Nov 15 2011, 05:07 PM, updated 15y ago
QUOTE
With its long and proud history in motorsports, few auto manufacturers are as dedicated to the pursuit of performance as Nissan. Nissan has re-entered the motorsports “big time” with its sponsorship of the Red Bull Racing F1 team. Though running under the Infiniti name (and spinning off from sister company Renault’s F1 program), this move further establishes Nissan’s position as Asia’s premier performance brand.
But Nissan has been building winning race cars since long before taurine was a drink additive, and with machinery that includes the GT1-spec GT-Rs, continues to do so today. As guys who enjoy geeking out over impressive feats of engineering, we thought it would be fun to compile a list of the greatest racing Nissans of all time. We couldn’t include everything we like (sorry, D1 fans), but these are 10 of our favorites.
No.10 1936 Datsun Sports NL75: Nissan's first race car
All legacies start somewhere, and Nissan’s rich racing legacy starts with the Datsun Sports NL75. After losing Japan’s first motorsports event, the First All Japan Tamagawa Auto Race Competition, Nissan vowed to win the next race. And to ensure this victory, it used its engineering and manufacturing muscle to build its first-ever “works” race car -- the Datsun Sports NL75. Power ratings are unknown, but with just a 750cc motor with a Roots-type supercharger under its bonnet, a Versa would likely shame it on the dyno. But with a size and weight approximately equal to that of the Monopoly car, the NL75 was plenty quick: It gave Nissan its first-ever racing victory in 1936.
No.9 Leaf Nismo RC
Just as the Datsun Sports NL75 launched Nissan’s racing career, the all-electric Leaf Nismo RC (Racing Competition) launches its future. Looking like a Super GT version of Nissan’s electric roller skate, the Leaf Nismo RC serves as a test bed for developing electric technologies. Electric cars have a reputation for being slow, but with a 0-100 km/h time of just under seven seconds, the Leaf Nimso RC isn’t exactly a slouch. Top speed is said to be approximately 93 miles per hour, and the lithium-ion battery can be recharged in just 30 minutes. It’s not the fastest car on this list, but as the saying goes, racing improves the breed. If the mighty GT-R can trace its roots back to the Datsun Sports NL75, just imagine what future machines will trace their lineage back to this electrified ride.
No.8 R381
Nissan’s R381 looks like an old Chaparral, packs an American punch, and it may very well have been the inspiration for Speed Racer’s Mach 5. Built to compete in the Japan Grand Prix, the open-seater prototype R381 was powered by a Chevy motor that was completely torn down and rebuilt by Nissan to ensure it would be reliable for the unique challenges of the Japan Grand Prix. The most impressive feature of the R381, though, would have to be the active aero. That monstrous wing was split in two, and it would adjust midcorner to give the car more grip as it powered through the turns. So effective was this package that the R381 won the 1968 Japan Grand Prix outright -- even going so far as to lap its competition.
No.7 1958 Datsun 210 Fuji
For obvious reasons, the Second World War pulled Nissan out of the world of motorsport, and Nissan didn’t get back into the racing game until 1958, when it entered the Rally Australia “Mobilgas Trial.” Known at the time as “The World’s Cruelest Rally” and spanning over 19 days, one would think an armored Paris-Dakar racer would be needed just to finish the race. Nissan instead brought a pocket-size 210 sedan. This was Nissan’s first-ever attempt at Rally Australia and its first-ever entry into the world of international rally, so just finishing would have been an accomplishment. But Nissan’s little car was good; not only was it one of the few vehicles to actually finish the race, it even won its class.
No.6 Silvia/Bluebird Turbo Super Silhouette
Japan’s Super Silhouette series means little to those living outside Japan, but its influence can still be felt in Japanese motorsport -- and even car culture -- today. The Super Silhouette cars were wide-arched, fire-breathing variants of standard production cars. Nissan produced many impressive machines for this racing series, but perhaps the greatest would be the Bluebird Turbo that appeared on the series’ last-ever season in 1983. Like a modern NASCAR, the Bluebird Turbo Super Silhouette was a purpose-built, tube-frame machine. It weighed just 1,000 kg, and its 2.0-liter turbocharged engine spit out a godly 570 metric horsepower. The legacy of the Super Silhouette series lives on in Japan’s Super GT and perhaps a bit in the yankii cars of the Japanese countryside.
