[Fullrevs]

Rumoured to have the fastest hybrid engine with 1200BHP going to the front wheels only. (500BHP via the engine and 700 via the ERS system). Ex F1 driver Marc Gene is the first driver to be signed by the team.

Report:
Nissan declared itself ready to take on the world's best sports car manufacturers after revealing a glimpse of its Le Mans challenger - the Nissan GT-R LM Nismo - during the commercial break for Super Bowl XLIX.

2014's Super Bowl was the most watched television program in U.S. television history with over 110 million viewers. The 2015 game was therefore the perfect opportunity for Nissan's "With Dad" commercial to air for the first time, revealing the much-anticipated Nissan GT-R LM Nismo, the car that will take on the best in the world in the race to glory at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

In a bold move, the Japanese manufacturer has interpreted the sport's technical regulations in an innovative way, producing a front-engined, front wheel drive car that is powered by a V6 3.0-liter twin turbo gasoline engine and a kinetic energy recovery system.

"It gave us great pride to reveal the Nissan GT-R LM Nismo during the Super Bowl," 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 program in recent times. The GT-R is our flagship road car. 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."

The new car will contest the LM P1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the highest category in world sports car racing. Starting at Silverstone, UK on April 12, 2015, the series travels around the world to Spa in Belgium, onto the Le Mans 24 Hours and Germany's Nürburgring, before going global with races in the U.S., Japan, China and the Middle East.

The FIA World Endurance Championship is the ultimate proving ground for automotive companies as technological gains on the track can carry through to road cars. Racing car engineers are facing the same challenges as road car engineers as the spotlight falls on energy efficiency. With more technical freedom than Formula 1, the LM P1 engineers have ample opportunity to innovate.

"This is innovation that excites," said Shoichi Miyatani, president of Nismo. "Sustainability is at the top of our agenda, and the technical regulations for Le Mans give us the freedom to pursue new ideas in this area. Our record at Le Mans is third place overall, so we have unfinished business there. We want to win and we have the knowledge to do that - for our customers, our employees and our fans. The competition is exceptionally strong and we are excited by the challenge."

"Our LM P1 program makes the connection between Nismo on the road and Nismo on the track, showcasing our brand DNA to a global audience," said Darren Cox, global head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, Nismo. "We are taking motorsport to the masses, telling tales of technical innovation but also human stories via all of the exciting communications channels that are open to us now. We will innovate off the track as well as on it, so you can be assured that this is just the beginning of the story."

[GTO]

Front engine, front wheel drive in a racing car! When was the last time you saw that? This, with 1200 horses...far more than F1.

Must say the rules offer higher freedom (than F1) to allow different layouts among the teams. I don't usually follow this racing series, but will check on how Nissan performed.

[Fullrevs]

Likewise GTO. Just reading the specs of this car has got me intrigued in the racing series. Would be fantastic if they could make a dent in the domination by Audi.

No wonder companies like Porsche, Nissan, Toyota arent looking at F1 again. The WEC really is going to be on par with F1 if the strategic group dont come with something soon. Sign the documents on the 1000BHP F1 engines already.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Fullrevs

Likewise GTO. Just reading the specs of this car has got me intrigued in the racing series. Would be fantastic if they could make a dent in the domination by Audi.

No wonder companies like Porsche, Nissan, Toyota arent looking at F1 again. The WEC really is going to be on par with F1 if the strategic group dont come with something soon. Sign the documents on the 1000BHP F1 engines already.

(Road-car worthy) Spec-excellence and engineering flexibility wise, WEC left F1 behind quite a while ago. F1 today is just surviving at the top on its 'pinnacle of motorsport' reputation, but cracks are starting to show.

F1 fan ranting aside, this car would be intriguing to watch. That much power to the front wheels would brings lots of usable power delivery and handling challenges. Be interesting to find out what solutions Nissan have implemented. The car ain't no looker though, but who cares as long as it GOES!!

[Fullrevs]

Call me stupid Chetan but I actually like the way it looks. Looks like it could be quite slippery through the air. Hope they air the entire season on Star Sports?

Nissan have signed three drivers for their WEC and Le Mans 24 hours programme:

Olivier Pla, Harry Tincknell and Tsugio Matsuda. Pla and Tincknell will be regulars in the World Endurance Championship, with Matsuda joining the team for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Image Source: Motorsport.com

WEC and Le Mans Entry List for 2015 revealed

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Fullrevs

Call me stupid Chetan but I actually like the way it looks. Looks like it could be quite slippery through the air. Hope they air the entire season on Star Sports?

It's just not a looker in the 'traditional' car sense, but then it isn't a traditional car, is it? Reminds me of the Bat-Mobile from some certain angles!

How it performs remains to be seen, but I'm guessing a lot of aero work would've gone in to stabilizing the FWD concept. I'd love a T-BHP review if GTO & gang can get their hands on one

Comprehensive coverage may be a sore point though, remains to be seen if they broadcast the whole season in India. Even F1 coverage leaves a lot to be desired, and F1 is popular.

