# This week's Autocar



## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Nobody else seen it then?
Fantastic front cover pic of the white press 2010 car catching a good 8 or 10 inches of air at Millbrook!

But the story behind it is disappointingly familiar.
Fastest and most fun B road car contest including M3, hot hatches and even an LP570 Superleggera.
Time laps of the aforementioned alpine handling circuit where the GT-R even manages to beat the £170k Lambo.
Which car "wins" overall? The M3 despite being the second slowest of the seven cars on test.

Apparently road tester's obsession with getting a car sideways trumps all other factors... 

(Not saying the GT-R should win, personally I'd rather have the Lambo!)


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## Trev (Nov 1, 2003)

If they wanted a "sideways" car - they should have pushed the GTR to the limits IMO.


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## beaver (Nov 9, 2009)

Video of 2011 car online:

Nissan GT-R video review 90sec verdict - Autocar.co.uk


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## MiGTR (Jul 31, 2007)

I'll have to mosey on out to pick up a copy methinks.


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## Stevie76 (Dec 17, 2009)

M3's...sigh...been there and its half the car at a push...


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## Eatpies (Sep 29, 2003)

beaver said:


> Video of 2011 car online:
> 
> Nissan GT-R video review 90sec verdict - Autocar.co.uk


Well the new LC certainly looks effective. Im looking forward to seeing some performance figures from the mags soon.


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

So the 2011 model is better in every respect, but is only 4.5 stars? 

And I wish they would stop bleating on about the electronics. The GT-R's drivetrain has fewer trick systems than many other cars out there. It is not the car's defining feature.

Journalists, eh? 

I look forward to publishing a much better story when I get the chance to drive the press car!


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## enshiu (Aug 20, 2010)

279 gr co2 only? that's nice to know the old one has 298 gr co2


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## Stevie76 (Dec 17, 2009)

Are there any drivetrain mods on the new car? Just thinking about that launch...


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## RightKerfuffle (Sep 19, 2009)

Just noticed .. all four light rears are now on .. no more light kits required then !


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## SurreyUMSGTR (May 19, 2009)

Probably has as much to do with the amount of advertising spend BMW put their way than actual truth! Also continues to be unsurprising that many so called supercar or sportscar tests dont even include the GTR, because when the truth is told there isnt a better car out there lb for £ with a higher performance envelope! 





David.Yu said:


> Nobody else seen it then?
> Fantastic front cover pic of the white press 2010 car catching a good 8 or 10 inches of air at Millbrook!
> 
> But the story behind it is disappointingly familiar.
> ...


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

RightKerfuffle said:


> Just noticed .. all four light rears are now on .. no more light kits required then !


Unfortunately not. That is just for the display/press cars I believe (US lights). For some reason I was told they are not strictly legal for the EU.


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## charles charlie (May 3, 2008)

David.Yu said:


> Nobody else seen it then?
> Fantastic front cover pic of the white press 2010 car catching a good 8 or 10 inches of air at Millbrook!
> 
> But the story behind it is disappointingly familiar.
> ...


Wouldnt it be nice for some journos to actually have a half decent knowledge of their subject field?

The usual playstation nonsense about the GTR. Did any of them sit in the M3 and check the multitude of screens and electronic adjustments the M3 has. You can change a million settings on the thing, yet that isnt seen as a playstation car. The new line of M3 and M5s are more of a "playstation car" than the GTR will ever be.

Do any of them even know the GTR is RWD for 95% of the time, I doubt it....

Until journos actually research their field of work properly, we'll still get the same biased mediocrity that pervades all of our media.


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## emve (May 28, 2008)

What were the lap times of GT-R and LP570, please ? Would like to see what kind of difference it was.


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## TAZZMAXX (Mar 9, 2010)

charles charlie said:


> Wouldnt it be nice for some journos to actually have a half decent knowledge of their subject field?
> 
> Until journos actually research their field of work properly, we'll still get the same biased mediocrity that pervades all of our media.


CC - that's the thing, journos aren't necessarily interested in what they are writing about and, as for research, they probably have some spotty YTS kid trawling the net for information, hence the Playstation comparisons.


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## Henry 145 (Jul 15, 2009)

How good does the flying 2010 look?! My car went a week ago and I have serious withdrawals...lusting after a White 2010 or 2011 for next year sometime...just seen my old car up for sale...gutted!


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## sync1 (May 26, 2010)

Is Autocar in the shops yet? Should have been out on Wed but every shop i've been into doesn't have it (or is still the previous weeks edition) and they say its late? 

Tried again today and still nothing.


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## paul__k (Dec 8, 2007)

Read it today in Tescos.

Impressed the GTR beat the Lambo by about .5 seconds.
The M3 was only a couple of seconds quicker than the Cayenne turbo.:chairshot I suspect a half decent driver would spank it!:clap:

Drove the M3 at Palmersport and really was not very impressed with it.
Too tail happy and sod all torque. The ring time of 8:05 is not even where the R33 was 15 years ago...
Autocar have lost the plot on their conclusion. The M3 has been pretty much panned by most journos.


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## OldBob (Oct 18, 2010)

Funny enough I picked up both Autocar and Car to read on a flight this weekend and just had to laugh at the Autocar fianl comments. The objective of the test stated up front was to see which car was the quickest A-B machine on B roads. Then they summarise with poxy qualitatives such as the M3 being "honest", more involving etc. It got mullered by the Renault which then didn't get a second mention, as hot hatch in a A-B trial it did a fantastic job. 
Yes it looks like tail out, sideways behaviour that ends up in a spin and engine growl above 4000 rpm are the journo's desire.
I too did a Palmer day (great day out by the way if anyone gets an invite to a corporate make sure you go), and driving the M3 was good but although fast needed revving and was too easy to lose the tail. (Yes journo's I know playing with the rear end is the apparent dream a good driver and I'm not)...but it doesn't get you from A-B the fastest!

