Nissan and NISMO’s Interesting New LMP1 Car
Nissan and their NISMO racing program have created a variety of different racing vehicles for a variety of racing series that have been very successful. Now matter what type of racing, if there is an #23 NISMO on the track, they are one to watch out for. Recently at the Chicago Auto Show, following it’s teaser in the Nissan Super Bowl commercial, NISMO introduced their new LMP1 race car that they will be running in this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship. Creatively called the GT-R LM NISMO, the race car has become slightly confidential.
Nissan GT-R LM NISMO
The GT-R LM NISMO has been built interestingly. The car itself looks like NISMO designed the car to look like a upside-down bowl on a table with all flat surfaces on the car. The new LM race car will feature a class mandated gas-powered, turbocharged V6, an engine that NISMO has proved time and time again to be able to build, in combination with an energy-recovering hybrid system. The gas engine and hybrid system together will make around a reported 1,250 hp.
This is what the GT-R LM NISMO looks like without its body panels. We still have no clue how they got everything into that low profile.
What is truly interesting is how the car will put the power down. The GT-R LM NISMO is a front-engined, front-wheel-drive in a racing category that is predominantly dominated by mid-engined, all-wheel-drive cars. This sounds odd, since it is Nissan, a company famous for their all-wheel-drive supercar GTR. However, you can probably expect that the GT-R LM NISMO might actually have some of the regained hybrid power going to the rear wheels since the LMP1 rules allow for that.
The front-engined, front-wheel-drive GT-R LM NISMO will make its racing debut at this years 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The drivers for the new LM car will be Lucas Ordóñez and Jann Mardenborough, both graduates from NISMO’s GT Academy. You can hear the sounds of gamers everywhere become more and more envious as you read that sentence. Since we have a few months till Le Mans, we can expect to see more about the GT-R LM NISMO before the start of the race.