Porsche Smells Rat, Claims Nissan Cheating On GT-R Nurburgring Lap Times

Andrew Stoy — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:20:00 EDT

The boys at Porsche, obviously stunned that the Nissan GT-R achieved a claimed Nurburgring lap time of 7:29 — faster than either their 911 Turbo or GT2 — decided to do a little testing of their own. Using a stock GT-R sourced from the States, Porsche's 'Ring expert was able to perform a best lap of just 7:54, easily beaten by both the 911 Turbo (7:38) and GT2 (7:34). The results were no surprise to Porsche, considering that its cars have more power yet weigh less than the GT-R, leading the engineers in Stuttgart to claim Nissan was running its tests using race tires.

In polite German fashion, the Porsche folks state they aren't trying to start a battle, just satisfy their own concerns. "The Nissan is a good car. I don't want to make anything bad with my words," August Achleitner, the 911 product chief for Porsche, told a CarsGuide reporter. At the time of this writing, Nissan hasn't responded to Porsche's claims of foul play, but we're interested to see if a mea culpa is forthcoming or if Nissan will provide irrefutable proof of Godzilla's triumph. Stay tuned. [CarsGuide; thanks Jack!]

The Fastest Laps Of The Nurburgring: How The ZR1 Stacks Up

Mark Arnold — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:30:00 EDT

Now that the 2009 Corvette ZR1 has set a lap time of 7:26.4, we've been trying to wrap our heads around just how fast that really is. Sure, it's faster than the GT-R, but we're wondering if there's anything that can make the ZR1 look slow. With the caveat that lap times vary depending on track conditions and driver skill, let's take a look at some of the fastest lap times around the the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and see what's what.

7:29.03 - Nissan R35 GT-R
The calling card of the new Nissan GT-R is technology witchcraft. On paper, you wouldn't expect much from a 3800lb car with a V6. But on the track, the grip of the trick AWD system channeling 480 HP from the twin-turbocharged engine is pure magic.

7:26.40 - Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
The instant legend. Keep in mind, there was reportedly a strong headwind on the main straight, which could have actually slowed things down a bit. Could the ZR1 possibly set an even faster time in the future?

6:55 - Radical SR8
With only about 360 HP, the Radical is not about raw power. Its strengths instead are a race-style chassis, complete with real downforce-generating spoilers. Or course, since the car only weighs about 1430 lbs, the Radical has an incredible power-to-weight ratio. A slightly less powerful 320 HP Radical SR3 Turbo has even run a 7:19 lap. Though we doubt you'll find one being valet-parked at the country club, the Radical is technically streetable. As such, it is the fastest road-going car around the Nordschleife.

6:11.13 - Porsche 956
If the ZR1 is fast, then this is warp speed. it's the fastest official lap time ever recorded on this configuration of the track. What makes it even more amazing is that this was 25 years ago, back in 1983.

[lap times]

Jalopnik: nurburgring lap times

Porsche Smells Rat, Claims Nissan Cheating On GT-R Nurburgring Lap Times

The Fastest Laps Of The Nurburgring: How The ZR1 Stacks Up