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- Down under
Its not everyday one gets to sample one finely tuned performance car. Indulging in the experiences a motoring scribe has, is a chalice few get to sip from, and today is just such an example. As I accompany our primary photographer and wind our way down the backroutes towards Deep Forest International Raceway nestled in the forests near Düsseldorf, a sense of anxious anticipation begins to bubble in the pit of my stomach.
It seemed like a good idea when, three weeks ago our chief editor told me to make arrangements to spend a few days in Germany to drive some rare and highly tuned cars. The line-up hadnt been finalized, but the imagination started to conjure up images of wild Rufs and hairy-chested saloons. A few days later when the spec arrived, one could imagine what a child feels like when he finds out Father Christmas is having a sleep over on Christmas Eve. Somehow, someone had organized seven of the best in a wild 500HP shootout. Even more incredulously, I had been given the job of wringing the most out of these six figure rides. The line up is the stuff dreams are made of. One would think special limited edition works sports cars would be enough. But these examples have had copious amounts of lolly spent on performance upgrades that would make a SLR cower in the corner.
So, we have established we have some rare and powerful rides here. But considering for a moment that all these examples run NOS too; power outputs enter Babylonic proportions.
All of a sudden accepting this assignment seems like a recipe for disaster. All of these cars are entirely capable of making lasting dents in the surrounding scenery. Thanks heavens the shoot organizer specified medium compound slicks were to be the order of the day. I can imagine fighting midcorner oversteer on normal road tyres I guess people may ask, Damn you! Whats the point of a 500HP Rx-7!, but it is the old story; different strokes for different folks. For those who feel a stock item isnt quite enough for them, the likes of HKS and Blitz await with open arms to soothe the tiniest of needs. It may not be for purists, but judging by the nervous E55 driver we encountered whilst convoying to a shoot location, as long as the bite is as bad as the bark, you wont find many who complain.
We arrive at the track and parked the rental Vectra in a suitably obscure place. No need to lose points with chaps giving us the keys to these beasts, before we have even laid eyes on them
Rounding the pit pavilion we meet our second photographer Torsten who takes us to the center of attraction. There they are, lined-up as we have rudely intruded upon some private, yet prestigious car show. My attention is first draw to the chili red T.M.E Evo VI. Its owner has sourced rally specification wheels from somewhere. It looks like it means business. Then there is the Prodrive STi. I have never been a fan of the bug-eye, but with its low profile tyres and dropped suspension, it looks like a street thug looking to cause a fight with an innocent passerby. The delicious looking Supra is next. Pearl Black with tasteful magnesium black spiderweb style wheels. It is in contrast to the alarmingly white Rx-7. It still looks amazing despite the shape being over a decade old. Then the odd one out. A M3 GTR? In this company? Seems almost sacrilegious. But its huge front splitter and odd rear wing give it away. It is in contrast to its owner, Arnt, whom I would imagine looks like a champ in a suit. And then to the Skyline. I guess in many ways, the lineup wouldnt be complete without one. We found a simple looking GT-R to include. We had the option to get a Nurburgring version, but as the performance is unchanged, we settled for the less complicated plans necessary to secure this version.
At the last minute a representative from Honda Germany contacted us and asked if we would like to include a NSX Type-R in our line-up. He even volunteered to drive it up from Freiberg, today. After much consideration (I think I had time to run my fingers through my hair), we accepted in the most indifferent manner possible.
The plan over the next few days was to take each car for a nail-curling run around the undulating Speedway to find who the better package was. The track offers a neat challenge. It has a bullet fast pit straight that begins with a difficult high speed entry and falls away into a tricky first corner, and a back-straight which will suit the cars with mountainous torque, but, it has a tricky double apex corner entry corner to test chassis rigidity and driver courage to the max. Various midcorner bumps pervade the track and will trip up anything but the most sorted suspension geometry. I suspect the final corner; a should-I-or-shouldnt-I flat out corner leading onto the main straight, would hold the key to the winner. There is no runoff to speak of on the outside. Torsten named the corner Jockey. Aptly perhaps. You need bowling-ball sized ones to take it flat out.
First up. The Mitsubishi Evo VII T.M.E.
Power: 505HP @ 6500rpm
Torque: 595.7 N.M.@ 2750rpm
Layout: Front Engine/4wd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1196kgs
P/w ratio: 2.368
I like the look of this car. If someone told me it was a smuggled rally car from the RalliArt works factory, with carefully peeled off decals and a spit and polish for road use I would be hard pressed not to believe it. Its sounds raw too, the free-flow liberating a high pitched scream from the straight four. And it can cash cheques its overt exterior writes. That became clear as the session wore on.
Being the first car out on track, I took it for a few exploratory laps without NOS at first, just to get a feel for the steering feedback and more importantly, the track. Braking ability in this car is impeccable. Without fear of depositing it in the hedge, one can drop anchors seemingly at the apex of the corner and speed will disappear faster then Wayne Rooney taking a dive in the Arsenal penalty area. Owner Lars told me he had fiddled with LSD a few days ago, and it was evident. Midcorner turn in was great, however jumping on the gas too early resulted in a the beginning of progressive understeer. I suppose physics are physics at the end of the day.
After about 4 laps I brought it back in to give the tyres a chance to cool down .and to get the NOS switched on. Back out and wishing I was back at home on my comfortable couch watching lawn bowls instead. This car just felt fast. Absurdly fast. Having its calamitous amount of torque ready and willing at 2750rpm, corner exit drive is thunderous. Lars best described its low band acceleration as being kicked in the back by a Yak. Not far off. It is powerful stuff. Even with TSC switched out, wheel spin is nonexistent such is the amazing traction of the 4wd system. I swear I could hear the triple plated clutch crying in protest at pulloffs though.
Going through Jockey needed much belief. To get the best you of this cars handling you really need to take it by the scruff of the neck and pitch it into a corner. Sounds great in the slower speed stuff. Doing it at 200kph is another proposition. In the end my fastest entry speed was 192.4kph. Rather keep it on the black stuff then be a hero. After exit, its just a case of lighting the afterburners and climbing uphill to cross the start/finish at 259.8kph.
Second up. Subaru WRX STi Prodrive Edition 01.
Power: 495HP @ 6400rpm
Torque: 575.85 N.M.@ 4000rpm
Layout: Front Engine/4wd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1215kgs
P/w ratio: 2.454
I began with low expectations from this car. Being one of the least powerful of the lot (although hardly, actually) I was expecting it to be lackluster on the straight bits. Not quite.
