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The Nissan R390 GT1 was a mid-engined super car built in Atsugi, Japan. It was designed primarily to gain a suitable racing entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997 and 1998. It was built to race under the grand tourer style rules, requiring a homologated road version to be built. Therefore, the R390 was built originally as production road car, then a racing version of the car was developed after. Only two R390 road cars were ever built. One was sold through a private auction, without any record, and the other one is stored at Nissan's Zama facility.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.speedhunters.com/2014/10/nissans-secret-stash/#chapter-homologation-specials )〕 The road car was capable of 220 mph, which initially surpassed the Jaguar XJ220 and RUF CTR2 in 1997, but was shortly superseded by the McLaren F1's 241 mph record in 1998. ==History== After returning to sports car racing in 1995, Nismo (Nissan Motorsport) had some measure of success with their Skyline GT-R LMs which had competed in the GT1 class. However, these cars were quickly outpaced by the influx of new manufacturers who were using loopholes in the GT regulations to build racing cars that bore little resemblance to their GT1 class competitors. This led to such machines as the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR and Porsche 911 GT1, as well as the development of the McLaren F1 GTR. Nismo's Skyline GT-Rs therefore needed to be replaced with more purpose built machinery. Turning to Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), Nismo began developing a prototype of the R390 GT1, named to follow in the tradition started in the 1960s with Nissan's R380. The first decision for Nismo and TWR was the choice of engine. The previous Skyline GT-R LMs had used the trusted RB26DETT Inline-6 motor, but the design was old for a racing car, employing an iron block which added weight, and had a high center of gravity. Nismo instead chose to resurrect an engine from the Nissan R89C, a racing car from the Group C era. Its engine, the VRH35Z, was a 3.5L V8 which used an aluminium block, as well as having a lower center of gravity and a better ability to be used as a stressed member over the RB26. Thus the engine was upgraded and designated VRH35L, and would produce approximately at 6800 rpm. For road going versions, the engine was detuned to 550 HP. The car's styling group was led by Ian Callum of Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). The mechanical and aerodynamic design was led both by Tony Southgate, also of Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), and Mr. Yutaka Hagiwara of NISMO. Southgate was the designer of the Jaguar XJR-9 amongst other TWR Sportscars, which had won at Le Mans. Due to this, the R390 GT1 bears a resemblance to the Jaguar XJR-15, which was also developed by TWR and based on the XJR-9 and in fact used a cockpit - including the tub, greenhouse and roof line - very much like that of the XJR15, although for the R390, the rear and front ends, and suspension were completely different, and, having been designed to meet GT1 specifications, the R390's chassis was lower and wider, but slightly shorter in length, than the Jaguar, making the R390 larger overall. Development of the car was achieved in a small amount of time, especially due to not having to scratch-build an engine. Nismo and TWR also had to build a production version of the R390 GT1 in order to meet production regulations. A red R390 prototype underwent wind-tunnel testing and aerodynamic improvements in England, however, the final production car was built and tested in Atsugi, Japan. Only two road-legal R390 production cars were built, both blue in color, with one road car ending up in storage at Nissan's Zama, Kanagawa facility. The other was sold through an undisclosed auction to an unknown wealthy recipient and Nissan enthusiast, though said to be registered with British tags reading, "R390 NIS". For 1998 the R390 was modified, most notably in the extension of its rear bodywork to create increased "luggage space" in order to satisfy the ACO, a new rear wing for racing models (production road cars had no wing), and the addition of a rear diffuser for improved downforce, after all three cars failed scrutineering at the 1997 event and had to be modified in order to be allowed to race. This subsequently led to overheating problems for the gearbox, and ultimately their failure during the race. Thus the "long tail" version was created, which boasted increased downforce thanks to the extended rear bodywork. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nissan R390 GT1」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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