It's the same car, pretty much at the same time of day. Both the David and I went out in the Nissan GT-R. We took turns at the wheel and got some work done in between.
As you may have read in the preceding blog, David is nearly hysterical after meeting the IT car, the 911-killer, whatever you want to call it (some even call it "god").
After the brief punt, I too, was moved to reach for the blog and voice my two cents. But being slow of emotion, my reaction wasn't quite as immediate. Actually, it was partly because I wasn't exactly grinning from ear to ear after stepping out of the car, or shaking my head in disbelief at its incredible ability (or my inability).
By now, we know that there are two camps when it comes to the GT-R. Some say it's a godsend to petrolheads, others, with upturned noses, say that it "hasn't got soul", whatever "soul" is.
At this point, I'm a bit of both. As a technological achievement, I think that the GT-R is pretty much at the level of a Bugatti Veyron. It's incredible. Not that I have driven the squillion dollar 1000bhp super/hyper car but I suspect that it'll feel a bit like the GT-R… in the sense that it's all a bit irrelevant and – whisper this – silly.
Driving in the law-abiding manner (as we all should) on the highway, the speedometer on the GT-R is pointing roughly at 8 o'clock position or where our regular cars will show about 40km/h. But it also feels like it's only going at 40km/h, so your eyes and fingers wander around the super-fun digital display, to find out how much Gs or boost or whatever the car is pulling.
On similar conditions in the tiny Nissan March, it'll be skipping along, it may even skittle a little when thrown around bends with even the tiniest hint of enthusiasm at the wheel. That car can paint a smile, if not skid marks.
In the short span with the GT-R though, I can't think of a place where the it can strut its stuff or tickle my senses, apart from the brief sprints punctuated with the hardcore gear changes. My head knows that it's incredibly capable of performing feats I can't even begin to picture.
Maybe when there's a bit more time, I'll warm up to this creature.