This suggests that the Camaro has the worst
powertrain. No, it has the least advanced powertrain. But it’s very satisfying
to use. There’s nothing like a naturally aspirated unit for instant throttle
response, and those lightened pistons and conrods help keep this lump feeling
perky if not exactly zingy. It’s a ‘flesh-and-blood’ engine which rumbles and
bellows wonderfully, is always predictable, builds in a thunderous crescendo
and delivers enough performance.
The Z28 doesn’t bat an eyelid when it loses
the drag race, in fact, it looks unfussed, but I reckon it could use more
power. 800bhp ought to do it – the car deserves it. It feels appropriate. The
manual gearbox is fun, too. A proper meaty, short shift that can’t be flicked
around, but feels like it can cope with whatever the V8 throws at it.
Z/28
has the widest front tyres on any production car
This isn’t to say that there’s no charm in
the hi-tech workings of the other two – it’s a cliché that the Nissan GT-R is a
digital experience with no analogue feel. It’s also completely wrong, as anyone
who has experienced a full-house launch in it will attest. The diffs clank, the
tyres scrabble and the steering twitches... and that’s just in a straight line.
The criticism would better be phrased by accusing the Nissan of being
one-dimensional. It channels its force more accurately and single-mindedly than
perhaps any other car, and lives for one thing – the acquisition and retention
of speed.
The
M6 is wearing identical-width Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on 20-inch
wheels, also equipped with optional carbon-ceramic brakes
The GT-R is wheeled addiction: you get a
hit and, if you’re sensible, resist going back for another, bigger one. A tough
ask. It has remarkable capabilities. No car this big and heavy should be this
agile, this sharp, this responsive or this eyeball-rippingly fast. You’re
looking at this four-seat, front-engined machine, and I guarantee you’re not
thinking it’s mad. But it is. There’s a cornering shot of it somewhere with the
rear wheel bent up inside the arch and the opposing front wheel off the ground.
The Stig is driving, and it looks like he’s broken it. He hasn’t, it’s begging
for more. If it has a weak spot at Dunsfold, it’s the brakes – the only car not
equipped with carbon-ceramics. Apart from that, the GT-R is still a total
weapon. New dampers have transformed the savage ride.
The
GT-R sits on20-inch metallic black forged Rays lightweight wheels
The BMW is a more languid experience (how
could it not be?) – you can dip in and out of it, be as involved as you want.
You can surf the mid-range, enjoy the impressive turbo response and bassy,
cultured engine note, allow the ’box to be autonomous and still pile on speed
with frightening ease (more frightening than in the GT-R, because it can catch
you unawares), or you can really go for it, hear the V8 howl, tense up the
suspension and feel the DSG shifts hit home harder than in the Nissan. It’s a
tremendously fast car, but I’m not sure what it’s actually trying to achieve.
Yes, it’s the only car here that can wear the GT label, but somehow the speed
isn’t backed up by the correct driving experience.
