Porsche Calls BS on GT-R's Ring Time

Though the 7:29 lap time set by the new Nissan GT-R at the Nurburgring is impressive, Porsche thinks there's a caveat: the car may have used racing tires.

August Achleitner, product chief for the storied 911 range, told the Australian CARSGuide that such a time was impossible with a stock car.

"This wonder with 7:29 could not have been a regular series production car," he said. "What we can imagine with this Nissan is they used other tires."

His statement isn't just the product of German bravado, it's reportedly the product of back-to-back testing. Achleitner said engineers purchased a stock GT-R with "new tires," and ran it around the 'Ring alongside new Porsches.

The results? We don't have the specifics, as one of Porsche's cars was the forthcoming Panamera, but we're told the Germans were unable to meet the time set by Toshio Suzuki. Engineers concluded that, unless racing slicks were used, the GT-R couldn't produce such a lap on the Green Hell.

Though Achleitner says he doesn't "want to make anything bad" with his words, this is a gauntlet slap across Nissan's jaw. We expect a response from Tokyo in the near future...