Spy shots: FIA-GT1 Nissan GT-R race car prototype
Posted Yesterday, 1:27 PM by Viknesh Vijayenthiran
Just when you think there’s nothing more to see or read about Nissan’s GT-R supercar, images of a mysterious prototype start to crop up on the internet. The latest shot depicts a car with several features you would normally find on a GT style race car, leading to speculation that Nissan is planning to take its GT-R into the international motorsports arena.
According to Japan’s Auto Sport magazine, where this image was sourced, Nissan is planning an assault on the FIA-GT1 series or possibly Le Mans endurance racing.
While Nissan is yet to reveal any specs for the race car, or even confirm its existence, it is expected to feature a Nismo bodykit, GT-style wing, plastic windows, uprated brakes and tires, and a vented bonnet. The car is also rumored to be running a naturally-aspirated 4.5L VK45DE V8 engine instead of the production model’s twin-turbo 3.8L V6. The V8 mill is the same unit used by Nissan for its SuperGT race car.
Other details include a rumored ¥65,000,000 (approx. $720,000) asking price, a kerb weight of just 2,976lbs (the production model weighs 3,792lbs), and a power output of 592hp (442kW) and 506lb-ft (685Nm) of torque.
One of the benefits of Nissan competing in motorsports with its GT-R is the introduction of street-legal homologation special. For its latest R35 GT-R, Nissan is once again expected to revive the LM badge for a detuned version of its GT-R race car, but like previous generations it will be very exclusive. Production is tipped to be limited to just 300 units and pricing could go as high as ¥18,000,000 (approx. $200,000).
/ NISSAN GT-R R35 LM /
542 hp
3417 lbs
448 ft/lb
10 units per month for total of 300 units
costs: 18,000,000 yen
/ Le Mans specifications /
592 hp
2976 lbs
506 ft/lb
Le Mans Race teams only
costs: 65,000,000 yen