Apart from the fact that the flat four appears to have lost its voice from the free-flow (The owner Josep assures me he is working on the solution), it comes across as an urgent package. Like an elastic band stretched near its snapping point. With TCS off the wheels stutter for traction as one blasts off in the first few cogs. Despite the hollow engine note, the tacho simply races around from 4000rpm to the red line. However a few laps revealed the Scoobys possible achilles heel. Understeer. Booting it out of a slow corner and the nose wanders off wide as it tempted by an invisible pied piper. The car was fitted with a LSD, and I shudder to think about the understeer without that device. To get the most out of this car, one really needs to pay attention to the lines taken through corners. It is not a car where an adjustment in corner approach is possible at the last second. There is only one line through a corner in this car, and even then it require delicate throttle control and copious amounts of faith in the mechanical grip of the Dunlops.
Braking is sharp if not exceptional, but no fade was recorded from the pizza sized sports discs. Without NOS it is a perfectly pliable sports car, with predictable handling and blistering pace.
Plugging in the happy gas reveals a hair-raising side to this four-seater sedan. Hit the red button and the chassis struggles to cope with the ferocious increase in power. It takes gentle hands but a firm grip to keep things from wandering off the racing line and into the Armco, even on the relative calm of a straight. But being honest, it just feels faster then the Evo. It doesnt feel as dramatic ultimately, as the Evo, perhaps due to the tame engine note, but it is terrifyingly fast through the gears as the comparatives at the bottom of this article reveal. In an instant the already edgy Scooby is a wild proposition, straining to keep the meeting of excess power and tarmac into an organized proposition. At every corner the driver is fighting an ongoing battle with a demonic steering wheel. Going through Jockey was a spiritual experience. I got it wide on exit (at 191kph) on one occasion and somehow managed to keep the squirming beast from moving from rumble strip to concrete wall. Not to say that I got it back on track. Conscious of the ticking clock, I simple hit the button with the big N and held my breath. It powered up the first undulation, left side of car on track, right side on grass. I was stupefied at the seemingly unaffected acceleration. I dared not try get it back on track lest the right rear lose traction and toss me into the pit wall on the other side of the track. 210 220 230 240 250 bang, stop the clock. The electronics recorded a speed of 254kph at the line. And that with two wheels on the grass from the last corner. Appalling. Amazing. Wheres a stiff drink.
It is a hair-raising ride. Less controllable then the Evo. You need big ones to get the most out of it.
Third up. BMW M3 CSL GTR
Power: 507HP @ 7000rpm
Torque: 511.85 N.M.@ 4500rpm
Layout: Front Engine/Rwd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1188kgs
P/w ratio: 2.343
It felt a bit odd climbing into the relative luxury of the Beemer after two hissing, popping rollercoaster rides. I was a bit edgy as to whether the rwd layout would would be able to cope with the unforgiving nature of the tracks surface. Arnt assured me that I would be pleasantly surprised. I swallowed hard as I shut the door, trying to figure out if my mortgaging my house would cover the cost of denting this fine machine. As soon as I was out on track, all fears were allayed immediately. It was like the soothing hands of doctors after having fallen off your bike as a kid.
Whereas before in the Evo and STi one is on the edge of concentration limits trying to anticipate the next violent saw at the wheel, the Beemer is as silky as a deep Scottish accent. It is almost effortless to guide it into a corner, hit the apex and then hit the throttle without fear of embarrassing oneself with a lazy slide into the barrier. The six-cylinder wail makes you feel as if you are the wheel a pedigreed racer. With NOS hooked up the engine note doesnt change much. If it wasnt for the blurred scenery on the other side of the side windows, one would really realize the extra punch is coursing though the cars veins.
Its sounds too good to be true and is. The brakes arent quite up to the job and disappointingly, the top-end feels out of breath. The virtuoso chassis allows so much exit speed onto the mainstraights (183.2kph at Jockey and 252.6kph at the line), but add in the low end grunt and it is enough to make one howl with frustration when one arrives at the impending corner only to discover the fully depressed brake pedal is not translating into proportional stopping ability. I lost count the number of times I ran wide at the first corner of a hot lap simply because I was expecting beefy stopping ability. It seriously hampers the cars ultimate performance and was a huge disappointment. At least it looks like a car worthy having 500hp. The lack of top-end also marred its topspeed run later in the week. Who would have thought a CSL as a point and shoot machine rather then an all-round performance car.
Looking past all of the gripes, it is a car that inspires supreme confidence. An example was on the ultimate hot lap. Deep Forest is all about being smooth. One set of corners leads directly into another. Scrub off speed somewhere correcting understeer or a slide and it will hamper your entire sector. The Pitt Willy-Nilly - Redwood complex is as forgiving as a boarding school head mistress. The problem is rooted in Salernos exit into T2. Salerno itself is a ever-tightening right-hander whose sole point in life is to attempt to spit you out onto the rumble strip on the left hand side of the tunnel. Pitt, co-incidentally, is left-hander, directly after the tunnel. To ensure you have an ideal racing line for Pitt you have to make provisions in Salerno by either waiting an eternity on the throttle, or take a wide line to begin with. The latter option means taking less speed through Palermo Its complicated. My head hurts.
Anyway, back to Pitt. Its isnt just a left-hander. I can liken it to when one have stepped off a doorstep, not knowing it was there. All of a sudden the ground vanishes and you come crashing down to earth with an uncomfortable bump. The more you nibble the apex of Pitt, the more it falls away. Then almost immediately after all that is the Willy-Nilly sweep. You crest the right-hander and are faced with a sharp left-hander that just falls away as if you are in the midst of a tremendous earthquake. The result is amplified as that left-hander becomes the 120-degree Redwood Salisbury complex that determines your speed on the back straight.
The results in Willy-Nilly varied from egregious understeer from the Scooby as the ground vanished in the lefty, to a four wheel drift on exit by the CSL in question to absolute calamity in the Supra. This complicated story is the point of my argument about the CSL. It wasnt perfect through these corners. But you never felt as if you werent ever in control. You never feared you were going to end up in the dolomite rock face on your right. There is something to be said for re-assurance.
Fourth up. Toyota Supra RZ 98
Power: 502HP @ 5600rpm
Torque: 732.06 N.M.@ 3600rpm
Layout: Front Engine/Rwd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1188kgs
P/w ratio: 2.366
I wasnt too sure what to expect from this car. It is near the heavy end of the competitors in terms of mass although it compensates with stump pulling torque considerably higher that any other cars here. Together with the Maz, it is almost lost in anonymity due to the lack of cooling ducts and strakes on the hood. It sounds good though. A deep-throated rumble greets your turning of the key and it doesnt let up as the revs soar.