The Car article compares the RS5, Merc C63, Lexus IS-F and M3. with some similar
superlatives but with some balance too. RS5 is getting a bit of a panning in general cf the M3


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## N15M0 (Jan 31, 2008)

Free mags from work - hurrah! 
Here is a pic of the cover for anyone that hasn't seen it yet...


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## Guy (Jun 27, 2001)

OldBob said:


> The objective of the test stated up front was to see which car was the quickest A-B machine on B roads.


No it wasn't, the front page clearly says 'Most Fun'. The timing was one of the factors involved, but the results were not simply a list of laptimes.

There are many times when the most fun car is not the fastest. If anything, the GTR is too fast for UK roads to have fun in, as if you really push it hard to enjoy it near the limit the speeds it requires are frankly irresponsible and often double the speed limit or more.


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## Bajie (Dec 13, 2001)

^^^

Of the two pics on the cover of the magazine above, I know which I would prefer to do!

Surely the journo's enjoy making a car "fly" as much as the rest of us [given the chance].


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## GavGTR (Jan 12, 2004)

*Deploy the wings - Low level flight achieved! *





N15M0 said:


> Free mags from work - hurrah!
> Here is a pic of the cover for anyone that hasn't seen it yet...


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## OldBob (Oct 18, 2010)

Without wanting to trample on copyright ;-) opening page with first paragraph (with snips..)

...Hopefuls to be king of the B road in a demanding and fun two day test...

...Of all the different measures of performance - from pure acceleration...circuit lap times - arguably the most representative is simple, straightforward ground-overing ability. Because if all your interested in is which car can get from A to B the quickest, all sorts of factors enter the equation. Especially when the route in question involves a UK B-road, one with bumps etc....you need something that deals with the bumps etc..., something with enough compliance to deal with lumps, enough control in the corners and enough punch to make the most of every straight.
To see which type of car fares best, we've selected seven diverse contenders.....

It was long flight and I had to read it more than once to reconcile this stated objective and the resulting summary..
How boring am I


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

OldBob said:


> Without wanting to trample on copyright ;-) opening page with first paragraph (with snips..)
> 
> ...Hopefuls to be king of the B road in a demanding and fun two day test...
> 
> ...


Exactly. Very poorly written test with made up as they go criteria.


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## Naranja (Dec 4, 2008)

David.Yu said:


> Exactly. Very poorly written test with made up as they go criteria.


^^^ I agree with that, the article contradicts itself several times. I've been an Autocar subscriber for 15 years and its one of the worst I've read. Sutcliffe gets more and more annoying aswell, he's right up his own cheeks. It's the first article, of that length and substance, I've seen written by that Vicky Parrott and it doesn't bode well. Very average.


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

Naranja said:


> . It's the first article I've seen written by that Vicky Parrott and it doesn't bode well.


bit repetitive I thought :runaway:


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## Naranja (Dec 4, 2008)

Zed Ed said:


> bit repetitive I thought :runaway:


Ooooh, crippler! Nice one Ed.


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## paul__k (Dec 8, 2007)

> If anything, the GTR is too fast for UK roads to have fun in


Ben, Can you do a map to detune it please?!


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## thistle (Oct 27, 2007)

The new v3 maps have a 0% wastegate map which is less than stock performance.


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Guy said:


> No it wasn't, the front page clearly says 'Most Fun'. The timing was one of the factors involved, but the results were not simply a list of laptimes.
> 
> There are many times when the most fun car is not the fastest. If anything, the GTR is too fast for UK roads to have fun in, as if you really push it hard to enjoy it near the limit the speeds it requires are frankly irresponsible and often double the speed limit or more.


Then tune it so that the torque can overwhelm the rear tyres at will and at lower speeds then. Simples! 

Of course, don't then spoil it by putting mahoosive, sticky Toyo R888s that then contain all that power again...


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## paul__k (Dec 8, 2007)

Here is the Parrot! 

YouTube - Nissan GT-R video review 90sec verdict

The car has better proportions!!:nervous:


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## franki68 (Mar 11, 2010)

I don't own a gtr but even I thought that what was written was nonsense,Autocar is full of contradictions at the moment.
IN the back pages best top 5 sportscars the gtr comes top,and the 911 carrear 4th,yet in their rs5 test they listed the carrera as the best car n that class and the gtr as 4th or 5th ? 
I considered the m3 after having owned multiple 'm' cars over the years but the car lacked any feel through its steering,now multiple road tests have commented on this yet in the rs5 tests they mark it down because of poor steering feel,so is steering feel important (it is to me) ? and if so apply your criteria consistently .
Let's be honest here as well,line those cars up and who would take the m3 over say the gallardo even for just a drive ? I cannot even imagine the participants in that test would in all honesty look at that bunch of cars and say..right im going for some fun in the m3 and leave the gallardo behind.


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## ChuckUK (Jan 1, 2009)

This is interesting from this weeks copy;

Nissan GT-R vs Formula 3 car video - Autocar.co.uk


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## Naranja (Dec 4, 2008)

ChuckUK said:


> This is interesting from this weeks copy;
> 
> Nissan GT-R vs Formula 3 car video - Autocar.co.uk


Interesting. I wonder if any road car could have done better in those conditions....
Shows why Sutcliffe has the perfect face (and body) for the written word only. He does seem to like the GT-R though, maybe he should have done the B road article instead of the strawberry blonde bird of paradise.


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## enshiu (Aug 20, 2010)

A little too overcritized on the gt-r.

72K vs 300K which one I will let you decide.

Nissan gt-r,bentley continental or Rolls Royce phantom?


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