Nissan FIA GT1 Nissan GTR...new pics on page #2

[EJ25RUN]

Autosport....

Nissan to run part-season in FIA GT

By Matt Beer Friday, February 27th 2009, 12:13 GMT

Nissan GTRNissan will return to top-line European sportscar racing this season with a four-round FIA GT Championship programme in partnership with Gigawave Motorsport.

Aston Martin driver Darren Turner and long-time factory Nissan racer Michael Krumm are set to drive a new Nissan GT-R as a precursor to an entry in the proposed new GT1 world championship that FIA GT boss Stephane Ratel is creating for 2010.

A Nissan statement said the purpose of the four 2009 appearances was to "check the performance of cars to be sold to racing teams competing in the
FIA-GT1 class." The Nissan will not be eligible for FIA GT points this season.

The car has been developed by Nissan's in-house motorsport company NISMO, who will run it in partnership with Gigawave. Autosport revealed last month that Krumm had already tested the car in secret in Japan.

The project is Nissan's first major worldwide sportscar programme since they fought for outright victory at Le Mans in the late 1990s.



Old news.








Autoblog...

Japan's Auto Sport magazine has procured a handful of shots and some preliminary specs on the FIA-GT1-ready Nissan GT-R, and judging by the modifications and performance stats, Nissan is planning an all-out assault on the series and a possible campaign at LeMans.

In order to get the GT-R up to snuff, NISMO has fitted the super coupe with a full body kit, GT-style wing, plexiglass windows, upgraded brakes, wheels and ducting, along with a hood reminiscent of the unit fitted on the SuperGT GT500 class GT-R. Informed speculation says that Nissan has ditched the twin-turbo'd 3.8-liter V6 in favor of a V8, possibly the 4.5-liter VK45DE used on the SuperGT racer.

The Nissan GT-R LM is rumored to be putting out 542 hp and 448 lb-ft of torque with a curb weight of 3,417 pounds and a price tag somewhere in the ballpark of 18,000,000 yen, or just under $200k US. Production is rumored to be limited to 300 units total, with 10 vehicles being built each month.

The LeMans car would only be sold to teams competing in the enduro, with a price tag of 65,000,000 yen ($720k US), 592 hp, 506 lb-ft of torque and tipping the scales at 2,976 pounds. There's still no confirmation when Nissan will begin campaigning the GT-R in a series outside of SuperGT, but don't be surprised to see an LM-spec car in at least one series in 2009.