While the new GT-R has been kicking arse and taking names just about everywhere it’s laid rubber, Japanese magazine Auto Sport has got its hands on photos and early specs for the R35 Nissan intends to throw at the competition in the FIA GT1 series.
As proof of its intentions, Nissan has gone the full nine yards and outfitted this GT-R with a low GT wing, clear acrylic windows, upgraded brakes and track rims, and a host of cooling intakes and vents in the body and bonnet.
Auto Sport says the GT1-spec GT-R has foregone the car’s standard twin-turbo 3.8 litre V6, replacing it with a V8, possibly the same 4.5 litre VK45DE engine found in Nissan’s SuperGT R35. However, this would seem to contradict the FIA’s expected new regulations which would see all GT1 cars running engines with a capacity greater than 5.5 litres, meaning that the much larger 5.6-litre VK56DE from the Nissan Titan ute may be shoehorned into the engine bay instead.
As far as the rest of the mechanical package is concerned, a mechanically-actuated 6-speed manual transmission will likely back up the GT-R’s big V8 while the enormous AP Racing brakes you see here will probably make it to the grid too. As all-wheel-drive is banned under FIA GT1 class rules, the GT-spec R35 GT-R will be rear-wheel-drive only.
As reported back in November, Nissan is also rumoured to be working on a Le Mans version of the GT-R, which we’d initially understood to offer power in the vicinity of 445kW. If Auto Sport has its facts right, this figure is now looking to be closer to 405kW. If that doesn’t get your heart going, the rumoured 607Nm of torque and kerb weight of 1549kg might do the trick.
Only 300 units of the GT-R LM are expected to see the light of day, with the production schedule broken down into 10 per month. The price is expected to be around 18,000,000 yen (AU$292,349).
Interestingly, given that the FIA’s GT class rules require the racing version to be mechanically similar to a road-going model (of which a minimum of 25 must be sold to the public), the R35 GT-R LM could very well offer the same RWD V8 package as the carbon-bodied monster at the top of this post. Drool.
[scanned images courtesy GTR-blog]
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Haha, the Japanese in the “scoop!” picture says that the V8 sound was like a thundering roar. I gotta hear it!
Simply amazing now all they need is a homologation model V8 GTR as well and Nissan could have best of both worlds! Hopefully they can created a R34 UTE with stove pot tail-lights too!!!
That thing looks so tough.
Hopefully they do a Ferrari and make something along the lines of a Challenge Stradale (i.e. build a roadgoing variant of the racing variant of a road car).
V8 6 Speed Manual….that is how the GTR should of been released Nissan should be worrying about the Business person who cant drive a car with a twin plate clutch!
The FIA GTR looks awesome and with those specs it should be quite the competitor!
Arr crap i meant shouldnt be worrying
Bah!