#DRIFT STREETS JAPAN R33 SKYLINE SERIES#

Front calipers were the four-piston type while two-piston calipers were used at the rear.Ī 65-litre fuel tank was mounted in the boot floor. The ventilated discs had 324mm diameter at the front and 300mm diameter at the rear. The LM also came with handsome new split-rim wheels which, at an 18-inch diameter, were an inch taller than the standard GT-R.īrakes were supplied by Brembo in Italy. Secondly, the four-wheel drive / four-wheel steer system was ditched in favour of a light weight rear drive / front steer set up. The unitary steel chassis was modified to suit. The suspension was fully adjustable with new springs and dampers and beefier strut braces. ChassisĪlthough the base model GT-R’s advanced underpinnings represented a very good platform for GT racing, Nismo made two key changes.įirstly, the suspension was switched from a multi-link layout to double wishbones all round.

Shrouding the lower apron was a massive extension that would enable the racing variants to accommodate more effective underbody venturis.Īt 1888mm, the GTR-LM was 108mm wider than a standard GT-R. The rear bumper assembly was completely new. The front and rear fenders were dramatically widened in order to accommodate the biggest possible wheels and tyres for racing.Ī fairly standard looking rear spoiler was mounted on a trunk lid that had been reconfigured to integrate with the heavily flared rear fenders. As the new front fenders were re-profiled at their leading edge, the indicators had to be moved down to the bumper.Ī new front hood featured a large but shallow power bulge. Underneath was a new apron with three further massive intakes. The simplified front bumper retained the GT-R’s trademark rectangular ducts.

Nismo created the GT-R LM primarily to homologate a wide-bodied racing variant for the GT1 class.Īside from the roof, doors, glass and rear light assemblies, everything was new what emerged looked like a modern interpretation of a Group 5 car from the late seventies Silhouette era. This proved straightforward and the one-off silver car was UK registered M828 VWL on March 21st. It was then flown out to England to gain European type approval. The R33 GT-R LM emerged from NISMO (NISsan MOtorsports) in the spring of 1995. A single road-going street version would be built in order to qualify for the GT1 class. Nissan had already created a version of the new-for-1995 R33 GT-R to contest that year’s Japanese GT Championship so a spin off model for Le Mans would be a comparatively straightforward undertaking. One of those was Nissan who, for 1995, decided to race a specially tuned R33 GT-R in the GT1 class at la Sarthe. Over the next few years, myriad GT specials were produced by manufacturers wanting to participate. Like the BPR organisers, the governing body that oversaw the annual Le Mans 24 Hours (the Automobile Club de l’Ouest), cut GT class homologation requirements to just a single road-going iteration of the proposed racing variant.

#DRIFT STREETS JAPAN R33 SKYLINE SERIES#

Easy-to-meet homologation requirements quickly led to a range of well priced cars being offered.īurgeoning national GT series in Britain, Italy and Germany were joined by the international BPR series from 1994. GT racing’s low participation costs at a time when money was tight proved highly attractive. The successful reboot of the Grand Touting class was the direct result of an imploding Prototype racing scene.

In conjunction with their official North American motorsport partner, Electramotive Engineering, Nissan also won the IMSA GTP championship for three consecutive seasons in 1989, 19.

Their Group C programme began in 1985 it produced a series of spectacular vehicles and culminated in Nissan winning the 1990, 19 All Japan Sports Prototype Championships. Throughout this period, Nissan campaigned top flight Prototypes. The failure of Group B circuit racing meant that, between 19, the international GT scene was practically non-existent. Up until the early 1990s, the prevalence of comparatively inexpensive Group C customer Prototypes meant much slower GT-based series had all but died out. Meanwhile, a year or so earlier, the less costly discipline of GT racing had begun a tentative revival. Not unexpectedly, the 1993 World Sportscar Championship was abandoned before it started owing to insufficient manufacturer interest. New regulations needed expensive new cars and, one by one, privateer teams were forced out. Two key factors led to the transformation of sports car racing in the early 1990s.Īs the 1980s drew to a close, the cost to compete in the World Sportscar Championship began to rise inexorably.

Drift streets japan r33 skyline