[goingout]

It is a 4 wheel drive car. The engine powers the front wheels and the ERS drives the rear. I'm guessing they will use the torque of the ERS to get out of corners and as the revs go up feed in more front power from the engine to eliminate understeer.

Great to see Harry in an LMP1 car. I met him last year in the MRF championship. Good guy and a very fast driver!

We shared a race weekend with WEC in Bahrain last year. I must say these cars look insane and every LMP1 car has a distinct sound. The Audi just flies past like a spaceship while the Toyota thunder can be heard in a 4 mile radius.

Can't wait for the season to begin. High hopes from this new GT-R!

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by goingout

.....The engine powers the front wheels and the ERS drives the rear........

I was thinking on similar lines. Is there anywhere we can read up more about it, or is it all hush-hush for now?

[goingout]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

I was thinking on similar lines. Is there anywhere we can read up more about it, or is it all hush-hush for now?

http://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/e...mp1-challenger

They harvest the energy from the front wheels but don't clarify if they feed it back through the front or rear.

I would be very surprised if it's a genuine 100% front wheel drive car. That would be undriveable with this amount of power and torque.

[drpullockaran]

The company that makes the ERS system for Nissan is Torotrak and the details of the car is given in the link below. It is a pure front wheel drive car with 14 inch rubber in the front and 9 inch rubber at the rear.
http://autoweek.com/article/sports-c...r-bowl-xlix-ad

If you want to know about Torotrak click on the link below. They are an unassuming lot of forward thinking individuals who put their money where their mouth is .
http://www.torotrak.com/about/

[goingout]

Originally Posted by drpullockaran

If you want to know about Torotrak click on the link below. They are an unassuming lot of forward thinking individuals who put their money where their mouth is .
http://www.torotrak.com/about/

Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

I've been around a lot of discussions about this car with some top motorsport people. The word was that there is some power going to the rear. But if it is genuinely fully front wheel drive then I am astonished.

Will try to check with Harry once he gets a little free.

[Fullrevs]

Further announcements at Nissan:

Nissan GT Academy winners Jann Mardenborough and Lucas Ordonez will race the Nissan GTR LM Nismo this year.

Originally Posted by Motorsport.com

GT Academy winners Jann Mardenborough and Lucas Ordonez will race the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO this year, the Japanese manufacturer has announced.

Briton Mardenborough, who won the GT Academy in 2011, will drive the radical front-engined car in the World Endurance Championship full time, while Ordonez will compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

"It's an honour for me to be chosen to compete in LM P1 for Nissan," said 23-year-old Mardenborough.

"I have raced at Le Mans twice in LM P2 so I have seen the current LM P1 cars at very close quarters out on the track.

"To think I will be racing one this year is very exciting. The Nissan GT-R LM NISMO looks set to be an historic race car and I get to drive it!"

Ordonez's sole outing with the GT-R LM NISMO will be at Le Mans, although Nissan has not ruled out further races for the 29-year-old.

The Spaniard will also be competing in the Japanese Super GT series with a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500.

"When I received the call telling me I would race the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO and the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 it was like winning GT Academy all over again," said Ordonez.

"Last year was incredible, racing in Japan and learning all about the unique racing culture over there. Now I get to race in the top class in Japan and at Le Mans I will jump into the ultimate GT-R!"

Mardenborough and Ordonez will be joined in the LMP1 line-up by Michael Krumm, who will race in the first three rounds of the WEC at Silverstone, Spa and Le Mans.

[Fullrevs]

Since we dont have a seperate thread for the WEC thought Ill just put this up here.

Indian Advaith Deodhar is possibly in for a race seat with TEAM SARD-Morand. The process of selection for the coveted seat will be filmed in an online series called Race to 24. The only Indian in the shootout, Advait Deodhar will compete with other drivers in this interactive show.
Full Story here

[Fullrevs]

Another driver signed for Nissan's LMP1 project:

Former Formula 1 driver Max Chilton has confirmed that he will make the switch to the World Endurance Championship this year to pilot Nissan's new GT-R LM NISMO in the LMP1 category.

Chilton joined Marussia towards the end of 2012 and stepped up to a race seat for 2013, remaining with the team throughout 2014 until its demise after the Russian Grand Prix.

Chilton, who has recently been assisting Carlin in preparation for its debut in IndyLights this year, will sample the LMP1 for the first time in Florida this week, ahead of the first round of the season at Silverstone next month.

"I'm honoured to have been asked to join a manufacturer as prestigious as Nissan in a championship that is growing year on year," said Chilton.

"Le Mans has always had an amazing following and to be racing there as a works driver is a dream come true. My aim has always been to race at the highest level and the technology that has gone into the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO is as impressive as a Formula 1 car."

Chilton joins the already-confirmed Marc Gené, Michael Krumm, Jann Mardenborough, Olivier Pla and Harry Tincknell at the squad, with the configuration of the three-driver, two-car team to be announced at a later date.

[goingout]

Looks like F1 is becoming the feeder series for WEC now. Lol

After talking to some more people and Harry as well. Looks like it is fully front wheel drive! Still hard to believe. Can't wait to see how it does in the races.