Again being a rwd car, the bumpy surface was going to be a test of suspension set-up. A few exploratory laps proved initially encouraging, and with that I hit the gas. Oddly, the dimensions of the car add the illusion of solidity to its manners on the track. In a flat approach to virtually any corner, the rear end is glued to the tarmac, instilling great confidence to the occupant in the hot seat. Its only when undulations and bumps on entry occur that the tyres begin chirruping and the rear loses its aura of stickiness. Over crests of hills and over curbs, there is a marked decrease in the ability of the suspension to cope with putting power down on track. All too often, the rev counter would hang in suspended animation as the rear skipped and rattled over imperfections in the track surface. It became a serious issue in the Salerno to Redwood complex. Despite the presence of a fitted and refined LSD, understeer through Redwood was awful. The result was poor speed through Salisbury and the back straight. Jockey was another obstacle.
I spent the most time on track in the Supra. Simply because I either ended up wandering onto the grass due to understeer at various points on the track, or because I spun it exiting corners due to the rear tyres being unable to cope with bumps and NOS simultaneously. It was a hugely frustrating car to drive. Admittedly, adding a pump of NOS on corner exit is asking a lot of a car, but in this company, excuses arent acceptable.
The Supra also feels a bit flabby in this company. It is a bit unfair in some ways. The Toyo is running a low-pressure turbo whilst the others are running big bore, big pressure version. Its not the Toyos fault it can attain cosmic power figures with other turbos. The current 500HP setup handcuffs it to a chair whilst the others play outside. It is fast, make no mistake about that. Its just not starship fast.
Maybe another character comes out when it has a higher-pressure turbo and doesnt have to cope with the light switch power delivery of NOS. I hope so. It is such a good car to look at.
Fifth up. Mazda Rx-7 Type R Bathurst R
Power: 502HP @ 6500rpm
Torque: 539.2 N.M.@ 5000rpm
Layout: Front Engine/Rwd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1071kgs
P/w ratio: 2.134
Stepping from the Supra into this car is akin to learning to ski on a learner slope in the morning and then hitting the ski jump after lunch. Out of left field this car scorched the time sheets on its first gassed run.
It is the lightest of the lot and I was hesitant as to whether this would be a hindrance on the choppy parts of the track. In corners one can feel the front dancing over imperfections. Sometimes you have to backoff to cure the resultant understeer, other times you have to work the biceps to wring out the oversteer. It is an electric ride.
I didnt really bother with loosener laps as the confidence the chassis delivers is virtually immediate. With maximum torque and power so close to each other in the power band, the top end is astounding. Acceleration suffers a bit in low speed corners as it takes time for the rotary to wind up, but once it does be sure to hold onto something tight. And example of this was illustrated in my entry speed into Jockey of 184.4kph, and my incredible Line speed of a stormy 271.5kph. It was a similar story on the back straight. Brakes are adequate if not awe inspiring. Braking on uneven track surfaces can lead to white knuckles and four letter words though. It demands respect.
It is vaguely similar to the Scooby. The Scooby struggles with corner speed due to its unforgiving 4WD layout, the Maz due to its paltry torque at low revs. But once on the straight and narrow, both cars simple steam towards the horizon with apparently endless go. It hasnt got any other similarities with the Scooby from there on. It has the stock standard Bathurst R wing, and a set of Type-R wheels but that is where the make-up ends. For all intents and purposes, it may as well be any variation of Rx-7. I guess that is where the charm lies for the owner.
After more and more laps it became evident that the package was struggling for traction. I suspect that the problem lies principally at the lack of mass over the rear wheels. As for all cars, TSC was switched off and the Rx-7 didnt like it at all. There was wheels spin in 3rd with NOS engaged and it made exiting Jockey and Refinery tricky propositions.
Despite losing time to wheelspin and fishtailing, it was faster then a rat up a womans leg.
Sixth up. Nissan Skyline GT-R
Power: 500HP @ 6800rpm
Torque: 637.5 N.M.@ 4400rpm
Layout: Front Engine/4wd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1278kgs
P/w ratio: 2.556
Five down, two to go. And before you start with the strongly worded letters about why no V-Spec or Nurburgring or V-Spec Nurburgring edition was included when we have T.M.E and CSL GTRs floating in our midst, the reason is simple. For the purposes of this test all the Skylines of circa 99 have virtually identical performance. So in the effort of simplifying the organizing of a Nissan entrant we opted for this example. Nuff said.
The Skyline is right up there with the Supra in terms of mass, in fact, exceeding it handsomely. But again, with steepling torque curves it was a question of whether the extra saddlebags would become an issue. A free-flow was fitted to this example, but somehow it didnt lessen or heighten the existing bark of the in-line 6 over the front wheels. As with the Rx-7, no barn door sized wings have been added (thankfully), just some deep dish once offs from PD wheels.
On track the Skylines pedigree is immediately apparent. Turn into a corner and the front digs in as deep as the rear with minimal understeer in the exit. One does somehow feel a bit disconnected from the whole experience. The car just seems to float along without communicating the bumps and jolts to the steering wheel. This is pleasant in tight corners and straights, but disconcerting in fast sweeps and bumpy braking zones.
In terms of puff, the Skyline is marginally hampered by its mass. It has a good kick in the pants, but not on equal terms as the Scooby or Maz. Good torque from low down means low speed corner exits are dispatched with indifference, but midrange in high gears feels a bit reminiscent of the Beemer. Its a great package overall, whether it can go toe to toe with lighter, rawer models is a different matter. The hot lap was pretty ordinary. No wild moments which is good and bad.
The Salerno-Redwood complex hardly caused an elevated heartbeat. Somehow there was a belief that the car would make it through unscathed. For some reason confidence all but evaporated approaching Jockey. Would it skip off the inside curb? Would it oversteer on exit? At the last moment I backed off and made it though at 186kph with a Line speed of 259.4kph. Not bad at all. Not much excitement either. A victim of its own sure-footedness?
Lastly : Honda NSX Type-R
Power: 484HP @ 7300rpm
Torque: 496.96 N.M.@ 5500rpm
Layout: Mid Engine/Rwd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1079kgs
P/w ration: 2.230
The car arrived during the Supras crazy exploits. I was expecting a sparkling Grand Prix White example that is usually flashed across glossy magazine covers, but was instead greeted with a Silver version, not dissimilar to the Beemer. Admittedly it didnt look half bad at all. The carbonfibre roof and black inlays looked a bit forced at first, but steadily grew on me as the session progressed.
I felt a bit cheated when I read the spec sheet. 484HP and not the lightest of the group. What kind of a fair fight is that? 10hp may not sound like much, but the competition is stiff. I was happy to see only a few hundred miles on the clock, as opposed to the many thousands on the other participants. Maybe engine freshness counts for something, although I didnt really believe that at all.
