It is not often someone will disturb me and get me out from under my rock in defensive mode. It is not meant in a rude manner Graham.
Please don't add the Skyline into that group unless you have driven a well setup GTR33 or 34 and felt the experience was anodyne. If so then get back in and try a lot harder as you are going too slow. The aids actually don't save you. They extend the envelope and require significant effort in many cases.
I went for a training session with a GTR "expert" after I had bought mine. If you lift off mid bend the rear wheel steering simply hands the car back to you. Crash. If you want to use the rear wheel steering you need to be smooth with the power. It is disturbing to say the least when you MUST accelerate harder into the bend to use the rear wheel steering. I was driving into an open bend and the instructor leant across placed his hand on my right knee and used it to push the accelerator to full power so triggering the mental stage of the engine and rear wheel steering. I held a full power tail slide through the entire bend. Any racer will tell you it is not the fastest way through the bend but the aids did not collect it up for me they held it. At this point the car still feels like a big, wicked rear wheel drive chassis.
On many occasions I used to swing out the back end under power on roundabouts. The side window has a great view as it is pillerless !
On an open day at Donnington my GTR33V on standard rubber out ran a race spec 996 turbo on slicks. I was going around the inside of him on corners.
The gizmos may aid traction and grunt but they don't replace balance, precision and feedback which the GTR 33/34 had in spades.
It is really easy to think that the gizmos make the driver less part of the experience and in several cases I would agree (all you RS6 drivers
may understand this) but not on this beasty.
Having said that I placed a pre-order for a GTR35 the day they came out. I got an 18 month lead time and so Nissan gave us a free day in a race track. It was not a quick 20 mins either. It felt like a Lexus with a warp drive motor. Bland engine sound, little engagement beyond race track speeds, over controlling nanny engineering. I guess your comments apply to the 35. I am told the V-Spec is alive as a bug was "introduced" but I am not paying that much for it even if I could.
I cancelled it and bought the Aero 8 and have not really looked back since. I still covet a late GTR34V or N spec car with a medium tune. I often wonder about importing another one from the midnightclub
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Night_Club Don't hit them all with the same club.
/rant mode off.
