NISMO Unveils New Z GT500 Race Car, Set for 2023 Super GT Debut

Back in the '90s, Nissan was racing the GT-R wherever they could do so. And its superiority on the track quickly earned it the nickname of "Godzilla". Back in 1993, an R32 GT-R won the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, with Masahiko Kageyama behind the wheel. He would win the GT1 class of the series the following year as well. In 1995, he switched to the R33 GT-R and was once again first on the podium.

In 1996, with the launch of the GT500 class, Nissan lost the title to McLaren and their F1 GTR. Toyota won the championship the following year, but Nissan made a strong comeback winning the titles in 1998 and 1999, using the R33 and R34 GT-Rs. The series was reorganized into the Super GT Championship in 2005, and for the 3 straight years, Nissan campaigned the 350Z, also known as the Fairlady Z.

For the first three years, the new series proved to be a difficult environment for the Yokohama-based company. Toyota won 4 out 6 titles, with the Supra and the Lexus SC 430 in the GT500 category, and the MR-S in the GT300 category. A Mazda RX-7 won the GT300 title in 2006, while a Honda NSX came out on top of the GT500 class in 2007. But Nissan wasn't going to back down from the sport that easily.

In 2008 the company introduced their GT500-spec GT-R. Drivers Satoshi Motoyama and Benoît Tréluyer managed to win the championship that year. To make things even better, Kazuki Hoshino and Hironobu Yasuda drove a Fairlady Z to victory in the GT300 class as well. From 2009 until now, the GT-R has won 6 championship titles, 4 of which were in the GT500 category.

The R35 GT-R has had a good run, being campaigned for 14 consecutive seasons. It has fought against opponents like the Honda NSX, the Lexus SC 430, the RC-F, the LC 500 and since 2020, the new Toyota Supra. As the world anxiously waits to see if an R36 model will ever be built, Nissan has announced that the GT-R will be retired from the Super GT series. It is to be replaced, starting with 2022, by the new Z GT500 race car.

This move coincides with the official launch of the new Z car, which has already been showcased by the company on various occasions. Nissan hasn't released any information on the exact specifications of this vehicle. But seeing that it will race in the GT500 class, it's bound to be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine that should be capable of a maximum output of 650 horsepower.

Weight levels for this class are set at 2,271 lbs (1,030 kg) including driver and fuel, so it comes as no surprise that the GT500 class is one of the fastest forms of production-based sports car racing at this point. The new Z race car has been unveiled at Fuji Speedway today. There's even footage of it going out on the track, with Ronnie Quintarelli behind the wheel.