The reason I’m dedicating today’s post to him is because he was a fellow car enthusiast. The kid was in love with today’s car, the Nissan GT-R. If you watch the documentary, you’ll see him first driving one in an Xbox game, then getting to drive one in real life too. Today’s image comes from that game, Forza Motorsport 4 (though he may have been playing Forza Motorsport Horizon -I couldn’t tell from what I saw in the documentary)… anyway it’s my absolute favorite Xbox game, and it goes to show that Zach had great taste in games and in cars.
Without further adieu, the Nissan GT-R: This car started off life as a model called the Nissan Skyline years ago. Those were never really offered in the US market, but you can occasionally see one or two around. The GT-R is a Japanese supercar that hit the market in 2007 with a super price point to go with it. Rather than starting out at a quarter of a million dollars like many of the other supercars in this world, a new Nissan GT-R can be bought for right around $100,000. It’s unlikely that you’ll find that kind of change by rummaging through the couch cushions, but in relative, supercar terms, that’s cheap.
The GT-R speaks of its cultural roots by basing its lines and design on Gundam style robots. Gundam is a Japanese anime (cartoon) series that features giant robots (think Voltron, but cooler and with more intricate plots). It’s very much a techie looking automobile, and in fact, the creators of another video game, Gran Turismo, played a role in its design. The GT-R is a great looking little monster that you could drive right into a video game like Forza or Gran Turismo and hold your own just fine.
Powered by a 3.8L twin turboV6, the GT-R can rocket its lightweight self down the road with 545 HP and an AWD system that can send all of its torque to the rear wheels or half of it up front when needed for handling. Having AWD also means that, should one choose to do so, one could take the Nissan GT-R out for a spin in the winter wonderland of Minnesota in the midst of winter and go about their business with confidence (provided it doesn’t bottom out and get hung up on big snow drifts, that is). The transmission is a 6 speed with a sequential dual clutch, which shifts faster than any person could, so there is no clutch pedal, you just shift and it goes. All this rides on a computerized suspension that gives you 3 modes of driving to choose from depending on how you’re planning to use the beast that day… And when the fun is over and you need to stop, the GT-R can rev down and come to a halt thanks to Brembo brakes that feature big, drilled rotors to help dissipate heat.
Zach picked an awesome car for his favorite, and I’m glad he got to drive one for real in the documentary… I’m also glad to see that kids like him are still into cars. Sometimes, it seems like more and more, people see cars as devices or appliances; overlooking all the work and design, effort and heart that people pour into developing and making automobiles. It was heartening to see a young person who recognized and appreciated the beauty of automobiles the way he did. I didn’t know Zach personally, but the world has become a very small place through the Web, which is how I first learned of him. Using that same tool, he inspired a lot of people in a lot of ways. It‘s heartbreaking to see somebody so young and so good-natured have to leave this world so soon, but he left a legacy, a small part of which was his love of cars. While it’s not much, I dedicate my virtual Forza Motorsport GT-R to his memory.
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