No.5 Paul Newman/Bob Sharp Racing IMSA 300ZX GTO
Step into the world of high-dollar vintage race cars, and you’ll find that past ownership is sometimes viewed more highly by collectors than wins. Though Nissan built a number of winning IMSA race cars, the ones collectors really want are the 300ZXs owned by legendary actor Paul Newman. Newman had a long history with Datsun race cars before the IMSA cars ; he campaigned a 510 in addition to some early racing version of Nissan’s Z. Of the IMSA cars, there are many to choose from, but Newman’s 1987 300ZX GTO recently came up for sale, with an asking price north of $300,000. Sounds pricey for a car over 20 years old, but it’s a fair price for a full-fledged race car with a 750-horsepower turbocharged V6. Add the Newman connection, and that price becomes a bargain.
No.4 Nissan R91CP
With their sleek, purpose-built shapes, advanced technologies and obscenely powerful motors, prototype racers are never not cool. One of Nissan’s greatest prototype racers is the R91CP that won the 1992 Daytona 24 Hours. Unlike most prototype racing cars, the R91CP was designed and constructed entirely by Nissan. The R91CP’s engine pushed out more than 800 metric horsepower, and advanced carbon fiber construction kept weight down to a measly 900 kg. The R91CP’s participation in the 1992 Daytona 24 Hours race was notable for a number of reasons in addition to winning the race outright. The R91CP set a record for laps completed in the race, and the 1992 victory marked the first time the esteemed event was won by an all-Japanese team.
No.3 JGTC XANAVI NISMO R34 Skyline GT-R
Sony’s Gran Turismo series introduced Western audiences to a number of iconic Japanese vehicles, the most popular of which were Japan Grand Touring Championship (JGTC) cars. Spiritual successors to the esteemed Super Silhouette racers of the 1980s, the JGTC cars -- especially the GT500-class vehicles -- were massively flared, production-based vehicles that represented the pinnacle of Japanese racing. Nissan’s Skyline GT-Rs dominated the series, the most famous of these being the Xanavi NISMO R34 Skyline GT-R. This car outright won the 2003 JGTC season – the last-ever season to feature the Skyline GT-R – and the car’s tear-away red-and-sliver livery became so iconic, NISMO continued to use it on its 350Z and new GT-R JGTC/Super GT cars.
No.2 BRE 240Z
Brock Racing Enterprises’ Datsun 510s appropriately get a lot of love. After all, these are the little cars that could, taking on Alfa Romeo and BMW, and soundly beating them into submission. But BRE’s winning association with Datsun started long before the Simoniz 510 was a gleam in a replica-car builder’s eye.
Working with then-Datsun North America president Yutaka Katayama -- better known to Z fans as the legendary “Mr. K” -- BRE fielded what was essentially Nissan’s first North American works team. Armed with Datsun 2000 roadsters, and later the sensuous 240Z, BRE-prepped Datsuns dominated SCCA competitions as far back as 1968. It was these BRE-prepped 240Zs that helped really establish Nissan (Datsun) as a performance brand in North America, and it was these cars that made the Z a legend outside of Japan.
Though they won SCCA championships in 1970 and 1971, BRE ditched the 240Zs in favor of the 510s for the 1972 racing season. Datsun itself continued to race the BRE-prepped Z until 1973, when the car met its untimely demise in a rollover crash. Only replicas of the original BRE 240Zs exist today, and Nissan paid its own tribute to this legendary car with its 370Z done up in the famed BRE livery.
No.1 Group A R32 Skyline GT-R
Though the badge was seen on Japan-market Nissans from 1969 to 1977, it was the Group A R32 Skyline GT-R race car made the GT-R the worldwide legend it is today. Built atop the still-advanced R32 chassis 1989 Skyline GT-R to the FIA’s Group A spec, the R32 race cars were dubbed “Godzilla” due to their propensity for demolishing all on-track competition.
The Group A R32 broke track records and dominated every single race it competed in. The most famous R32, piloted by Kazuyoshi Hoshino and wearing the famed CALSONIC livery, won every single race of its first-ever racing season in the All-Japan Touring Car Championship. Over the next four years of competition, the combination of Hoshino and the R32 would continue to win every race they entered.
On the world stage, the Group A R32 Skyline GT-R won the Spa Francorchamps 24-hour race in 1991 and the Macau Grand Prix in 1990 with a 30-second gap over the second place finisher. So good was the Group A R32, to make things fair for the competition, the cars not outright banned incurred severe weight penalties. But even the portly cars managed numerous podium wins, securing the Group A R32 GT-R’s place in history.
