<B>As posted by : "JacoZ" on www.350zforum.com on June 10, 2002 at 11:38 pm. Take it for what it's worth! Seems questionable in my opinion- but an interesting story nevertheless.

-Ethan
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</B>


I've sat by patiently watching and waiting. I even weighed the value of giving up and moving on, but tonight that all changed...
I took one of my vendors to Morton's of Chicago steak house in Costa Mesa this eveing for dinner and as I pulled up what did I see??? The Daytona Blue Track Model parked out front! I slammed my car into a parking spot and bolted to the 350. It was all that I had hoped for. Aggressive, intimidating, lavish, exotic, etc. I spotted the valet $20 to pop it open and let me sit in it ( a well spent $20 considering I was even considering changing my mind...).

The seats fit tightly on either side of my back, the pedals were perfectly configured beneath my feet. The navigation system staring back at me. The carbon cloth interior feeling a lot like a main stream racing seat - I had arrived.

The door handles were functional, the antenna was not too obtrusive (for those of you who disagree, give it a chance. It's not worth whining over). The wheels are very aggressive and say "Ray's Engineering" around the rim, giving off an aftermarket feel. The brembo's are awesome hiding conspicuously under the beams of the Ray's. The discs were not cross-drilled or vented, and the driver did say the car was one of a few pre-production cars, so maybe there is a change in the future.

The cockpit was not so foreign to me that I felt uncomfortable. Maybe it's because of the months of dreaming about this car. Maybe it's because my Z32 TT is born of the same DNA. The controls were well within reach and the aero package made a pretty significant difference to the demeanor of the car.

Inside Morton's was the Nissan "driver" who was responsible for the car. Don't know his name, but there was some private dinner he was hosting. We spoke briefly and he gave me one line I'll leave with this forum:

"we haven't got all of the specs defined yet, but we are looking at a zero to sixty of about 5.2"

I sh*t you not my friends. From his mouth to your eyes. Now, in all honesty, I have no idea who he was or how he ranked in the company. He may have been in tight enough to know that the 5.2 is a real objective, but at least for now, I will keep on dreamin'.

For those doubters of my experience, and jealousy brings out all kinds, trust me, this is the real deal. If in doubt, ask away. I examined the car down to the glossy plastic vent piece that fits on the front grill where the license plate mount would otherwise go.

Keep the faith!

 

Too bad he didnt have a camera or a portable dyno with him at the time to confirm. Not saying it cant be true, but hard to belive anything at this point without some sort of proof.

 

The valet let him sit in it for 20$?
There's someone who needs to get fired.

However, I think I detect a certain odor to this post... anyone else smell it?

 

Well, it sounds a bit "literary"-sort of contrived. Like it was just for us.

 

Try 5.3 real world results.
You will read in a 'magazine' next month.
Hey, what's a tenth of a second?

 

Thank you Rx0! Finally someone we can believe. You are THE MAN!

 

Note my description of the antenna and the "Ray's Engineering" stamp on the CU pic of the rim from this morning...right on the money...he could be for real...

 

Hasn't a pic of the Ray's wheel (with the lettering) been on Nissan's site forever?

 

RxO says 5.3, I will bet a lot of money we see that number real soon

 

Thanks RxO.

 

That post above (the $20 valet bribe post) sounds really bogus. It sounds like something a rookie writer for a cheap automag would write. He just happened to go inside and spoke with "the driver" of the car who was hosting an event? Nahhhh, I'm not buyin it.