I honestly have no idea how I even found this video this morning. I didn’t go searching “Cheetah VS GT-R” or “coolest freaking road racing video I have seen in forever” or “Damn it I hope the old car spanks that thing”. None of those search terms are in my browser and I’d post my search history if I didn’t think it would earn me a visit from the NSA. But I digress. What you are about to watch is one of the most weirdly wonderful two car matchups you’ll ever see on film.

In this corner we have the Nissan GT-R. This is the car that the kids call “Godzilla”. It is very fast and it is one of the most technologically advanced performance cars in the world. If you can dream up a Buck Rogers-esque control system this car probably has it or had it five years ago. They can run single digits at the drags when tuned and built up, they are blindingly fast around corners and they serve as the halo dream car for a LOT of kids these days.

In this corner we have a Bill Thomas Cheetah (I have no idea if this is one of the super, incredibly rare “real” Cheetahs or a recreation but what does it matter?) which was a short lived, GM funded skunkworks project to build a road racing car capable of hanging with the mighty Shelby Cobras. The cars were uncomfortable, hot, and due to a massive fire at Bill Thomas race cars, the program was cancelled and there was never enough development time to really get them sorted all the way out. The Cheetah is the absolute and perfect anthesis to the GT-R. It has small tires, it has no sort of driver aid other than a gas pedal a brake pedal, and a shifter. It is loud as hell with a bellowing exhaust note that the GT-R couldn’t ever hope to overcome. No power steering, no anti-lock brakes, no gears past the fourth position. It may as well be a ox-cart when compared to the GT-R but it does have a hidden advantage or two. The Cheetah is way lighter (by what, at least 1,000lbs?) and the engine is making comparable power to the GT-R, so in a straight line, it can really make tracks.

So…can the Cheetah catch the GT-R? That’s the big question and one you will need to find out the answer to by watching the entire video. We’ll tell you that a true victor in this fight is not decided until late in the game. This is GREAT stuff, if only to see a pair of completely polar opposite cars running around chasing one-another. So, so good. So good.

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE A BILL THOMAS CHEETAH TAKE ON A GT-R!