By: IOL Motoring Staff
Yokohama, Japan - Nissan has thrown down the gauntlet to the aristocracy of the endurance-racing world with a sneak preview of its Le Mans 24 Hours challenger - the GT-R LM Nismo.
And it did so in probably the most public forum on the planet - during the commercial break for Sunday's the National Football League Super Bowl, watched by an estimated 110 million viewers.
Nissan has put fresh spin on the endurance-racing class regulations with a front-engined, front wheel drive car powered by a three-litre biturbo petrol V6 and a kinetic energy recovery system.
While the combustion engine drives the front wheels only, the kinetic energy recovery system drives the rear wheels, so the car can switch seamlessly from front to rear to all-wheel drive as needed for a given corner.
Nissan global head of market and brand strategy Roel de Vries explained: “The GT-R is our flagship road car - and this is the ultimate GT-R, with a sporting bloodline that goes back three decades with Nismo, Nissan's motorsport and performance arm.
“Le Mans drives innovation so success on the track will lead to greater innovation in our road car range. We are the new kids at Le Mans; our opponents are the best in the world but we are ready.”
PROVING GROUND
The new car will contest the LM P1 class of the World Endurance Championship, the highest category in world sports car racing. The 2015 series will start at Silverstone in England on 12 April and travel around the world to Spa in Belgium, on to the Le Mans 24 Hours in France and the Nurburgring in Germany, followed by races in the United States, Japan, China and the Middle East.
Endurance racing is regarded as the ultimate proving ground for automotive innovation; race engineers face the same challenges as road car designers, as the spotlight falls on energy efficiency. With more technical freedom than in Formula One, LM P1 engineers have ample opportunity to experiment.
“That's what excites us” said Nismo president Shoichi Miyatani. “The technical regulations for Le Mans give us the freedom to pursue new ideas.
“Our best result so far Le Mans is third overall so we have unfinished business there; we want to win and we think this car can do it - it's an exciting challenge.”
Nissan's intensive GT-R LM Nismo test programme, which began 'under the radar' in Arizona last year, will continue this week at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Nissan's LM P1 drivers will be revealed soon.