Yeah, it's not 'full' XTR, as the brakes are Avid 7s and the cranks are FSA ISIS Carbon Fiber units (not exactly a downgrade, i think!)
It's both the weight and the price that appeals. I guess i'm old skool or something, but i'm not into hucking or anything. I want a fast, light bike for riding moderately technical trails. I enjoy bike handling, not bike dropping. I'm also used to the nice feel of my XT parts, even if they are 9 years old now. The new LX shifters, for example, found on most bikes in this price range feel really cheap. So having top end drivetrain parts is appealing. I'm interested in discs, but never had a problem with V-brakes (heck, cantis with a brake booster and good pads stop well).
Unfortunately, after showing this excitedly to my S.O... let's just stay that dropping $1500 on a new bike right now would cause more pain than pleasure..
(thinks to myself: maybe i could hide it somewhere? In our 1 bedroom apartment????!!! nope)