NISMO Archives

22nd NISMO Festival this weekend celebrates 50th anniversaries of Nissan GT-R and Fairlady Z

Each year, NISMO, Nissan’s motorsports and high-performance division, holds the NISMO Festival which gives fans an opportunity to get up close with their favourite Nissan racing cars and drivers. Tomorrow (December 8) will see the 22nd edition of the event at Japan’s Fuji Speedway.

This year’s event, which coincides with the 35^th anniversary of NISMO’s establishment, is also a special one as it will highlight the 50th anniversary of Nissan’s legendary GT-R and Z models. To represent the GT-R, the festival will feature the KPGC10 ‘Hakosuka’ Skyline 2000 GT-R which won the JAF GP (Japan Automobile Federation Grand Prix) in 1969; the legendary Group A BNR32 Skyline GT-R; and the 2019 Super GT GT-R racing cars.

1969 Datsun Skyline GT-R — The 1969 Skyline 2000 GT-R (KPGC10) was a high-performance sedan for touring car races with the world’s first 4-valve DOHC engine for production cars. It made its race debut at the JAF Grand Prix at the Fuji International Speedway in May 1969.

The festivities will also highlight the Fairlady Z – which began with the 240Z as it was known outside Japan – there will be several well-preserved examples ranging from road cruisers to fully bespoke racing machines representing NISMO’s rich history and association with the legendary sportscar. Along with a few other models, the ‘Z’ made a strong impression in the American market in the 1970s, strengthening the Datsun brand which was later changed to ‘Nissan’.

1969 Datsun Fairlady Z — The first generation Fairlady Z (S30), also known as Datsun 240Z or Z-car outside Japan, was launched in December 1969. This model was manufactured for 9 years and its global sales exceeded 520,000 units. This car was powered by a S20 inline DOHC 24-valve 6-cylinder engine which produced 160 ps.

Current Nissan and NISMO cars that embody the Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision, the company’s approach to changing how cars are powered, driven and integrated with society, will also be on display, as well as the new, all-electric Formula E race car and the LEAF NISMO RC – both sporting a new kimono-inspired livery.

2019 NISMO Festival — *LEAF NISMO RC sporting a new kimono-inspired livery.*

NISMO Festival-goers will have a chance to experience an exhilarating Time Attack event with specially tuned GT-Rs and walk around the first ‘owner’s parking’ area, made exclusive for owners to park their prized GT-R or Z and share their passion with each other.

“The NISMO Festival is an event we have nurtured with great care,” said NISMO President Takao Katagiri, who oversees Nissan’s NISMO road car business. “I hope many of our fans, drivers, team directors, team staff and NISMO employees will join us in creating a fun day again this year.”

*The prototype Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign will also be on display at the event. 50 unis are being made to celebrate the model’s 50th anniversary.*

This Lego Nissan GT-R Nismo is what you’ll want in 2020

Nissan celebrate heritage at NISMO festival

Last week’s NISMO festival that was supported by Motul, played host to an interesting display of vehicles from Nissan’s memorable past. There were Group C cars, Super GT cars, Touring Cars and even an incredible display of rally cars. Thousands of fans either attended the event at Fuji International Speedway or tuned in to NISMO.tv to witness the spectacle.

All of those cars were part of Nissan’s heritage collection, which is housed in the Zama Heritage Center in Japan. Here, the automaker houses a plethora of vehicles from its Motorsport past as well as road cars that date back to the Datsun type 12 Phaeton from 1933.

According to the automaker, it has more than 400 vehicles stored in its Zama facility and if you would like to see more of them, CLICK HERE. As portrayed by the various pictures in the gallery, Nissan has had a colourful Motorsport history that has contributed somewhat in it becoming the automotive giant it is today.

Check out the pictures below and let us know what you think of its vintage and classic cars. And should you require further information on them, check out Nissan’s online heritage site. It houses a massive collection of pictures and specifications of each individual car. It’s in Japanese though, so use Google Chrome to get the translation done in a single click.