SoSBut Nissan has been building winning race cars since long before taurine was a drink additive, and with machinery that includes the GT1-spec GT-Rs, continues to do so today. As guys who enjoy geeking out over impressive feats of engineering, we thought it would be fun to compile a list of the greatest racing Nissans of all time. We couldn’t include everything we like (sorry, D1 fans), but these are 10 of our favorites.
No.10 1936 Datsun Sports NL75: Nissan's first race car
All legacies start somewhere, and Nissan’s rich racing legacy starts with the Datsun Sports NL75. After losing Japan’s first motorsports event, the First All Japan Tamagawa Auto Race Competition, Nissan vowed to win the next race. And to ensure this victory, it used its engineering and manufacturing muscle to build its first-ever “works” race car -- the Datsun Sports NL75. Power ratings are unknown, but with just a 750cc motor with a Roots-type supercharger under its bonnet, a Versa would likely shame it on the dyno. But with a size and weight approximately equal to that of the Monopoly car, the NL75 was plenty quick: It gave Nissan its first-ever racing victory in 1936.
No.9 Leaf Nismo RC
Just as the Datsun Sports NL75 launched Nissan’s racing career, the all-electric Leaf Nismo RC (Racing Competition) launches its future. Looking like a Super GT version of Nissan’s electric roller skate, the Leaf Nismo RC serves as a test bed for developing electric technologies. Electric cars have a reputation for being slow, but with a 0-100 km/h time of just under seven seconds, the Leaf Nimso RC isn’t exactly a slouch. Top speed is said to be approximately 93 miles per hour, and the lithium-ion battery can be recharged in just 30 minutes. It’s not the fastest car on this list, but as the saying goes, racing improves the breed. If the mighty GT-R can trace its roots back to the Datsun Sports NL75, just imagine what future machines will trace their lineage back to this electrified ride.
No.8 R381
Nissan’s R381 looks like an old Chaparral, packs an American punch, and it may very well have been the inspiration for Speed Racer’s Mach 5. Built to compete in the Japan Grand Prix, the open-seater prototype R381 was powered by a Chevy motor that was completely torn down and rebuilt by Nissan to ensure it would be reliable for the unique challenges of the Japan Grand Prix. The most impressive feature of the R381, though, would have to be the active aero. That monstrous wing was split in two, and it would adjust midcorner to give the car more grip as it powered through the turns. So effective was this package that the R381 won the 1968 Japan Grand Prix outright -- even going so far as to lap its competition.
No.7 1958 Datsun 210 Fuji
For obvious reasons, the Second World War pulled Nissan out of the world of motorsport, and Nissan didn’t get back into the racing game until 1958, when it entered the Rally Australia “Mobilgas Trial.” Known at the time as “The World’s Cruelest Rally” and spanning over 19 days, one would think an armored Paris-Dakar racer would be needed just to finish the race. Nissan instead brought a pocket-size 210 sedan. This was Nissan’s first-ever attempt at Rally Australia and its first-ever entry into the world of international rally, so just finishing would have been an accomplishment. But Nissan’s little car was good; not only was it one of the few vehicles to actually finish the race, it even won its class.
No.6 Silvia/Bluebird Turbo Super Silhouette
Japan’s Super Silhouette series means little to those living outside Japan, but its influence can still be felt in Japanese motorsport -- and even car culture -- today. The Super Silhouette cars were wide-arched, fire-breathing variants of standard production cars. Nissan produced many impressive machines for this racing series, but perhaps the greatest would be the Bluebird Turbo that appeared on the series’ last-ever season in 1983. Like a modern NASCAR, the Bluebird Turbo Super Silhouette was a purpose-built, tube-frame machine. It weighed just 1,000 kg, and its 2.0-liter turbocharged engine spit out a godly 570 metric horsepower. The legacy of the Super Silhouette series lives on in Japan’s Super GT and perhaps a bit in the yankii cars of the Japanese countryside.