I was happy to see the rev counter stretch all the way to 10,000rpm. I have always had a soft spot for the Honda screamers in their sports line-up. I took an out lap and motored around not really concentrating. What the hell. A hot lap first one out then. Getting around to Jockey I did as I had for all the other cars and hit the gas to give good start line speed. A very different sound from the V6 nestled right behind me no turbo hissing of course. Braking was solid into Refinery, but turn in was extraordinary. It just stayed glued to the apex. Turn-in whilst not on the hot pedal or brake pedal was magical. Pasted the hill up to Rizo 1 and took bags of speed through there, and into Rizo 2 and Rizo 3. All the while soaking up the bumps and mechanically glued to the apex of each sweep.
Braked a touch late for Palermo, but feathered it and let the masterful turn-in rescue me. Blasted over the Sector 1 beams before T1 to the whooshing of the nitrous to a fastest first sector of all. Even eclipsing the Mazda! Round Salerno without a hint of understeer, and slung through to the middle of T2, nibbled a corner off Pitt without paying the penalty on the outside, took the curb of Will-Nillys entry and man-handled it over to the inside of the lefty. The drop in elevation got a hint of sideways scrubbing, but all it achieved was setting me up in a better fashion for the trip around Redwood. Full throttle through the middle of Redwood, lined up Salisbury, lifted off to get the turn in where I wanted it and floored it through the apex and onto the back straight. My perceptions put me years ahead of the rest on the stopwatch.
Through Clifton, and across the Sector 2 beams way ahead of the rest. Uh, now what. How was it going to react under braking in the tortuously uneven Tunnel 4 exit? No problems. Probably took off too much speed out of caution, but kept to the inside and soared forwards through Nose and towards Jockey. Another unknown. Take more inside curb, or more outside? Not a good place to be at that speed at that time. Put my faith in the coast turn-in and a hint of brakes translated into an exit speed of 196.1kph. Almost paid the price. Got it high in the outside rumble strip. So much so that I just couldnt manage to get it back on the tarmac immediately. Thoughts of ruining a perfectly good lap ran through my mind. But I kept it glued to the floor. The NSX leapt over the grass at the conclusion of the rumble strip and found comfort in the outside strip of the tarmac. Finessed it onto the hard stuff and drilled it to the Start/Finish. 253.9kph.
I glanced down at the Tag Heuer racing clock taped to the dashboard and found it hadnt tripped. Oh nuts. Dont tell me the lap didnt get timed at the death .. I coasted back to the pits, for the first time admiring the lush scenery around the tunnels and the canopy of light splashing down through the over-arching branches, but anxious to find out if the pitcrew had timed me.
Seven mad cars in two days around a track with minimal run-off area. And high speed runs on an abandoned airfield still to come. A sense of sadness entered me. It was almost at an end.
As time and money was running out, we drove in convoy to an old military airfield about 35km southeast of the track. We had a 2.9km long main runway to play with in order to discover who out of the lot was absolutely the fastest in a straight line. Top speed was a bit academic, but interesting anyway. Below are the results of the afternoons work. I wasnt lying about the Subaru. To say it is fast is an understatement. But it just goes to show that power isnt everything. The NSX proved that. Of which, it recorded the third fastest time to 100kph. It would have been faster, but the gear ratios where such that it had to hook 3rd at 97kph.
Of them all, the Rx-7 and NSX had the meatiest top end, dispatching 200kph to 300kph in 7.96 and 8.55 seconds respectively. Then came the Evo at 9.88, the Supra at 9.99, the Subaru at 10.03, the BMW at 10.64 and the Skyline at a pudgy 11.05 seconds.
I suppose the next question is; if I had ploughed over £200,000 into each car, which of these cars would I be most satisfied with?
I concluded that the first to be eliminated would be the unfortunate Supra. It is seriously quick and can handle well given the right conditions, but somehow it just lets you down at critical moments. Maybe it needs its gas cylinder replaced with a bigger induction system. Such a pity though: it looks great.
Second to get the chop is the Skyline. It was simply too anonymous during the entire test. It was almost, average. And after all the time and effort that went into it (including the stylish mags good find Ken), it needs to deliver more to really set the cat amongst the pigeons. It also needs to shed a few pounds
Now things get harder. Next to go; the innocuous Rx-7. Its one of the quickest machines here and has razor sharp handling, but it fails to invoke passion of any measurable magnitude. Its hardly the fault of the owner and mechanics. I guess age has its potential downfalls.
The CSL GTR is the next to fall. Accurate and precise, it is seriously fast for all intents and purposes. Yet it cant keep up with those ahead of it, despite its fancy monikers and big chin spoilers. A good, but not a great effort.
The Evo is the next to fall. Its the terranian equivalent to skydiving. It looks good and goes great and will entice the senses everytime you take it out of its garage. But that is where it falls down. Sometimes one wants effortless pace. This car is just too maniacal to drive. It demands concentration and lightning reflexes to get the most out of it. Its almost like your best friends toddler. After some time together, you just want to give him back.
That leaves but two. The rocket sled Subaru and the baby faced assassin, the NSX. The Subaru is vicious. Power delivery is brutal and not for the meek. In the right hands it is devastating, in the wrong hands it is a disaster waiting to happen. The NSX is almost effortless. Grip levels are quite frankly, unfair to the opposition. It inspires confidence that no other car here could muster. It takes what it has and makes the most of it.
Its a tough call. But when I climb into the chosen car, I dont want to have to worry about being caught offsides by an unseen imperfection in the road. The time sheets show it. The NSX is faster on average, and faster with ease. The sledgehammer performance of the Subaru is intoxicating. But for now, Ill prefer to stay sober.
Mitsubishi Evo VI T.M.E. 01
Subaru WRX STi Prodrive Edition 01.
BMW M3 CSL GTR
Mazda Rx-7 Type R Bathurst R
Toyota Supra RZ 98
Nissan Skyline GT-R
Honda NSX Type-R
It seemed like a good idea when, three weeks ago our chief editor told me to make arrangements to spend a few days in Germany to drive some rare and highly tuned cars. The line-up hadnt been finalized, but the imagination started to conjure up images of wild Rufs and hairy-chested saloons. A few days later when the spec arrived, one could imagine what a child feels like when he finds out Father Christmas is having a sleep over on Christmas Eve. Somehow, someone had organized seven of the best in a wild 500HP shootout. Even more incredulously, I had been given the job of wringing the most out of these six figure rides. The line up is the stuff dreams are made of. One would think special limited edition works sports cars would be enough. But these examples have had copious amounts of lolly spent on performance upgrades that would make a SLR cower in the corner.
So, we have established we have some rare and powerful rides here. But considering for a moment that all these examples run NOS too; power outputs enter Babylonic proportions.
