Nissan is set to join the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2015. Nissan will join compatriot, Toyota to fend-off Porsche and Audi for Le Mans 24 hours glory next year! The Japanese firm has confirmed that it will mount a two-car attack for the entire WEC season of 2015 with a car to be known as the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO.
Nissan vice-president Andy Palmer explained that his company wanted to exploit the new energy-based P1 rules introduced for this season by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest at Le Mans and the FIA. Interestingly, Nissan will not follow its rivals by embracing hybrid in its LMP1 cars, instead Nissan will explore something different. The project is set to involve Nissan engineers and technical crew from all over the world, with Nissan’s tuning arm in Japan, NISMO, set to spread head this project.
It is also claimed by NISMO head, Shoichi Miyatani that Nissan LMP1 will carry the name of the marque’s road-going GT-R supercar because it “symbolises the ultimate in Nissan’s performance”. This is not the first time Nissan is mounting a challenge in Le Mans as they had cars in that famous 24 hour race two decades ago, with the Nissan Skyline GT-R in 1995 and 1996.
While Nissan is yet to announce the details of the new LMP1 machine, they’ve set their sights on winning the prestigious 24 Hours race in 2016. The Nissan GT-R LM NISMO is scheduled to hit the track in October ahead of a two-car assault on the full WEC in 2015.
[Source: Autosports]
