Interesting comparison; the way the fastback slopes into the wide decklid is definitely similar, albeit with some Michelotti touches.

Yes, this is exactly what I was thinking. That transaxle is the thing you want to be working very well on these cars. $5,500 + trans rebuild = there are almost certainly better 944 deals out there.

I’m not surprised. I was definitely not saying these are problem-free vehicles. Over-engineered in many ways. And the allroads get extra credit for having nightmarish air suspensions.

It’s possible, but the C63 doesn’t use a DCT.

It’s possible the cut line remains, but I would guess it’s gone. Lexus has pretty much committed itself to the design language of the UX concept from 2016, which heavily factored into the production UX, and that car carries the light bar already. The older LF-CC concept, which I think introduced that character line,…

Wow, that’s pretty close. The Lexus UX already carries the light bar, which Lexus previewed on the UX concept in 2016. I wonder what Toyota thinks about Hyundai cribbing the style element.

Somehow it’s infinitely more classy to be squeezing into the back seat of a Maserati coupe than it is to wedge oneself into the back pedestals of a 911.

It’s interesting, the 250 Lusso was produced only a few years prior to the Ghibli,’s introduction but it’s really a couple of generations removed from the Ferraris that directly competed with the Ghibli, namely the 365GT 2+2 and 365GT4 2+2. I think the Ghibli is more attractive than either of those cars.

This is true. I couldn’t often tell how well the LSD was doing its job; when I was breaking traction it was usually on dirt or snow. On pavement, usually persistent understeer unless pavement was wet. And it is nice that vLSDs fail “gracefully”.

The 2.7TTs are fairly understressed—forged internals means these can take quite a lot of extra boost stock. ....however, the stock K03 turbos are small and sensitive to abuse or tuning. My old Saab 2.8T with a single turbo makes even more power on a stock tune.

Most likely, yes. Viscous LSDs were the rage then; I had a WRX with one, and maybe Subaru still uses them. I would be okay with the limitations of the viscous designs but they just get worse over time as the fluid breaks down. You eventually end up with an open diff, and that’s within 100K miles.

Haha, I’ll stand by poor then. EPA rated 17/22, which is significantly worse than what the next-gen RDX’s V6 got. It’s even worse than many turbo V6s. Performance-wise it’s an interesting engine and I love turbos. I’m willing to bet the variable-flow turbo, 5-speed trans, and trick AWD system all conspired to kill…

You’ve got a point about the dimensions of the car, but I worry about the old architecture being innately heavy. The Supra is a tidy 3,300 with the top engine on a more modern unibody. The current NISMO Z is 3,500 out the door, and a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 is not exactly a lightweight engine to adding to the formula.

I confess I didn’t know! There is a 2020 ILX, though. The RLX was recently cancelled for sure.

Yes, it’s looking pretty good. If a 2-liter version can somehow stay in the mid-30s on price it will be an interesting alternative to a regular A4.

Yeah, a few choice parts will help it greatly, but the steering has never been to my liking. The Sport gets bigger brakes, but the LSD is the cheaper viscous type, even in the NISMO. The NISMO gets a better suspension for track duty, but it’s pretty rough for street use.

Unfortunately, the GT-R’s construction is more expensive than any other FM platform—low tolerance welds—and the body uses a lot of aluminum. I just can’t see Nissan doing that if it wants to undercut the Supra on price.

It’s a sports car, though, so you’d very much want to know how it drives. Unfortunately, upgrading to the Nismo which corrects some of the dynamic flaws of the base car puts it a lot closer to the Supra pricewise. 

The SVO was properly quick for its time, but the earlier turbos were pretty underwhelming. More like 10-11 seconds 0-60 depending on the year

These have to be slushbox times. I’m ballparking 12-13 seconds with the manual.