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2023 Nissan Z NISMO Racing Car Unveiled, Will Race Next Month

The Z hasn’t even arrived in dealership forecourts, yet NISMO has already come up with a racing car based on the production model. Developed specifically for endurance racing, this fellow has been entered in the NAPAC Fuji SUPER TEC 24 Hour Race at the Fuji Speedway in Japan.
2023 Nissan Z NISMO racing car 15 photos
Photo: Nissan
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To compete in the ST-Q class, a non-competitive category that doesn’t belong to any of the other eight classes, the Z NISMO still is a work in progress. Two cars will be fielded: number 230 by NIMSO and number 244 by Max Racing. Super GT drivers Tsugio Matsuda, Ronnie Quintarelli, Daiki Sasaki, Kohei Hirate, and Kazuki Hoshino will drive the #230 car.

Max Racing chose team manager Tetsuya Tanaka, Toru Tanaka, Atsushi Miyake, Mitsunori Takaboshi, and Hironobu Yasuda for the #244 car. All of them have plenty of experience, but as noted earlier, the ST-Q class isn’t about who finishes first but about developing the car for future races.

Nissan didn’t bother mentioning what kind of modifications it brought to the vehicle, but nevertheless, we can tell that it’s lighter and produces more drag than the road-going model. A red-painted tow hook, vents in the hood, a beefy roll cage, stripped-out interior, lightweight wheels, ultra-sticky rubber boots, larger brakes, and a rear wing are the most notable changes.

Regarding the suck-squeeze-bang-blow department, an educated guess would be the 3.0-liter V6 that we already know from the Infiniti Q50 and Q60. The twin-turbocharged mill produces 400 horsepower on the nose and 350 pound-feet (475 Nm) of torque between 1,600 and 5,600 rpm. As for the transmission, we’re most likely dealing with a sequential gearbox rather than the rev-matching manual or nine-speed auto of the production model.

Already on sale in Japan in no fewer than five trim levels, including the limited-run Proto Spec inspired by the pre-production prototype, the Z will arrive in the United States of America this summer due to unspecified parts shortages. Nissan hinted $40,000 or thereabouts as the starting price for the U.S. model, which is very close to the $41,000 starting price for the JDM.
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Editor's note: Proto Spec also pictured in the gallery.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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