08/09 Nissan GTR launch next month. Speculation and banter

[jackhammer]

I predict the R32, 33, and 34 will become even more valuable than they already are

[JagdStealth]

[quote=""VR4Rob""]Surely they could do this in a little... different way. If they sold a 400ish horsepower twin turbo 350Z and priced it around 42-45K it would sell like crazy and they could still have enough wiggle room with the price to put some cool stuff in it. I mean, how much would it really cost Nissan to develop a competent, boost friendly VQ series motor to put in the already solid 350Z :d ontknow:[/quote]

Only real Z that was turbo was the Z31/32, and that was far away from the real meaning of the Z car. the true essence is a light weight, good handling, inexpensive, world performing sports car like the Original Z was from 1970+ That's what they got back to (sorta) with the current 350Z. The GTR can be whatever it wants, but I'm happy they went back to a lighter and cheap car for the 350Z...that's what the Z is supposed to be.

The new '07 350Z has a completely redesigned motor that is much more boost friendly, it's supposed to be used to real world test the technology that is going into the GTR. Supposedly they will be using the same block and most of the internals. I can at least say the '07 is a huge improvement power delivery-wise versus the earlier years, I've got about 500mi behind the seat of my friends on and off the track.

[Chris GTO TT]

[quote=""JagdStealth""]Only real Z that was turbo was the Z31/32, and that was far away from the real meaning of the Z car. the true essence is a light weight, good handling, inexpensive, world performing sports car like the Original Z was from 1970+ That's what they got back to (sorta) with the current 350Z. The GTR can be whatever it wants, but I'm happy they went back to a lighter and cheap car for the 350Z...that's what the Z is supposed to be.

The new '07 350Z has a completely redesigned motor that is much more boost friendly, it's supposed to be used to real world test the technology that is going into the GTR. Supposedly they will be using the same block and most of the internals. I can at least say the '07 is a huge improvement power delivery-wise versus the earlier years, I've got about 500mi behind the seat of my friends on and off the track.[/quote]

[J-Groove]

I think a lot of what Gate said will be close to spot on.

With the exception of sales. I predict this car will do very well.

Nissan has been doing great in sales. And unlike back in the 80's people are not ignorant to the fact that Nissan and Infinity are the same company. So I do not see the Nissan name hurting. Also Nissan just finished a nationwide upscale of all their dealerships. You walk into one now and it is like that of a BMW dealership.

I see 350Zs and G35/37s everywhere. Now where the GTR is in a different class and price point, I see it as a car that will not be ignored. If there car lives up to its hype, I see it as making decent sales. If the car is last in its class I will agree with many of you with predictions of low sales.

I think the ball is in Nissan's court, if the car delivers I believe it will sell.

-John

[GTO Assassin]

Sorry to say, but I honestly think this car will be awesome! I think it will suprise quite a few of the nay sayers. Call me a fanboi, I don't care.

Scotty

[JagdStealth]

[quote=""GTO Assassin""]Sorry to say, but I honestly think this car will be awesome! I think it will suprise quite a few of the nay sayers. Call me a fanboi, I don't care.

Scotty[/quote]

Oh, I think the car will be great...but as far as performance goes I seriously doubt it will beat out it's competition ('vette, viper, 911T, R8, etc.).

[Dark-Hawk]

Your predictions definitely seem spot on and consistent with the random information we've been given. I'm curious to see how this car will ultimately feel and look. I do wish they broke away from the look a little bit more and maybe styled it more so to look like an updated R34, but so be it.

[Hannibalzero]

[quote=""GTO Assassin""]Sorry to say, but I honestly think this car will be awesome! I think it will suprise quite a few of the nay sayers. Call me a fanboi, I don't care.

Scotty[/quote]

Damn Nissan Nutswingers.


[quote=""JagdStealth""]Oh, I think the car will be great...but as far as performance goes I seriously doubt it will beat out it's competition ('vette, viper, 911T, R8, etc.).[/quote]

That's pretty much what I expect. Great car, great performance. It just won't be the best (especially considering the price). I think their niche is going to be a compromise between performance, luxury, and technology.

[GTO Assassin]

Devon - what car are you looking at? The pic at the top looks like a combo of the R34 and the 350Z. To me anyways....

