NEWS>> NISSAN RETURN TO LE MANS???
Japanese Auto Sport magazine and GTCenter.net are showing images of what appears to be a GT1 or GT2 Nissan R35 GT-R testing at Fuji, just before Christmas.
No official confirmation from the Japanese manufacture, but GTR Centre believe that the car is a GT1 chassis with close to 600bhp.
You can see the lowered stance, extra cooling and air outlets in the hood (bonnet!), wider fenders, skirts and of course, the rear wing. It may share the same V8 engine as the GT500 racer. The FiA GT regs forbid all wheel drive, so we know it is rear wheel drive. Production of the street-legal GTR-LM is rumoured to be limited to 300 units.
The actual race-car, according to GTR Centre, will only be available to race teams. The question is GT1, or GT2. The magazine claims GT1, but with Corvette moving to GT2 after the 2009 Le Mans, and the long term future of the Aston Martin DBR9 uncertain, GT1 isn’t much of a challenge.
GT2 seems to be the future, with BMW and Corvette joining GT2 and Aston Martin’s Vantage slowly making ground in the same class. We know that GT regulations will be modified for 2010 and GT2 may become a ‘new GT1′, so maybe Nissan have some insider info.
Would be so cool to see this at Le Mans AND the American Le Mans series in 2009 or 2010. All speculation for now, but its good to have some good Sports car racing news after all the doom and gloom recently!
More pics and info over at GTCenter.net and GTBlog.com
- Andy Blackmore
Earlier speculation of the GTR-LM on Speedhunters