No.5 Paul Newman/Bob Sharp Racing IMSA 300ZX GTO
Step into the world of high-dollar vintage race cars, and you’ll find that past ownership is sometimes viewed more highly by collectors than wins. Though Nissan built a number of winning IMSA race cars, the ones collectors really want are the 300ZXs owned by legendary actor Paul Newman. Newman had a long history with Datsun race cars before the IMSA cars ; he campaigned a 510 in addition to some early racing version of Nissan’s Z. Of the IMSA cars, there are many to choose from, but Newman’s 1987 300ZX GTO recently came up for sale, with an asking price north of $300,000. Sounds pricey for a car over 20 years old, but it’s a fair price for a full-fledged race car with a 750-horsepower turbocharged V6. Add the Newman connection, and that price becomes a bargain.
No.4 Nissan R91CP
With their sleek, purpose-built shapes, advanced technologies and obscenely powerful motors, prototype racers are never not cool. One of Nissan’s greatest prototype racers is the R91CP that won the 1992 Daytona 24 Hours. Unlike most prototype racing cars, the R91CP was designed and constructed entirely by Nissan. The R91CP’s engine pushed out more than 800 metric horsepower, and advanced carbon fiber construction kept weight down to a measly 900 kg. The R91CP’s participation in the 1992 Daytona 24 Hours race was notable for a number of reasons in addition to winning the race outright. The R91CP set a record for laps completed in the race, and the 1992 victory marked the first time the esteemed event was won by an all-Japanese team.
No.3 JGTC XANAVI NISMO R34 Skyline GT-R
Sony’s Gran Turismo series introduced Western audiences to a number of iconic Japanese vehicles, the most popular of which were Japan Grand Touring Championship (JGTC) cars. Spiritual successors to the esteemed Super Silhouette racers of the 1980s, the JGTC cars -- especially the GT500-class vehicles -- were massively flared, production-based vehicles that represented the pinnacle of Japanese racing. Nissan’s Skyline GT-Rs dominated the series, the most famous of these being the Xanavi NISMO R34 Skyline GT-R. This car outright won the 2003 JGTC season – the last-ever season to feature the Skyline GT-R – and the car’s tear-away red-and-sliver livery became so iconic, NISMO continued to use it on its 350Z and new GT-R JGTC/Super GT cars.
No.2 BRE 240Z
Brock Racing Enterprises’ Datsun 510s appropriately get a lot of love. After all, these are the little cars that could, taking on Alfa Romeo and BMW, and soundly beating them into submission. But BRE’s winning association with Datsun started long before the Simoniz 510 was a gleam in a replica-car builder’s eye.
Working with then-Datsun North America president Yutaka Katayama -- better known to Z fans as the legendary “Mr. K” -- BRE fielded what was essentially Nissan’s first North American works team. Armed with Datsun 2000 roadsters, and later the sensuous 240Z, BRE-prepped Datsuns dominated SCCA competitions as far back as 1968. It was these BRE-prepped 240Zs that helped really establish Nissan (Datsun) as a performance brand in North America, and it was these cars that made the Z a legend outside of Japan.
Though they won SCCA championships in 1970 and 1971, BRE ditched the 240Zs in favor of the 510s for the 1972 racing season. Datsun itself continued to race the BRE-prepped Z until 1973, when the car met its untimely demise in a rollover crash. Only replicas of the original BRE 240Zs exist today, and Nissan paid its own tribute to this legendary car with its 370Z done up in the famed BRE livery.
No.1 Group A R32 Skyline GT-R
Though the badge was seen on Japan-market Nissans from 1969 to 1977, it was the Group A R32 Skyline GT-R race car made the GT-R the worldwide legend it is today. Built atop the still-advanced R32 chassis 1989 Skyline GT-R to the FIA’s Group A spec, the R32 race cars were dubbed “Godzilla” due to their propensity for demolishing all on-track competition.
The Group A R32 broke track records and dominated every single race it competed in. The most famous R32, piloted by Kazuyoshi Hoshino and wearing the famed CALSONIC livery, won every single race of its first-ever racing season in the All-Japan Touring Car Championship. Over the next four years of competition, the combination of Hoshino and the R32 would continue to win every race they entered.
On the world stage, the Group A R32 Skyline GT-R won the Spa Francorchamps 24-hour race in 1991 and the Macau Grand Prix in 1990 with a 30-second gap over the second place finisher. So good was the Group A R32, to make things fair for the competition, the cars not outright banned incurred severe weight penalties. But even the portly cars managed numerous podium wins, securing the Group A R32 GT-R’s place in history.
Quote
0.0177sec
0.32
5 queries
GZIP Disabled