Nissan take life-size remote controlled GT-R around Silverstone

You may have heard of miniature RC or remote controlled vehicles, the same machines that have brought joy to children and adults all over the world since the 1980s. In fact, special RC tournaments are conducted annually, in several parts of the world to prove who has the best reflexes at successfully maneuvering their vehicles past challenging miniature circuits.

Nissan has decided to take this one step further by introducing a full-size RC vehicle in the form of the latest iteration of the GT-R supercar. It has done this to celebrate the launch of the highly acclaimed Gran Turismo Sport game for the PlayStation 4 console.

Called the GT-R/C the vehicle is a fully standard car with the stock V6 engine that puts out 542bhp and an all-wheel-drive system. Engineered in the UK by JLB Design Ltd, the car has been fitted with four robots that operate the steering, transmission, brakes and throttle. Six computers mounted in the boot update the controls at up to 100 times a second.

The vehicle is driven/controlled though operating an unmodified DualShock 4 controller that connects to a micro-computer which interprets the joystick and button signals and transmits them to the GT-R /C’s on-board systems. From an operator’s perspective, there is no discernible difference between the game and the real life car with the exception of the viewing angles.

This vehicle was driven around the Silverstone circuit by NISMO racing driver Jann Mardenborough. If that name sounds familiar, it is because he is one of the most successful winners of GT Academy, Nissan’s unique driver discovery and development programme.

Mardenborough controlled the GT-R/C via the DualShock controller from the cockpit of a Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter. Since the controller had to be within a 1km distance of the car to safely control it, the helicopter had to fly at a very low altitude for the duration of the session.

As a safety net, the GT-R/C was fitted with two independent safety systems, operating on different radio frequencies, which allow two additional operators to apply full ABS braking and cut the engine, should there be any signal interruption from Mardenborough’s controller.

Speaking of the event, Mardenborough said, “This was once-in-a-lifetime, truly epic stuff. The GT-R /C has brought my two worlds together – the virtual of gaming and the reality of Motorsport – in a way I never thought possible.”

“The response from the car when using the controller was far more engaging than I thought it would be. JLB Design has done an incredible job at making everything respond really well,” he added.

Next year, Nissan will be taking this car on a tour to primary and secondary schools in the UK to promote future careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects. And maybe, inspire the next generation of engineers to turn to Nissan’s R&D platform.

Nissan GT-R Track Edition to debut at New York Motorshow

The 2017 Nissan GT-R Track Edition will make its debut at the upcoming New York Motorshow which will take place from 14th to 23rd April. This track edition of Godzilla builds on the already successful platform to deliver even better driving dynamics.

Nissan’s latest edition to the GT-R range slots between the T (Touring) and R (Racing) editions of the namesake. It is said to offer higher levels of performance than the Premium version and incorporates a number of elements from the GT-R NISMO. That said,unlike the NISMO, its engine still retains the same horsepower as the Premium variant at 565bhp.

Other improvements to the car include additional adhesive bonding to the body, which improves body shell rigidity, the 4-wheel-drive system has been tuned to NISMO specifications and too top it all off, Nissan has reduced the weight and added additional roll stiffness as well as NISMO spec tyres.

Those aren’t the only elements that were carried over, the Track Edition also features NISMO front fenders, 20-inch NISMO forged aluminium-alloy wheels and a special dry carbon-fibre rear spoiler. As for the interior, it has a unique red and black colour combination and Recaro seats.

“The new GT-R Track Edition gives buyers a specialized model, one true to GT-R heritage and available only by special order,” said Michael Bunce, vice president, Product Planning, Nissan North America, Inc. “Building on the major upgrade to every GT-R for 2017, the Track Edition is an amazing package inside, outside and under the skin.”

Nissan says that the car will go on sale in the US towards the third quarter of this year but will only be available at GT-R certified Nissan dealerships in the country.