Update, September 28: Nismo reveals GT4-spec Nissan Z ahead of 2023 race launch
gave 2023 Nissan Z GT4Nissan’s latest Nismo-built customer racing car has been revealed ahead of its competition debut next year.
The GT4-spec racer bolsters Nissan Z’s already buzzing motorsport program, which competes in Japan’s Super Taikyu series under the ST-Q manufacturer class, as well as SuperGT’s top-flight GT500 division.
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Like all GT4-spec machines, the Nissan Z GT4 Nismo is a track-only performance machine, extensively modified but still based on the standard production vehicle.
The transformation from road car to racer was overseen by the Nismo Racing division, which fattened the factory-equipped 3.0-liter VR30 twin-turbo V6 and tweaked the chassis, suspension and aerodynamics for global GT4 competition.
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GT4 is considered an entry point to global GT racing, with the grid consisting of much cheaper (comparatively) and less powerful vehicles. The class is geared towards pro-am ‘customer racing’, with Nismo’s turnkey machine requiring a balance between professional competition and amateur access.
Final specifications will be released at this year’s SEMA show, which takes place in the US from November 1-4. Nissan says customer racing deliveries are expected from the first half of 2023.
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Until then, feel free to check out the images and watch Nissan’s reveal video above.
September 27: Nismo will reveal the factory-built GT4-spec Nissan Z tomorrow
Nismo’s new Z is being unveiled tomorrow, but it’s not the road-going model you’ve been waiting for.
Instead, the curtains will drop on what is highly anticipated to be a factory-built Nissan Z racing car ready for global GT4 competition.
Nissan’s global headquarters in Japan posted a shadowy teaser image on Twitter, with a link to a virtual premiere. 9:00am Australian Eastern Standard Time, Wednesday 28 September.
By making great use of the ‘enhance’ function The wheels Very own CSI (A special investigation of the car…) division, the de-shadowed teaser clearly shows the race-ready Z, emblazoned with ‘GT4’ on its side.
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The presence of a fixed-back bucket seat with restraint wings wrapped around the head, as well as what appears to be a ‘dry brake’ fuel coupling, indicate that this is not a road-going Z, but intended for the circuit. Is.
The front bumper features a jutting splitter and dive planes, followed by a vented bonnet and a fixed single-plane wing at the rear.
The car wears a retro-throwback livery over the Nismo checkered flag motif, similar to that seen on Nismo’s upgraded S- and R-Tun Zs and 2000’s line of Skylines.
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The GT4-spec Nissan Z is a logical progression from the current Nissan Z racing cars that already compete in Japan’s Super Taikyu season.
Super Taikyu is Japan’s Pro-Am GT racing series. and the largest of its kind in Asia, with nine racing classes of commercially available road-going vehicles, from FIA GT3 to sub-1.5-litres.
Already two factory-backed Nissan Zs are competing in Super Taikyu’s ST-Q class (and also in the top-flight GT500 class), with ST-Q catering to non-homologated racing cars produced by manufacturers, an interesting Tests are provided. Beds for the likes of Toyota, Mazda and Subaru to experiment with hydrogen-ICE power plants as well as bio and synthetic fuels.
The ST-Q-spec Z is very similar to the GT4-spec car, with the main visual difference seen in the aero.
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Just like the previous 370Z, whose road-going Nismo model was aided by the learnings and developments gained from the car’s participation in SuperGT, the Nissan Z’s multifaceted motorsports program is expected to result. On-road Nissan Z Nismowith recent reports from Japan indicating a possible 2023 reveal.
Read more below and stay tuned for the latest Nissan Z news.
September 26: 2023 Nismo Z? Japanese reports suggest that the Nissan Z is hotter.
Designs filed with the Japanese Patent Office show that a tougher variant of the new Nissan Z is in the works – and could be revealed as soon as 2023.
Japanese Automotive Outlet The best car reports that a hotter version of Nissan’s new Z is in the pipeline, citing recent patent filings and modified mule markings.
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In its home market of Japan, the highly anticipated Nissan Z has been a huge success, with delivery times reportedly exceeding two years and forcing Nissan Japan to freeze orders at the end of July.
Patent images have been shared. The best car Shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 is a cut-up Z that looks almost identical to the revised Nissan Z ‘customized proto’ concept car.
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US test mules spotted in California and Arizona last month were also spotted wearing the same split front bumper layout, with a cooled front lip and featuring ‘Nismo’ branded seats.
Whether this cut-up variant is the upcoming Nismo Z variant, or something else, is still unclear.
Although not officially confirmed by Nissan, many expect some form of Nismo-tuned Z to join the range in the future, just a year after the Nismo variant of the previous generation 370Z was launched. Will appear later. The new Z already competes in Japan’s Super Taikyu series, and is being built for GT4-spec racing – so there’s already motorsport engineering and development that could go into the road car.
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If this upcoming Z variant isn’t a Nismo-branded product, what else could it be? Previous Z generations have a strong preference for anniversary models, with 2023 marking 90 years since Nihon Sangyo first appeared on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1933 as ‘Nissan’.
The modified Nissan Z display vehicle introduced at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon was designed as a tribute to the original Datsun 240Z Z432R factory-built racing car.
Between 30 and 50 of these factory lightweight racers were produced in 1970, with no radio or air-con, acrylic glass, FRP panels and 0.2 mm thinner body panels for ultimate weight savings.
The ‘432’ features Datsun’s famous S20 inline-six engine with four valves per cylinder, three Maconi carburetors and a dual overhead cam configuration. The S20 engine was famously lifted from the original Skyline GT-R – the ‘Hakosuka’ PGC10 – which in turn derived its powerplant from Prince’s Grand Prix-winning R380 race car.
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