![]() Nissan had already created a version of the new-for-1995 R33 GT-R to contest that year’s Japanese GT Championship so a spin off model for Le Mans would be a comparatively straightforward undertaking. One of those was Nissan who, for 1995, decided to race a specially tuned R33 GT-R in the GT1 class at la Sarthe. Over the next few years, myriad GT specials were produced by manufacturers wanting to participate. Like the BPR organisers, the governing body that oversaw the annual Le Mans 24 Hours (the Automobile Club de l’Ouest), cut GT class homologation requirements to just a single road-going iteration of the proposed racing variant. Easy-to-meet homologation requirements quickly led to a range of well priced cars being offered.īurgeoning national GT series in Britain, Italy and Germany were joined by the international BPR series from 1994. GT racing’s low participation costs at a time when money was tight proved highly attractive. The successful reboot of the Grand Touting class was the direct result of an imploding Prototype racing scene. In conjunction with their official North American motorsport partner, Electramotive Engineering, Nissan also won the IMSA GTP championship for three consecutive seasons in 1989, 19. Their Group C programme began in 1985 it produced a series of spectacular vehicles and culminated in Nissan winning the 1990, 19 All Japan Sports Prototype Championships. Throughout this period, Nissan campaigned top flight Prototypes. The failure of Group B circuit racing meant that, between 19, the international GT scene was practically non-existent. Up until the early 1990s, the prevalence of comparatively inexpensive Group C customer Prototypes meant much slower GT-based series had all but died out. Meanwhile, a year or so earlier, the less costly discipline of GT racing had begun a tentative revival. Not unexpectedly, the 1993 World Sportscar Championship was abandoned before it started owing to insufficient manufacturer interest. New regulations needed expensive new cars and, one by one, privateer teams were forced out. They finally got it right, huh? Well, this car is something of a modern classic and can be made even better with some modifications.Two key factors led to the transformation of sports car racing in the early 1990s.Īs the 1980s drew to a close, the cost to compete in the World Sportscar Championship began to rise inexorably. This reduces the wear on the tires, a problem that plagued every single model of the GT-R since the dawn of time. While the R35 is still an all-wheel-drive, it has much better suspension, allowing for better handling and braking performance. The upcoming model of the Nissan R35 GT-R in 2024 is expected to make even greater waves. But make no mistake, it may have been built on a different platform, but it is a spiritual successor to the same long term GT-R series which has a legacy like none other in the car racing scene. Nissan had dropped the 'Skyline' name-tag, making this GT-R its own original brand. This car was fast, and even by modern standards, it was a reliable beast. Now, 480 horsepower is no joke, and neither is a 3.8-liter twin-turbo DOHC V6 engine. The hype was unreal, as the R35 was presented with one of the biggest automotive launches when it was introduced. Perhaps the greatest gift to Americans from Nissan, the 2010 Nissan R35 GT-R was the first GT-R launched directly to the American car market. ![]() Stats are taken from Hagerty and the official Nissan (and Nismo) websites. This is a list of 10 such classic Nissan Skyline GT-R models that became iconic in the Japanese car world. Eventually, however, Nissan had things figured out. There were several challenges throughout the process of finding what worked and what didn't. This iconic car, however, was not perfect from the very start. Japanese cars, at least the likes of the SilEighty and Mazda RX-7 were unable to get close enough to even be able to read the letters, GT-R, written above the tail-lamps of these wonderful machines. ![]() This led to the GT-R getting various victories at professional racing events and breaking many records. There were few cars that could keep up with its power, even on the racing circuits. Perhaps Nissan's greatest feat in automotive engineering, the Nissan Skyline GT-R was a powerful all-wheel-drive grip running machine that turned every corner at just about any speed, with absolutely no fear whatsoever. In the late 20th century, when the Japanese drift racing scene was at its peak, a new monster arrived at the mountain pass that took the racing world by storm.
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