11 Jul 06
As I approached the pre-startline area, a marshal stuck his head in to assure me (with a huge grin) that 'tyre warming' meant exactly what it implied. So without any further ado, I dialled in about 5000rpm and let the clutch out with a shade of slip. And so, our slow progress to the startline began amid huge clouds of tyre smoke, howls of protest from the oversized rear boots and quite the most un-Nissan like bark of exhaust note. Once at the startline, the next marshal informed us there would be a delay of a few minutes, as the driver of the car ahead of us had broken the only rule that anyone driving up the Goodwood Hill needs to observe. To whit, if you're not on the brakes as you go over the brow preceding Molecomb corner, you are going to crash. He wasn't and he did (a Ferrari 599GTB, as you ask).
As I had gathered that this was the done thing, when the marshal released us I replicated my earlier 'tyre warming' launch (they'd gone a bit cold during the wait, don't you know). Powering through the first corner, I heeded the advice of another veteran hill driver (this was my first time) and kept the Z in a lower gear so I sounded fast even it I wasn't actually going that quickly. The Z-s power came on in a linear, quite hypnotic fashion, the supercharger whistling to itself as I lifted for Molecomb (no fool I). Back on the power, the Z surged up the hill and we crossed the line going very quickly indeed. That's the other thing about the Goodwood hill climb - it's not a parade run and the organisers are keen for drivers to give spectators a good show. Without, preferably, killing any of them.
As we pootled back down the hill, it occurred to me just how civilised and easy the supercharged Z was to handle. If you told me this was a fully homologated road car, I wouldn't have doubted it for a moment. There just weren't any rough edges, no temperamental idle, no overheating while idling in the heat, no unpredictable power delivery and no sense that the thing was delicate and breakable.
It's unrealistic to expect the company to build a supercharged 350Z for showroom consumption, but as an exercise to demonstrate that there are car guys on the loose at Nissan, the GT-S makes the point rather wonderfully. For spectators and drivers alike...
