Best Driver's Cars (Motor Trend Mag)
 

Has anyone read the article in the October edition of Motor Trend Magazine in which 10 cars (Camaro SS, 135i, Jag XFR, 370z Nismo, ZR1, Mustang GT500KR, CTS Spec V, Miata, Audi R8 and Cayman S PDK) were evaluated both quantatively and subjectively for the title of best driver's car? The results were quite surprising...cars listed in order of finish (last to first). Any thoughts on these results?

Steve

The article was posted. I was disapointed on how they rated the cars. Didn't seem they actually cared how they performed....

Although controversial, I would have to agree with most of their rankings. I do find that comparing the Z's engine to that of a tractor to be a bit of a far reach, but considering the other cars that they were driving in the test, one can see how they can knock the Z for it. I am not going to lie, this is the first issues of MotorTrend that I have picked up in a while, I mainly read Car And Driver!

What I thought was odd was that Pobst seemed to love the Z in every other way aside from the sound of the engine. That was the only REAL factor keeping the Z down. I also noted that the Cayman S (still a sweet car!) weighed in about 30 pounds below 3200. Also, the distribution of weight is exactly opposite what the Z's is; I know, weigh on the rear is better than front, but it is still in interesting point to what Porsche has been saying - 50/50.

Thus, for those who happen to like the Z's engine sound or simply do not care, you could have a car that is a bit closer to the new Cayman S than this article lead you to believe. All you have to do is:

1. Reduce weight roughly 80-100 pounds (this would make a Base + Sport pack 370z about 15-30 pounds heavier than the Cayman S - REMEMBER: the Nismo is heavier than the Base+Sport)
2. Increase HP by just a tad to offset the added weight of the Z and the great PDK transmission.
3. Tweak the suspension.

I would imagine that a 370z with those tweaks may match if not best the older Cayman S's. In my mind, I could do all that with an extra 10-12k into the Z and still be 30k below the cost of a Cayman S.

Now, I was VERY shocked and please that the GT500 did so well over the Camaro SS and the field!

I would think you could do those 3 tweaks for well under $10K - $12K!

Taking a look at the multitude of data points that were recorded, the 370z is quite close to the Cayman S, and I think this is no coincidence since the developers of the car benchmarked the Z against the Porsche (albeit the previous generation vehicle). I'm not surprised the CS is slightly quicker in acceleration testing given the advantage of the PDK transmission in ripping off quick shifts. As for the 3.5 sec time difference around the track, despite the similarity in Vmax recorded for the two cars, I wonder if the time differential was due to the fact that the Z was more prone to drifting through corners (something that was alluded to in the article), which while great fun, is going to cost some time. All in all, I still think this was a great showing against some tough (and high HP competition).

My thought exactly as to the lap difference. I do believe the Nismo is set up more so for drift than true tracking. A suspension set up for pure tracking will put the Z closer to the Cayman S. I am glad someone else observed that! :tup:

Well... I agree, but I am talking a titanium exhaust (like Amuse). That will inflate the cost some.......

I am talking:
Wheels
Tires
Coilovers
CAI
Titanium Exhaust including Y Pipe (amuse)
Dyno Tune
Bride Seats
Lighter Rotors...
etc...