Nissan R390 GT1 - 1998

The GT1 class, introduced in 1994, made it possible to use cars derived from the production model, but with modifications and performance closely resembling that of prototypes. Nissan resumed its dream of winning Le Mans, but the Skyline GTR Nismo was not as fast as its rivals. The result was the R390, a more competitive car that achieved a podium position, but not victory.

The GT1 regulations required no minimum number of units produced of the model on which the racing car is “theoretically” based. Instead, only one roadworthy unit is required to make the racing version compliant with the regulations.  The Japanese brand however enlisted the help of Tom Walkinshaw and his company TWR, which was successful with Jaguar in 1988 and 1990 and helped lay the foundations for the car that beat the 911 GT1 Le Mans in 1996. The British team worked on a GT with a carbon fibre monocoque for which Ian Callum, Jaguar's future design director, developed a body with simple lines, but not without character. For the engine, Nissan returned to its 3.5-litre VRH turbo engine, which had been used in previous years for the Group C prototypes. Three examples of the R390 were built, plus a fourth that was approved for road use, to compete in the Le Mans preliminaries in May 1997. One of these cars, driven by Martin Brundle and Jörg Müller with start number 21, recorded the absolute best time, while the other two finished in twelfth and seventeenth place. Almost a month later, during the official tests prior to the race, the No 22 car driven by Eric van de Poele, Riccardo Patrese and Aguri Suzuki finished third behind a TWR-Porsche WSC-95 and a Porsche 911 GT1. The team consisting of Brundle, Müller and South African Wayne Taylor finished seventh. The third team, consisting of Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Erik Comas and Masahiko Kageyama, failed to do better than fourteenth place, but would ultimately be the only one to finish the race, coming in twelfth, highlighting the reliability issues of the R390 GT1.

Four improved cars were built for the 1998 season (plus a road model), but Nissan only brought three of them onto the track, in combination with a 1997 model that had been adapted to the new specifications, which was used in both the preliminary rounds and during the race. To improve their chances, Nissan Motorsport enlisted experienced drivers such as Jan Lammers and John Nielsen, who had achieved victories for TWR-Jaguar a few years earlier. However, this change did not bring the desired result: during the preliminary rounds in May, the three new cars finished in sixth, seventh and eighth place, while the fourth only managed sixteenth. In the tests in June, Franck Lagorce achieved the best result with a tenth place. The R390 GT1 remained slower than its competitors, but ultimately proved to be more reliable. And although they did not pose a real threat to the Porsche 911 GT1-98, which finished first and second, all cars made it to the finish line. The number 32 took third place on the podium with its Japanese crew consisting of Aguri Suzuki, Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Masahiko Kageyama, while the other three cars finished fifth, sixth and tenth.