Decisions, decisions

My preferred automotive read while in Japan has long been the pricey but nonetheless top-drawer monthly periodical that is Car Magazine. While it may lack the effrontery of fortnightly rags such as Best Car which dazzle with fanciful photoshoppery and pipe-dream promises of future new metal, its combination of left-field esoteric classics with a smattering of choice contemporary machinery never fails to part me from my 1150 Yen. And that's before we even broach the subject of the beautifully hand illustrated cover art, sparse but zany use of Engrish, and a classifieds section crammed with 1960s Lotuses interspersed by the occasional Subaru 360 (Tentoumushi) and Alfa Giulia.

This month's issue however, sees something of a departure for Car. Make no mistake, the quality is still there, as is the coverage of gaisha (foreign cars) in all their variegated forms. The conspicuous difference comes in the form of a renewed focus on the motherland; a rediscovery of the joy of homegrown talent. This is evident in a six-page eulogy to the Nissan Fairlady Z-432, but more interestingly manifests itself in the lead cover piece which pits three generations of Nissan GT-R against an equivalent vintage of Porsche 911.

This three way multi-generational road test poses some compelling questions, not least of which is whether the GT-R now matches, or even eclipses, the 911 in the living legend stakes. Putting complex questions of a philosophical bent aside however, and we come to the more straightforward but far more interesting issue of which of the two thoroughbreds is best. A question illustrated quite nicely by the following photograph.

The first row is easy. I'm with the aesthetic purity of the late '60's 911 all the way, and those perfectly positioned fog lights only add further interest to the perfect lines. From the second row back however things become decidedly more complicated. While the 911 gains performance and handling prowess with every successive iteration, it somehow never manages to recapture the unassuming elegance and downright desirability of the original. The GT-R however, more radical in its evolution, manages to build on its legendary pedigree as it develops, reestablishing itself anew as a cult hero with the debut of each generation. With the GT-R there thus exists a halo effect whereby older versions can bathe in the reflected glory of their newer brethren. Newer versions of the Porsche however must trade on the former glories of their ageing stablemates. For this reason I would find myself veering toward the GT-R side of this impressive line-up - once I had returned the keys to that 1969 911S that is.