Scotty

[Zentelis]

[quote=""Gatecrasher""]
I fully believe Nissan will hit their target of similar performance to the Porsche 911 Turbo. That said, this car is not going to sell well. If Nissan is smart, they'll keep their sales expectations modest. My money says less than 5000 units for North America, less than 10,000 units annually world wide. It's going to be very tough to convince people with this kind of money to spend $70k or more at a Nissan dealership where people are getting their Sentras and Altimas bought and serviced. [/quote]
I agree with this..I'm still convinced that one of the reasons the 3K Spyder failed is because with an MSRP of $66K, you're pushing into Porsche territory, and even older Ferrari models.
"Very few people want to spend exotic car prices on Japanese cars"

This will be a flagship car..the one that draws folks onto the Nissan lots, much like the 3000 did for Mitsubishi.

I also believe that if you have the money and are willing to spend $70K on a car that it will probably not strap you..and that you probably have enough to buy 6-figure cars. The exotic car market, imo, differs drastically from what we're used to with our point-a to point-b daily drivers. Someone who can afford a $15K daily driver probably can't afford a $17K daily driver. But someone who can afford a $70K sports car can probably afford a $140K sports car.
This is all just mindless rambling, btw..

[Chris GTO TT]

[quote=""Zentelis""]I also believe that if you have the money and are willing to spend $70K on a car that it will probably not strap you..and that you probably have enough to buy 6-figure cars. The exotic car market, imo, differs drastically from what we're used to with our point-a to point-b daily drivers. Someone who can afford a $15K daily driver probably can't afford a $17K daily driver. But someone who can afford a $70K sports car can probably afford a $140K sports car.
This is all just mindless rambling, btw.. [/quote]

Actually your pretty much spot on. I read an article once that stated once a cars price goes over 65-70k something like less then 20% of the buyers finance the car that means they pay cash

[Dark-Hawk]

[quote=""GTO Assassin""]Devon - what car are you looking at? The pic at the top looks like a combo of the R34 and the 350Z. To me anyways....

Scotty[/quote]
I really can't see any R34 styling there mate:




I would say MAYBE some slight styling calls in the roof line.. But thats it really.

[GTO Assassin]

The rear to me screams puffed up 34

[Chris GTO TT]

[quote=""GTO Assassin""]The rear to me screams puffed up 34[/quote]

[Jeff V.]

I also believe that if you have the money and are willing to spend $70K on a car that it will probably not strap you..and that you probably have enough to buy 6-figure cars. The exotic car market, imo, differs drastically from what we're used to with our point-a to point-b daily drivers. Someone who can afford a $15K daily driver probably can't afford a $17K daily driver. But someone who can afford a $70K sports car can probably afford a $140K sports car.

Dunno about that. There's a bit of banter going around on the Corvette board regarding the upcoming ZR1 and the possible mid-engine C7. Quite a few Z06 guys (70-80k) are saying they're not interested or can't afford a 100k+ ZR1. The base C6 guys can't make the jump from the current 45-55k coupe into the projected 65k speculation for a MR C7.

Obviously it doesn't apply to everyone, but it gives you a little perspective.

"Very few people want to spend exotic car prices on Japanese cars"

This is a big part of why the NSX never sold well. The other reason was the fact that they gave it only minor updates over the course of 15 years. It failed to stay competitive. Times have changed, but so has the competition. One of the big selling points of the NSX when it was new was "exotic car looks and performance with Honda reliability". The Germans and Italians are not building exotic junk any more. Hell, Lamborghini just started offering a 3 yr / 36k (I think) warranty. There's guys putting 10,000 miles per year on their Ferraris. You need to bring a lot to the table to compete in this market. I'm not sure Nissan is bringing enough to the table for this car to be a big success outside of Japan.

[Dark-Hawk]

[quote=""GTO Assassin""]The rear to me screams puffed up 34[/quote]
A puffed up R34 I could see, but I still don't think it really retains many of the body lines that we saw on the R34. The R34 was much sharper in comparison to the softer lines of the new GTR.

[GTO Assassin]

Back = puffy R34

Front + sides = 350Z

[Twin-Turbo]

I guess nobody learns from the past huh?

It's just an ugly 3/s with a turbo upgrade.

[Jeff V.]

I guess nobody learns from the past huh?

It's just an ugly 3/s with a turbo upgrade.

I dunno if I'd go THAT far, but it certainly is a funny comparison

[moffman93']

[quote=""Dark-Hawk""]Your predictions definitely seem spot on and consistent with the random information we've been given. I'm curious to see how this car will ultimately feel and look. I do wish they broke away from the look a little bit more and maybe styled it more so to look like an updated R34, but so be it.[/quote]

I couldn't agree more. I think this car will be awesome but im dissapointed that it even resembles a 350z/g35 Why must nissan make every car look the same.