Motortrend: War of the Worlds: ZR1 vs GT2 vs 599 vs GT-R

[GMusa]

War of the Worlds: ZR1 vs GT2 vs 599 vs GT-R



Chevy's new ZR1 takes on the best from Germany, Italy, and Japan in a full-scale battle of ground-bound ICBMs -- we've got all the fallout

Full review at Link:http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...gtr/index.html

The Dust Clears

So? Who wins the War of the Worlds? For sure, each car in this field qualifies as a superstar. The Nissan GT-R delivers 21st Century electro-wonder and shattering performance at a base price ($77,840) that borders on the unbelievable. The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano offers succulent styling, shameless hedonism, peerless refinement, and speed and handling matched only by a handful of cars on the planet. The Porsche GT2, which Theys dubbed "the raciest in the bunch," churns out effortless speed (the variable-vane twin-turbo engine feels naturally aspirated, so smooth is its power delivery) and seems utterly bulletproof. You know you could hammer on it all day long and it would never complain. The ZR1 has a few glaring flaws -- including a fade-into-the-traffic-flow exterior and a cockpit lacking almost any signs of flying first-class -- yet by nearly every objective measure (and most subjective ones, too) this new Chevy expands the performance envelope for premium supercars. And at a fraction of the price of the European thoroughbreds. In the supercar realm, the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 rules.


First Place: Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Class-shattering power, race-car handling grip, monster brakes, and sweet control inputs leave even the bluebloods in this Chevy's wake.



Second Place: Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
Costs huge, but delivers huge, too. Still one of the planet's finest sports cars. And when it comes to sex appeal, forget it: The Ferrari is the only one you'd choose for a date with Gisele Bundchen.


Third Place: Porsche GT2
The Rolex of sports cars: brilliantly engineered and bulletproof. Unreal speed, hellacious grip, and superb controls -- everyday drives become laps at Le Mans.


Fourth Place: Nissan GT-R
That a machine this incredible finishes fourth shows you how spectacular the other three really are. At the price, nothing comes close. And if you think Nissan is resting on its 480-horsepower laurels, stay tuned for Act II: GT-R V-Spec.

[GMusa]

I wish they would have added the Viper ACR.

[mbukukanyau]

Barely 2 year ago. The Z-06 stood atop this hill... Like Mufasa. Nothing could come close.

[LAChevy24]

thats awesome. i am actually surprised that the GT-R was last tho

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by LAChevy24

thats awesome. i am actually surprised that the GT-R was last tho

I'm not, as impressive as it is it's still a pretender in this group. It's the last gen CTS-V of sports cars. Sure it's fast, but there's too many negatives stacked against it to make it true competitor.

[Firebird00]

Thats exactly the order of preference I'd make if I chose my favorites. The ZR1 is king, the only other one I'd ever want is the Ferrari. The Porsche is just the same ol same ol rehashed body and the GTR is ass ugly. ZR1 and Ferrari owns these two.

[Stovebolt]

Originally Posted by Firebird00

Thats exactly the order of preference I'd make if I chose my favorites. The ZR1 is king, the only other one I'd ever want is the Ferrari. The Porsche is just the same ol same ol rehashed body and the GTR is ass ugly. ZR1 and Ferrari owns these two.

ditto

[91 s-10baja]

thanks for spoiling it for me. U know I become gitty when I see these rags in the mailbox. Dang man.

[minnfang]

The ZR1 rocks, but come on; even the way less expensive CTS-V has a Recaro seat option that has gotten great reviews.

[impala02]

Interesting comments from former Indy Car driver Didier Theys who, did all the testing:

"With the other cars you can control understeer with the throttle. But in the GT-R, more throttle means more understeer. When you reach the limit, though, it suddenly goes into snap oversteer. Engine response is very nice. Linear torque. Steering and braking feel are quite good. But mostly it understeers like a pig."

"And while Theys had mostly good things to say about the handling of the top three, in general he was critical of the Nissan. "Lack of power is a reasonable excuse," he said, "but lack of handling is not.""

I'm surprised by the comments on the GTR's handling, as alot of people were chirping about how the AWD and the superior electronics in the GTR allow it to defy the laws of physics.

Great win for the ZR1. I just wish GM came up with something different for the interior.

[E. Haskell]

And Nissan wonders why people are suspicious of the GTR running faster than the GT2 on the 'Ring...

[plane]

Two Thousand words of shocked disbelief:





Congratulations Chevrolet. Well done.

[mbukukanyau]

On interior comments, all Chevy needs is Recaro seats option.

[eurohazard]

Awesome, and not too surprising of a win for the ZR1.

Did anyone notice the GT-R lost a tire during the top speed test? I wonder if the bad tire (before it self destructed) was the cause of some of the handling problems described? But then again....it sounds like Nissan to purposely dial in a good bit of understeer. Now the biggest ballers have to order their V-Spec!

[mbukukanyau]

How much power can Nissan pump out for the V spec, and how much weight can they dump from the car ? I get the feeling, V spec will just have launch advantage over ZR-1. Still, they have to beat a staggering 3.3 secs. Meaning powering out of corners may be their only AWD induced advantage. A sort of stalemate we have right now with the z-06 and GT-R, you take off in your Nissan and by quarter mile and you are in the dust. You launch too many times against the z-06, and you are warranty - less. Lauch without launch control nanny, you are toast.