Nissan LMP1 Announcement.. probably
Discussion
I guess the obvious question - is what day will they be unveling this at Le Mans? Just been watching the Promo Video and there's obviosuly a rolling chassis if not a full development car under the black cloth. Last year they unveiled the ZEOD to fans at Le Mans, so I'd expect them to be doing something similar this year based on their recent ethos of trying to do a lot for the fans. When they showed the ZEOD last year I didn'r actually realise they were going to race it and thought it was just a futuristic idea for sometime in the 2020's! LOL, how wrong I was. I might just have to sticker up the other halfs Juke and take that down instead of my mates Audi. LOL. At least it can fit a fridge freezer in the back which is my biggest issue still to be resolved for this year as we don't have a credible solution for keeping beer cold otherwise.
Which other European manufacturer? Hmmn...
Who has a hybrid engine'd sports car that they want to link to an LMP class race car? Like the BMW i8.
Who has been getting a lot of inward investment and wants to restablish themselves as a credible sports car maker ? Like the Jaguar F-Type.
Who makes fast cars for a living and hasn't won the F1 constrcutors cahmpionship since 1998? Maclaren. (PS Why don't Maclaren, Lambo, Merc etc enter GT cars and we are stuck with dozens of Porsche, Ferrari's Aston's and a few Corvettes and Chryslers)?)
Who keeps crashing at Le Mans and thinks it might be time to have another go? Merc? Nah, scrub that.
Who makes safe family cars and might want to do something different. Volvo? LOL I put that in for a laugh.
Which other European manufacturer? Hmmn...
Who has a hybrid engine'd sports car that they want to link to an LMP class race car? Like the BMW i8.
Who has been getting a lot of inward investment and wants to restablish themselves as a credible sports car maker ? Like the Jaguar F-Type.
Who makes fast cars for a living and hasn't won the F1 constrcutors cahmpionship since 1998? Maclaren. (PS Why don't Maclaren, Lambo, Merc etc enter GT cars and we are stuck with dozens of Porsche, Ferrari's Aston's and a few Corvettes and Chryslers)?)
Who keeps crashing at Le Mans and thinks it might be time to have another go? Merc? Nah, scrub that.
Who makes safe family cars and might want to do something different. Volvo? LOL I put that in for a laugh.
TransverseTight said:
Who makes fast cars for a living and hasn't won the F1 constrcutors cahmpionship since 1998? Maclaren. (PS Why don't Maclaren, Lambo, Merc etc enter GT cars and we are stuck with dozens of Porsche, Ferrari's Aston's and a few Corvettes and Chryslers)?)
One suspects they were all waiting the proposed universal GT regulations for next year, that they themselves have since thrown out. Racecar Engineering is pretty certian that McLaren have a GTE spec MP4-12C already completed from when they were actively planning an entry. Lamborghini have had entries in the past, but again, GT3 is more attractive as a business proposition at the moment.What will be interesting is who loses their slot? The ACO have announced that they are going to build some more pit garages, but there is a finite limit on space, obviously, so say Nissan rock up with 2 P1 entries next year, and the ACO have squeezed in a couple of extra garages, then numbers should be static throughout the field. Another P1 comes along, which category loses out? There conceivably may not be a reason, or a place, for the GT manufacturers to field new entries.
Very interesting times.
It's not going to happen - but imagine a GT field in the WEC with Porsche, Ferrari, Aston-Martin, Corvette, Mercedes, Audi, Bentley, McLaren, et all in. While I understand why, GT regs/ rules (or not in GT3) Is a bit of a mess.
However, Audi, Toyota, Porsche and now Nissan in the top class LMP1 of the WEC - and with seemingly different solutions -Sportscar racing is were its at. It would be nice if one of the FIAT marques could enter, but I guess they are blinkered by Ferrari and F1.
However, Audi, Toyota, Porsche and now Nissan in the top class LMP1 of the WEC - and with seemingly different solutions -Sportscar racing is were its at. It would be nice if one of the FIAT marques could enter, but I guess they are blinkered by Ferrari and F1.
We may well now find ourselves in the dawn of a new 'Golden Era' of Sportscar racing, which to be honest hasn't happened since Group C (although the 98,99,00 did see some interesting teams, but nothing sustained).
The FIA and the ACO have the enviable position of now having a race series that's incredibly relevant to modern day performance vehicles and the top manufacturers. On road cars we've seen McLaren's P1, the LaFerrari and Porsche's 918 all utilise this style of hybrid technology to boost performance and efficiency; you've also got BMW, VW and others with cars just out or coming out on the market and what better way to promote your technology than enter Le Mans.
I think Nissan's announcement is going to be the first of a few in the next couple of years as long as the regulations keep working as well as they seem to of done these first couple of races (Le Mans will still be the big test though).
Fingers crossed!
The FIA and the ACO have the enviable position of now having a race series that's incredibly relevant to modern day performance vehicles and the top manufacturers. On road cars we've seen McLaren's P1, the LaFerrari and Porsche's 918 all utilise this style of hybrid technology to boost performance and efficiency; you've also got BMW, VW and others with cars just out or coming out on the market and what better way to promote your technology than enter Le Mans.
I think Nissan's announcement is going to be the first of a few in the next couple of years as long as the regulations keep working as well as they seem to of done these first couple of races (Le Mans will still be the big test though).
Fingers crossed!
.
vincegail said:
This will come back and haunt them and bite them for a long long time if the car doesn't deliver....
What else are they going to say?"We're going to build a new car, stake our brand reputation in it, but it's probably won't be very good and anyway we did not really want to win."
:-)
SimonBeeeeer said:
We may well now find ourselves in the dawn of a new 'Golden Era' of Sportscar racing...
Indeed. The marketing angle the emphasis on hybrid engines allows makes LM an viable proposition for a company like Nissan that doesn't have much sporting metal in its road car line-up - the NISMO Juke is the nearest they have to a hot hatch.Gassing Station | Le Mans | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff