Nissan GT-R faces off stablemates

In the world of supercars, there are battles and then there are “battles.” This is one of the latter. In this rather dry and yet superficial look at the Nissan GT-R's snow-driving capabilities, Nissan sets up one heck of a straw man--or snow man, as it were.

Testing slalom, acceleration, and braking ability in the snow (skip to 3:50)--on a common set of Dunlop tires, to make it fair--Nissan pits the GT-R against an Infiniti FX and a Nissan 370Z. Yeah, that makes sense...

It seems Nissan is trying to show how practical the GT-R is with this video, even in the hands of a young staffer. The woman tasked with driving the GT-R to provide a “normal driver's” perspective owns a Cube, but only drives once or twice per year. Total. Yeah, that makes even more sense...

The video gets even funnier when snowy hill starts are attempted on a 20% grade. As you might expect, the GT-R annihilates the competition. The poor 370Z rolls back down the hill, front and rear wheels spinning in opposite directions.

To be fair to Nissan and the GT-R, the twin-turbo supercoupe proves its snow-driving mettle. The GT-R's balanced weight, low centre of gravity, and all-wheel drive system make for a capable snow car.

Of course, the Audi R8, Lamborghini Gallardo (but maybe not the Aventador), and Ferrari FF--even the Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible--are, too. Not to mention the Subaru WRX STI, E63 AMG all-wheel drive, and a horde of other all-wheel drive performance cars that might have made a better comparison point.

Or, say, attempting a top-speed record for a stock production car on an icy lake. That would have made sense.

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