All of a sudden accepting this assignment seems like a recipe for disaster. All of these cars are entirely capable of making lasting dents in the surrounding scenery. Thanks heavens the shoot organizer specified medium compound slicks were to be the order of the day. I can imagine fighting midcorner oversteer on normal road tyres I guess people may ask, Damn you! Whats the point of a 500HP Rx-7!, but it is the old story; different strokes for different folks. For those who feel a stock item isnt quite enough for them, the likes of HKS and Blitz await with open arms to soothe the tiniest of needs. It may not be for purists, but judging by the nervous E55 driver we encountered whilst convoying to a shoot location, as long as the bite is as bad as the bark, you wont find many who complain.
We arrive at the track and parked the rental Vectra in a suitably obscure place. No need to lose points with chaps giving us the keys to these beasts, before we have even laid eyes on them
Rounding the pit pavilion we meet our second photographer Torsten who takes us to the center of attraction. There they are, lined-up as we have rudely intruded upon some private, yet prestigious car show. My attention is first draw to the chili red T.M.E Evo VI. Its owner has sourced rally specification wheels from somewhere. It looks like it means business. Then there is the Prodrive STi. I have never been a fan of the bug-eye, but with its low profile tyres and dropped suspension, it looks like a street thug looking to cause a fight with an innocent passerby. The delicious looking Supra is next. Pearl Black with tasteful magnesium black spiderweb style wheels. It is in contrast to the alarmingly white Rx-7. It still looks amazing despite the shape being over a decade old. Then the odd one out. A M3 GTR? In this company? Seems almost sacrilegious. But its huge front splitter and odd rear wing give it away. It is in contrast to its owner, Arnt, whom I would imagine looks like a champ in a suit. And then to the Skyline. I guess in many ways, the lineup wouldnt be complete without one. We found a simple looking GT-R to include. We had the option to get a Nurburgring version, but as the performance is unchanged, we settled for the less complicated plans necessary to secure this version.
At the last minute a representative from Honda Germany contacted us and asked if we would like to include a NSX Type-R in our line-up. He even volunteered to drive it up from Freiberg, today. After much consideration (I think I had time to run my fingers through my hair), we accepted in the most indifferent manner possible.
The plan over the next few days was to take each car for a nail-curling run around the undulating Speedway to find who the better package was. The track offers a neat challenge. It has a bullet fast pit straight that begins with a difficult high speed entry and falls away into a tricky first corner, and a back-straight which will suit the cars with mountainous torque, but, it has a tricky double apex corner entry corner to test chassis rigidity and driver courage to the max. Various midcorner bumps pervade the track and will trip up anything but the most sorted suspension geometry. I suspect the final corner; a should-I-or-shouldnt-I flat out corner leading onto the main straight, would hold the key to the winner. There is no runoff to speak of on the outside. Torsten named the corner Jockey. Aptly perhaps. You need bowling-ball sized ones to take it flat out.
First up. The Mitsubishi Evo VII T.M.E.
Power: 505HP @ 6500rpm
Torque: 595.7 N.M.@ 2750rpm
Layout: Front Engine/4wd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1196kgs
P/w ratio: 2.368
I like the look of this car. If someone told me it was a smuggled rally car from the RalliArt works factory, with carefully peeled off decals and a spit and polish for road use I would be hard pressed not to believe it. Its sounds raw too, the free-flow liberating a high pitched scream from the straight four. And it can cash cheques its overt exterior writes. That became clear as the session wore on.
Being the first car out on track, I took it for a few exploratory laps without NOS at first, just to get a feel for the steering feedback and more importantly, the track. Braking ability in this car is impeccable. Without fear of depositing it in the hedge, one can drop anchors seemingly at the apex of the corner and speed will disappear faster then Wayne Rooney taking a dive in the Arsenal penalty area. Owner Lars told me he had fiddled with LSD a few days ago, and it was evident. Midcorner turn in was great, however jumping on the gas too early resulted in a the beginning of progressive understeer. I suppose physics are physics at the end of the day.
After about 4 laps I brought it back in to give the tyres a chance to cool down .and to get the NOS switched on. Back out and wishing I was back at home on my comfortable couch watching lawn bowls instead. This car just felt fast. Absurdly fast. Having its calamitous amount of torque ready and willing at 2750rpm, corner exit drive is thunderous. Lars best described its low band acceleration as being kicked in the back by a Yak. Not far off. It is powerful stuff. Even with TSC switched out, wheel spin is nonexistent such is the amazing traction of the 4wd system. I swear I could hear the triple plated clutch crying in protest at pulloffs though.
Going through Jockey needed much belief. To get the best you of this cars handling you really need to take it by the scruff of the neck and pitch it into a corner. Sounds great in the slower speed stuff. Doing it at 200kph is another proposition. In the end my fastest entry speed was 192.4kph. Rather keep it on the black stuff then be a hero. After exit, its just a case of lighting the afterburners and climbing uphill to cross the start/finish at 259.8kph.
Second up. Subaru WRX STi Prodrive Edition 01.
Power: 495HP @ 6400rpm
Torque: 575.85 N.M.@ 4000rpm
Layout: Front Engine/4wd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1215kgs
P/w ratio: 2.454
I began with low expectations from this car. Being one of the least powerful of the lot (although hardly, actually) I was expecting it to be lackluster on the straight bits. Not quite.
Apart from the fact that the flat four appears to have lost its voice from the free-flow (The owner Josep assures me he is working on the solution), it comes across as an urgent package. Like an elastic band stretched near its snapping point. With TCS off the wheels stutter for traction as one blasts off in the first few cogs. Despite the hollow engine note, the tacho simply races around from 4000rpm to the red line. However a few laps revealed the Scoobys possible achilles heel. Understeer. Booting it out of a slow corner and the nose wanders off wide as it tempted by an invisible pied piper. The car was fitted with a LSD, and I shudder to think about the understeer without that device. To get the most out of this car, one really needs to pay attention to the lines taken through corners. It is not a car where an adjustment in corner approach is possible at the last second. There is only one line through a corner in this car, and even then it require delicate throttle control and copious amounts of faith in the mechanical grip of the Dunlops.
Braking is sharp if not exceptional, but no fade was recorded from the pizza sized sports discs. Without NOS it is a perfectly pliable sports car, with predictable handling and blistering pace.
