Let the Super GT battle begin! Nissan has unveiled the new 2017 GT-R Nismo GT500, and make no mistake, this is one mean-looking race car. Fully compliant with the race series’ new regulations for next year, there’s plenty for the eyes to see.
This includes a massive rear wing, placed atop the elongated tail, along with massive vented wheel arches, bonnet “carvings”, dive planes on the front bumper’s outer edges, slats in the splitter and winglets running along the side skirts.
Impressive as it may be, the new 2017 rules means there’s actually 25% less downforce than before, but Nissan has compensated for this by claiming “further advances were achieved in power output,” which sounds like code for more grunt from the regulation 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine.
Elsewhere, the car also sports a lower centre of gravity than before, along with an optimisation of weight distribution. That should help the GT-R regain its success in the GT500, where it picked up both driver’s and manufacturer’s titles in 2014 and 2015, but lost out to Lexus in 2016. Speaking of Lexus, the GT-R race car will go up against the LC GT500, with further competition coming in the shape of Honda’s lovely NSX-GT.
“We will make further development improvements during off-season tests and aim to create a race car that will shine brilliantly within the history of motorsports. We hope to thrill fans with a fast, more appealing GT-R that will excite fans as it lines up on the grid for the opening round competing against the new Lexus and Honda machines,” said president and CEO of Nismo, Takao Katagiri.
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cant wait to hear it roar.
Looks like lego toy. No character
Wow, this mat-black finish GT500 looks like from the show “Death Race” & it looks menacing indeed.
What is more interesting is that this car is powered by a 2 liter generating 650 hp instead of the regular 3.5 V6 you find in the normal GTR.
Of course, john will say you can get more power from Ah-Beng.
The implementation of the 2.0L 4 cylinder Turbocharged engine configuration in SuperGT is a huge disappointment. It has no connection whatsoever to the road car’s engine. Maybe this has been the case since the rebranding of JapanGT to SuperGT but the downsizing/dumbing down the engine to 4-cylinders plus making it standard configuration is just too much for the GT500 class. That’s why the GT300 is much more interesting/appealing to follow..
Mother of Godzilla