Shamu

Ford team has a long time Porsche racer on their suspension team. He was out testing the Mustang on Laguna Seca over a year ago and called it a M3 beater. However it doesnt suprise me that they beat the M3 as Laguna Seca is primarily a power course. Boss Mustang has hp advantage from first straight until they get to top of the hill into the corkscrew. As a guy who has chased high hp cars on that track it doesnt tell me much about a cars handling potential, but clearly Mustangs are getting much better. Also critical to look at what tires were on cars at time test occurred. Sometimes tires can make all the difference in the world.

I'd love to see more track comparos of the 370Z nismo verses Cayman S, base model Vette, Mustang Boss, Camaro SS, BMW 135i M, RX8, etc.

Randy Pobst put a new generation Cayman S around track over 3 seconds faster than a 370Z Nismo on Laguna Seca. I think that says a whole lot about how superior handling in Cayman is as the two cars have nearly identical power to weight ratios.

2009 Nissan Nismo 370Z Laps Laguna Seca - 2009 Motor Trend Best Driver's Car Competition Feature - Motor Trend Video

2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS Hot Lap At Laguna Seca - 2009 Best Driver's Car Feature - Motor Trend Video

2009 Porsche Cayman S Laps Laguna Seca - 2009 Best Driver's Car Video



I could have bought a used Cayman S but I liked the Nismo version of the 370 Z better. I think with a little setup work the Nismo can actually be faster than a stockish Cayman. Nissans tunning potential is much greater. Porsche is squeezing a lot of HP from those little 3.4 liter flat sixes and there isnt much you can do other than very expensive turbo kit to get more HP. Nismo on the other hand will reward intakes, free flowing cats, etc with some real HP gains.