Plugging in the happy gas reveals a hair-raising side to this four-seater sedan. Hit the red button and the chassis struggles to cope with the ferocious increase in power. It takes gentle hands but a firm grip to keep things from wandering off the racing line and into the Armco, even on the relative calm of a straight. But being honest, it just feels faster then the Evo. It doesnt feel as dramatic ultimately, as the Evo, perhaps due to the tame engine note, but it is terrifyingly fast through the gears as the comparatives at the bottom of this article reveal. In an instant the already edgy Scooby is a wild proposition, straining to keep the meeting of excess power and tarmac into an organized proposition. At every corner the driver is fighting an ongoing battle with a demonic steering wheel. Going through Jockey was a spiritual experience. I got it wide on exit (at 191kph) on one occasion and somehow managed to keep the squirming beast from moving from rumble strip to concrete wall. Not to say that I got it back on track. Conscious of the ticking clock, I simple hit the button with the big N and held my breath. It powered up the first undulation, left side of car on track, right side on grass. I was stupefied at the seemingly unaffected acceleration. I dared not try get it back on track lest the right rear lose traction and toss me into the pit wall on the other side of the track. 210 220 230 240 250 bang, stop the clock. The electronics recorded a speed of 254kph at the line. And that with two wheels on the grass from the last corner. Appalling. Amazing. Wheres a stiff drink.
It is a hair-raising ride. Less controllable then the Evo. You need big ones to get the most out of it.
Third up. BMW M3 CSL GTR
Power: 507HP @ 7000rpm
Torque: 511.85 N.M.@ 4500rpm
Layout: Front Engine/Rwd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1188kgs
P/w ratio: 2.343
It felt a bit odd climbing into the relative luxury of the Beemer after two hissing, popping rollercoaster rides. I was a bit edgy as to whether the rwd layout would would be able to cope with the unforgiving nature of the tracks surface. Arnt assured me that I would be pleasantly surprised. I swallowed hard as I shut the door, trying to figure out if my mortgaging my house would cover the cost of denting this fine machine. As soon as I was out on track, all fears were allayed immediately. It was like the soothing hands of doctors after having fallen off your bike as a kid.
Whereas before in the Evo and STi one is on the edge of concentration limits trying to anticipate the next violent saw at the wheel, the Beemer is as silky as a deep Scottish accent. It is almost effortless to guide it into a corner, hit the apex and then hit the throttle without fear of embarrassing oneself with a lazy slide into the barrier. The six-cylinder wail makes you feel as if you are the wheel a pedigreed racer. With NOS hooked up the engine note doesnt change much. If it wasnt for the blurred scenery on the other side of the side windows, one would really realize the extra punch is coursing though the cars veins.
Its sounds too good to be true and is. The brakes arent quite up to the job and disappointingly, the top-end feels out of breath. The virtuoso chassis allows so much exit speed onto the mainstraights (183.2kph at Jockey and 252.6kph at the line), but add in the low end grunt and it is enough to make one howl with frustration when one arrives at the impending corner only to discover the fully depressed brake pedal is not translating into proportional stopping ability. I lost count the number of times I ran wide at the first corner of a hot lap simply because I was expecting beefy stopping ability. It seriously hampers the cars ultimate performance and was a huge disappointment. At least it looks like a car worthy having 500hp. The lack of top-end also marred its topspeed run later in the week. Who would have thought a CSL as a point and shoot machine rather then an all-round performance car.
Looking past all of the gripes, it is a car that inspires supreme confidence. An example was on the ultimate hot lap. Deep Forest is all about being smooth. One set of corners leads directly into another. Scrub off speed somewhere correcting understeer or a slide and it will hamper your entire sector. The Pitt Willy-Nilly - Redwood complex is as forgiving as a boarding school head mistress. The problem is rooted in Salernos exit into T2. Salerno itself is a ever-tightening right-hander whose sole point in life is to attempt to spit you out onto the rumble strip on the left hand side of the tunnel. Pitt, co-incidentally, is left-hander, directly after the tunnel. To ensure you have an ideal racing line for Pitt you have to make provisions in Salerno by either waiting an eternity on the throttle, or take a wide line to begin with. The latter option means taking less speed through Palermo Its complicated. My head hurts.
Anyway, back to Pitt. Its isnt just a left-hander. I can liken it to when one have stepped off a doorstep, not knowing it was there. All of a sudden the ground vanishes and you come crashing down to earth with an uncomfortable bump. The more you nibble the apex of Pitt, the more it falls away. Then almost immediately after all that is the Willy-Nilly sweep. You crest the right-hander and are faced with a sharp left-hander that just falls away as if you are in the midst of a tremendous earthquake. The result is amplified as that left-hander becomes the 120-degree Redwood Salisbury complex that determines your speed on the back straight.
The results in Willy-Nilly varied from egregious understeer from the Scooby as the ground vanished in the lefty, to a four wheel drift on exit by the CSL in question to absolute calamity in the Supra. This complicated story is the point of my argument about the CSL. It wasnt perfect through these corners. But you never felt as if you werent ever in control. You never feared you were going to end up in the dolomite rock face on your right. There is something to be said for re-assurance.
Fourth up. Toyota Supra RZ 98
Power: 502HP @ 5600rpm
Torque: 732.06 N.M.@ 3600rpm
Layout: Front Engine/Rwd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1188kgs
P/w ratio: 2.366
I wasnt too sure what to expect from this car. It is near the heavy end of the competitors in terms of mass although it compensates with stump pulling torque considerably higher that any other cars here. Together with the Maz, it is almost lost in anonymity due to the lack of cooling ducts and strakes on the hood. It sounds good though. A deep-throated rumble greets your turning of the key and it doesnt let up as the revs soar.
Again being a rwd car, the bumpy surface was going to be a test of suspension set-up. A few exploratory laps proved initially encouraging, and with that I hit the gas. Oddly, the dimensions of the car add the illusion of solidity to its manners on the track. In a flat approach to virtually any corner, the rear end is glued to the tarmac, instilling great confidence to the occupant in the hot seat. Its only when undulations and bumps on entry occur that the tyres begin chirruping and the rear loses its aura of stickiness. Over crests of hills and over curbs, there is a marked decrease in the ability of the suspension to cope with putting power down on track. All too often, the rev counter would hang in suspended animation as the rear skipped and rattled over imperfections in the track surface. It became a serious issue in the Salerno to Redwood complex. Despite the presence of a fitted and refined LSD, understeer through Redwood was awful. The result was poor speed through Salisbury and the back straight. Jockey was another obstacle.
I spent the most time on track in the Supra. Simply because I either ended up wandering onto the grass due to understeer at various points on the track, or because I spun it exiting corners due to the rear tyres being unable to cope with bumps and NOS simultaneously. It was a hugely frustrating car to drive. Admittedly, adding a pump of NOS on corner exit is asking a lot of a car, but in this company, excuses arent acceptable.
