Nissan gave the first glimpse of its Le Mans challenger, the GT-R LM NISMO, during the commercial break at Super Bowl XLIX. The Japanese manufacturer premiered its “With Dad” ad, which offered the first look at the car it believes can take on the best in the world at the 24 hour race in June.
The NISMO is a front-engined, front wheel drive car powered by a V6 3-litre twin turbo petrol engine and a kinetic energy recovery system.
“It gave us great pride to reveal the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO during the Superbowl,” said Roel de Vries, Global Head of Marketing and Brand Strategy at Nissan. “The combination of the Super Bowl and the Le Mans 24 Hours – two of the most watched sporting events in the world – presented us with a unique opportunity to showcase our most ambitious motorsport programme in recent times.”
“The GT-R is our flagship road car,” he added. “This, the ultimate GT-R, continues a sporting bloodline that goes back three decades with NISMO, the motorsport and performance arm of Nissan. Le Mans drives innovation so success on the track will lead to greater innovation in our road car range. We are the new kids at Le Mans; our opponents are the best in the world but we are ready.”
Nissan has lofty ambitions for the NISMO and will enter the LM P1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship – the highest category in sports car racing. The series begins in Silverstone on April 12 before heading to Spa in Belgium, the Le Mans 24 Hour and Germany’s Nurburgring.
Testing on the GT-R began in Arizona last year and continues this week in Texas. Nissan’s drivers for the LM P1 are yet to be announced.