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Nissan, Mazda Readying European Enduro Assault

Nissan and Mazda will each take on two of the world's biggest endurance events, with Nissan to contest the 2015 Le Mans 24-hour with the GT-R LM Nismo, and Mazda taking on the gruelling ADAC Nurburgring 24-Hour in a showroom-stock MX-5. The GT-R LM


Nissan and Mazda will each take on two of the world's biggest endurance events, with Nissan to contest the 2015 Le Mans 24-hour with the GT-R LM Nismo, and Mazda taking on the gruelling ADAC Nurburgring 24-Hour in a showroom-stock MX-5.

The GT-R LM Nismo will duke it out at La Sarthe in the LM P1 category, where the yet-to-be-revealed prototype race car will go head-to-head with other cutting-edge race cars from Audi, Porsche, Toyota.

But while the diesel-electric and petrol-electric hybrid powertrains of its competitors are already known, Nissan has yet to release details of the GT-R LM Nismo's powerplant.

Odds are high though that it will retain a V6 engine that bears some commonality with the VR38DETT used in the GT-R road car, with some kind of hybrid assistance system to boost fuel economy during the day-long race.

However Nissan Executive Vice-President Andy Palmer promises that the GT-R LM Nismo will do things a little differently:

“LM P1 is not just an arms race – all our rivals in the class have taken different technical approaches and we will be doing the same," Palmer said in a statement.

"We want to win in a very different way to that of our rivals.

"We won’t be turning up in a vehicle which is a basically another hybrid that looks like another Porsche, Audi or Toyota – they all look the same to me – our intention is to do something that is a little bit different.”

The driver line-up for Nissan's headline Le Mans entrant has yet to be confirmed.

Mazda MX-5 To Take On Nurburgring 24hr

While the GT-R LM Nismo readies itself for Le Mans, its Japanese compatriot the Mazda MX-5 will also be gearing up for an endurance experience of its own at the ADAC Nurburgring 24-hour next month.

Competing in the VC category, the factory-backed MX-5 will essentially be in stock form - besides the safety gear required for wheel-to-wheel racing at the fearsome Nurburgring. UK firm JOTA Sport is responsible for race preparation.

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