared to lighter-weight beasts like the Corvette Z06 and the 911 GT3. I was not very sure about the styling either until I saw it at the LA Autoshow, where it really made an impression, and I was surprised at the aerodynamic work under the car.

Then the comparisons started getting published in Europe and Japan, and it looked like it was fast. OK, so it could beat a 911 Turbo, and also a 911 GT3 on a cold track. How about the Z06?

Well, Road and Track Magazine’s comparison at ButtonWillow configuration 13 (‘Time Attack’) clocked the GT-R at 1:56.9, more than 5 seconds faster than the Corvette Z06 and the 911 Porsche Turbo! This is really, really, impressive for a street car which is not even running race tires.

My time six months ago at the same track was 2:24, not very fast, but decent for my first time in this configuration (and of course, with worn-out front tires!). Some of the better guys would do around 2:05’s, and prepared cars with great drivers dip below 2:00.

So how can a 3800 lbs car put such impressive numbers? Hard to say. Hopefully my friend will purchase one in a couple of years and we’ll find out. Maybe it’s not as fun as a raw, little electronically managed, rear-wheel drive car like the GT3; maybe over a bunch of laps the extra weight will make the tires suffer; but for now, thumbs up.