The Supra also feels a bit flabby in this company. It is a bit unfair in some ways. The Toyo is running a low-pressure turbo whilst the others are running big bore, big pressure version. Its not the Toyos fault it can attain cosmic power figures with other turbos. The current 500HP setup handcuffs it to a chair whilst the others play outside. It is fast, make no mistake about that. Its just not starship fast.
Maybe another character comes out when it has a higher-pressure turbo and doesnt have to cope with the light switch power delivery of NOS. I hope so. It is such a good car to look at.
Fifth up. Mazda Rx-7 Type R Bathurst R
Power: 502HP @ 6500rpm
Torque: 539.2 N.M.@ 5000rpm
Layout: Front Engine/Rwd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1071kgs
P/w ratio: 2.134
Stepping from the Supra into this car is akin to learning to ski on a learner slope in the morning and then hitting the ski jump after lunch. Out of left field this car scorched the time sheets on its first gassed run.
It is the lightest of the lot and I was hesitant as to whether this would be a hindrance on the choppy parts of the track. In corners one can feel the front dancing over imperfections. Sometimes you have to backoff to cure the resultant understeer, other times you have to work the biceps to wring out the oversteer. It is an electric ride.
I didnt really bother with loosener laps as the confidence the chassis delivers is virtually immediate. With maximum torque and power so close to each other in the power band, the top end is astounding. Acceleration suffers a bit in low speed corners as it takes time for the rotary to wind up, but once it does be sure to hold onto something tight. And example of this was illustrated in my entry speed into Jockey of 184.4kph, and my incredible Line speed of a stormy 271.5kph. It was a similar story on the back straight. Brakes are adequate if not awe inspiring. Braking on uneven track surfaces can lead to white knuckles and four letter words though. It demands respect.
It is vaguely similar to the Scooby. The Scooby struggles with corner speed due to its unforgiving 4WD layout, the Maz due to its paltry torque at low revs. But once on the straight and narrow, both cars simple steam towards the horizon with apparently endless go. It hasnt got any other similarities with the Scooby from there on. It has the stock standard Bathurst R wing, and a set of Type-R wheels but that is where the make-up ends. For all intents and purposes, it may as well be any variation of Rx-7. I guess that is where the charm lies for the owner.
After more and more laps it became evident that the package was struggling for traction. I suspect that the problem lies principally at the lack of mass over the rear wheels. As for all cars, TSC was switched off and the Rx-7 didnt like it at all. There was wheels spin in 3rd with NOS engaged and it made exiting Jockey and Refinery tricky propositions.
Despite losing time to wheelspin and fishtailing, it was faster then a rat up a womans leg.
Sixth up. Nissan Skyline GT-R
Power: 500HP @ 6800rpm
Torque: 637.5 N.M.@ 4400rpm
Layout: Front Engine/4wd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1278kgs
P/w ratio: 2.556
Five down, two to go. And before you start with the strongly worded letters about why no V-Spec or Nurburgring or V-Spec Nurburgring edition was included when we have T.M.E and CSL GTRs floating in our midst, the reason is simple. For the purposes of this test all the Skylines of circa 99 have virtually identical performance. So in the effort of simplifying the organizing of a Nissan entrant we opted for this example. Nuff said.
The Skyline is right up there with the Supra in terms of mass, in fact, exceeding it handsomely. But again, with steepling torque curves it was a question of whether the extra saddlebags would become an issue. A free-flow was fitted to this example, but somehow it didnt lessen or heighten the existing bark of the in-line 6 over the front wheels. As with the Rx-7, no barn door sized wings have been added (thankfully), just some deep dish once offs from PD wheels.
On track the Skylines pedigree is immediately apparent. Turn into a corner and the front digs in as deep as the rear with minimal understeer in the exit. One does somehow feel a bit disconnected from the whole experience. The car just seems to float along without communicating the bumps and jolts to the steering wheel. This is pleasant in tight corners and straights, but disconcerting in fast sweeps and bumpy braking zones.
In terms of puff, the Skyline is marginally hampered by its mass. It has a good kick in the pants, but not on equal terms as the Scooby or Maz. Good torque from low down means low speed corner exits are dispatched with indifference, but midrange in high gears feels a bit reminiscent of the Beemer. Its a great package overall, whether it can go toe to toe with lighter, rawer models is a different matter. The hot lap was pretty ordinary. No wild moments which is good and bad.
The Salerno-Redwood complex hardly caused an elevated heartbeat. Somehow there was a belief that the car would make it through unscathed. For some reason confidence all but evaporated approaching Jockey. Would it skip off the inside curb? Would it oversteer on exit? At the last moment I backed off and made it though at 186kph with a Line speed of 259.4kph. Not bad at all. Not much excitement either. A victim of its own sure-footedness?
Lastly : Honda NSX Type-R
Power: 484HP @ 7300rpm
Torque: 496.96 N.M.@ 5500rpm
Layout: Mid Engine/Rwd
Nos: Yes
Mass: 1079kgs
P/w ration: 2.230
The car arrived during the Supras crazy exploits. I was expecting a sparkling Grand Prix White example that is usually flashed across glossy magazine covers, but was instead greeted with a Silver version, not dissimilar to the Beemer. Admittedly it didnt look half bad at all. The carbonfibre roof and black inlays looked a bit forced at first, but steadily grew on me as the session progressed.
I felt a bit cheated when I read the spec sheet. 484HP and not the lightest of the group. What kind of a fair fight is that? 10hp may not sound like much, but the competition is stiff. I was happy to see only a few hundred miles on the clock, as opposed to the many thousands on the other participants. Maybe engine freshness counts for something, although I didnt really believe that at all.
I was happy to see the rev counter stretch all the way to 10,000rpm. I have always had a soft spot for the Honda screamers in their sports line-up. I took an out lap and motored around not really concentrating. What the hell. A hot lap first one out then. Getting around to Jockey I did as I had for all the other cars and hit the gas to give good start line speed. A very different sound from the V6 nestled right behind me no turbo hissing of course. Braking was solid into Refinery, but turn in was extraordinary. It just stayed glued to the apex. Turn-in whilst not on the hot pedal or brake pedal was magical. Pasted the hill up to Rizo 1 and took bags of speed through there, and into Rizo 2 and Rizo 3. All the while soaking up the bumps and mechanically glued to the apex of each sweep.
Braked a touch late for Palermo, but feathered it and let the masterful turn-in rescue me. Blasted over the Sector 1 beams before T1 to the whooshing of the nitrous to a fastest first sector of all. Even eclipsing the Mazda! Round Salerno without a hint of understeer, and slung through to the middle of T2, nibbled a corner off Pitt without paying the penalty on the outside, took the curb of Will-Nillys entry and man-handled it over to the inside of the lefty. The drop in elevation got a hint of sideways scrubbing, but all it achieved was setting me up in a better fashion for the trip around Redwood. Full throttle through the middle of Redwood, lined up Salisbury, lifted off to get the turn in where I wanted it and floored it through the apex and onto the back straight. My perceptions put me years ahead of the rest on the stopwatch.
Through Clifton, and across the Sector 2 beams way ahead of the rest. Uh, now what. How was it going to react under braking in the tortuously uneven Tunnel 4 exit? No problems. Probably took off too much speed out of caution, but kept to the inside and soared forwards through Nose and towards Jockey. Another unknown. Take more inside curb, or more outside? Not a good place to be at that speed at that time. Put my faith in the coast turn-in and a hint of brakes translated into an exit speed of 196.1kph. Almost paid the price. Got it high in the outside rumble strip. So much so that I just couldnt manage to get it back on the tarmac immediately. Thoughts of ruining a perfectly good lap ran through my mind. But I kept it glued to the floor. The NSX leapt over the grass at the conclusion of the rumble strip and found comfort in the outside strip of the tarmac. Finessed it onto the hard stuff and drilled it to the Start/Finish. 253.9kph.
I glanced down at the Tag Heuer racing clock taped to the dashboard and found it hadnt tripped. Oh nuts. Dont tell me the lap didnt get timed at the death .. I coasted back to the pits, for the first time admiring the lush scenery around the tunnels and the canopy of light splashing down through the over-arching branches, but anxious to find out if the pitcrew had timed me.
Seven mad cars in two days around a track with minimal run-off area. And high speed runs on an abandoned airfield still to come. A sense of sadness entered me. It was almost at an end.
As time and money was running out, we drove in convoy to an old military airfield about 35km southeast of the track. We had a 2.9km long main runway to play with in order to discover who out of the lot was absolutely the fastest in a straight line. Top speed was a bit academic, but interesting anyway. Below are the results of the afternoons work. I wasnt lying about the Subaru. To say it is fast is an understatement. But it just goes to show that power isnt everything. The NSX proved that. Of which, it recorded the third fastest time to 100kph. It would have been faster, but the gear ratios where such that it had to hook 3rd at 97kph.
Of them all, the Rx-7 and NSX had the meatiest top end, dispatching 200kph to 300kph in 7.96 and 8.55 seconds respectively. Then came the Evo at 9.88, the Supra at 9.99, the Subaru at 10.03, the BMW at 10.64 and the Skyline at a pudgy 11.05 seconds.
I suppose the next question is; if I had ploughed over £200,000 into each car, which of these cars would I be most satisfied with?
I concluded that the first to be eliminated would be the unfortunate Supra. It is seriously quick and can handle well given the right conditions, but somehow it just lets you down at critical moments. Maybe it needs its gas cylinder replaced with a bigger induction system. Such a pity though: it looks great.
Second to get the chop is the Skyline. It was simply too anonymous during the entire test. It was almost, average. And after all the time and effort that went into it (including the stylish mags good find Ken), it needs to deliver more to really set the cat amongst the pigeons. It also needs to shed a few pounds
Now things get harder. Next to go; the innocuous Rx-7. Its one of the quickest machines here and has razor sharp handling, but it fails to invoke passion of any measurable magnitude. Its hardly the fault of the owner and mechanics. I guess age has its potential downfalls.
The CSL GTR is the next to fall. Accurate and precise, it is seriously fast for all intents and purposes. Yet it cant keep up with those ahead of it, despite its fancy monikers and big chin spoilers. A good, but not a great effort.
The Evo is the next to fall. Its the terranian equivalent to skydiving. It looks good and goes great and will entice the senses everytime you take it out of its garage. But that is where it falls down. Sometimes one wants effortless pace. This car is just too maniacal to drive. It demands concentration and lightning reflexes to get the most out of it. Its almost like your best friends toddler. After some time together, you just want to give him back.
That leaves but two. The rocket sled Subaru and the baby faced assassin, the NSX. The Subaru is vicious. Power delivery is brutal and not for the meek. In the right hands it is devastating, in the wrong hands it is a disaster waiting to happen. The NSX is almost effortless. Grip levels are quite frankly, unfair to the opposition. It inspires confidence that no other car here could muster. It takes what it has and makes the most of it.
Its a tough call. But when I climb into the chosen car, I dont want to have to worry about being caught offsides by an unseen imperfection in the road. The time sheets show it. The NSX is faster on average, and faster with ease. The sledgehammer performance of the Subaru is intoxicating. But for now, Ill prefer to stay sober.
Final Times for Deep Forest International Raceway
- 1 . Honda NSX Type-R 02
1.09:733 - 2. Mazda RX-7 Type R Bathurst R
1.11:275 - 3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi Prodrive Edition 01
1.12:253 - 4. Toyota Supra RZ 98
1.12:345 - 5. BMW M3 CSL GTR
1.12:352 - 6. Mitsubishi Evolution VI T.M.E 01
1.12:370 - 7. Nissan Skyline GT-R 99
1.12:458
Top of the times
Mitsubishi Evo VI T.M.E. 01
- 0-100 kph: 3.14secs
- 0-200 kph: 7.84 secs
- 0-300 kph: 17.72 secs
- Top-speed: 312 kph
Subaru WRX STi Prodrive Edition 01.
- 0-100 kph: 2.56secs
- 0-200 kph: 6.09 secs
- 0-300 kph: 16.12 secs
- Top-speed: 316 kph
BMW M3 CSL GTR
- 0-100 kph: 3.27secs
- 0-200 kph: 9.34 secs
- 0-300 kph: 19.98 secs
- Top-speed: 324 kph
Mazda Rx-7 Type R Bathurst R
- 0-100 kph: 4.4secs
- 0-200 kph: 8.42 secs
- 0-300 kph: 16.38 secs
- Top-speed: 324 kph
Toyota Supra RZ 98
- 0-100 kph: 4.78secs
- 0-200 kph: 9.62 secs
- 0-300 kph: 19.61 secs
- Top-speed: 336 kph
Nissan Skyline GT-R
- 0-100 kph: 2.91secs
- 0-200 kph: 8.17 secs
- 0-300 kph: 19.22 secs
- Top-speed: 307 kph
Honda NSX Type-R
- 0-100 kph: 2.99 secs
- 0-200 kph: 7.91secs
- 0-300 kph: 16.46secs
- Top-speed: 332kph
at CaD comparison]Afterwards I was a bit sore i didnt stick a TVR in there, so I am considering doing a follow up. It sounds a bit wierd, but if you want any specific car considered, put it up for consideration (just make sure it can reach about 500hp..). Obviously i chose these as they are pretty much direct competitors. 
