Nissan Heritage Centre visit
Love your fast Jap metal? You're going to enjoy this tour around Nissan's Heritage Collection then!
The GT-R has come a long way!
Located in a former assembly plant in the midst of an uninspiring industrial estate, there's no flag-waving or ceremony to signal the warehouse, simply a modest sign above a door that reads 'Nissan Heritage Collection.' The only moment of pomp comes once you've hurried through the reception area with its handful of exhibits to a large roller door. It rises achingly slowly to reveal the collection beyond, where 1930s Austin 7-alikes nestle alongside 1970s saloon cars, where every generation of Skyline GT-R vies for attention with terrifying Super GT racers. While some of the models on show are utterly pristine countless others are not, such as the barbequed 240Z rally car.
The collection serves to remind us of the breadth and history of Nissan as a car manufacturer, from builder of joyless hatchbacks to racer of Le Mans prototypes. Here's a very small selection of the highlights, with a more extensive gallery beneath.
Mad on Gran Turismo, even wilder in the flesh
In order to homologate its pair of Skyline GT-Rs for the 1995 and 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nissan was required to build a single road-going version of the competition car. Based on the R33-generation Skyline it ditched four-wheel drive in favour of rear-wheel drive and, to best exploit the regulations, grew an extraordinary set of wheel arches.
The result is surely the meanest, best-looking GT-R of its generation. In among the brightly liveried competition cars it remains one of the most arresting sights in the entire collection, but although it appears fit to stand toe-to-toe with any modern supercar it plainly lacks the bite; the 2.6-litre turbocharged engine was largely standard, allowing for little over 300hp.
The one-off was actually registered for road use in the UK, but the closest we ever got to a production version was the 98-unit run of 'LM-Limited' models that had a revised front bumper, carbon-fibre rear wing and Championship Blue paintwork.
370,000km young...
With 150hp to haul a little over 1,000kg, the Fairlady 240Z-G - distinguishable by its tacked-on wheel arches, longer nose and more prominent rear spoiler - was the fastest Japanese road car back in 1972. Its 130mph top speed made it ideal for use a police highway patrol car, as this siren- and flashing light-adorned example was.
The mind dreams of late night pursuits around Tokyo bay, founding fathers of the Midnight Club weaving through traffic in tuned JDM oddities in a bid to catch the attention of the cream-on-black Fairlady.
The reality is probably rather more mundane (the Midnight Club wouldn't be founded for another 15 years for one thing), but during its 370,940km of service with the Kanagawa Prefecture Highway Police force this 240Z will surely have found itself in more than its fair share of scrapes.
R390 took Nissan's only Le Mans podium
During the GT1-era of the 1990s, manufacturers began to exploit loopholes in the Le Mans regulations. Rather than building competition machines derived from existing road cars, they simply built thoroughbred racing cars and knocked out one or two road legal examples in parallel to navigate the homologation requirements. As a result Nissan's Skyline GT-R-based racers of 1995 and 1996 stood little chance of competing with the bespoke Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR and Porsche 911 GT1.
For 1997 Nissan returned with its riposte, the NISMO and Tom Walkinshaw Racing-built R390 GT1. It turned out a pair of road cars to tick the homologation box and set off in pursuit of the competition. Power came from a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V8, good for 650hp.
The R390's best result at Le Mans came in 1998 when the #32 machine finished third overall. It remains Nissan's only Le Mans podium to date. This example is actually the #33 car that finished tenth overall, now wearing the number 32 to commemorate the more successful car.
#73 is the original Tokyo show Skyline
With its swollen arches and Dodge Charger-inspired front grill treatment, the 1972 2000GT-R could have rolled out of Detroit in the late Sixties. This particular car is the display model that appeared at the Tokyo motor show to preview the C110-generation Skyline H/T 2000GT-R, which arrived a few months later in January 1973 powered by a 160hp, six-cylinder engine.
This generation of Skyline carried the nickname 'Ken and Mary' in reference to the fictional couple who featured in the domestic television advertisement. Although the basic model was a huge success, the GT-R version lasted only three months until stringent emissions regulations, brought on by the oil crisis, effectively killed it off. 197 units were built for the home market.
It remains one of the biggest draws of the entire collection, as evidenced by the steady stream of camera phones pointed in its direction during our visit. With its demise so soon after launch, the GT-R badge would lie dormant for some 16 years.
MID4 tech eventually made it to the GT-R
The MID4 concept first arrived at the Frankfurt motor show in 1985 with the Type II version, shown here, displayed two years later with modifications to improve efficiency. The branding left little to the imagination; this four-wheel drive, mid-engined concept had Porsche and Ferrari in its sights.
The twin-turbocharged V6 developed 330hp, enough to eclipse the 911 and 328 competition that Nissan so wanted to upset. With double wishbone front suspension and a multilink set-up at the rear the MID4 had the hardware to be a serious contender in the junior supercar class, but sadly it never made series production due to the prohibitive cost.
What's outstanding about the MID4 today is the freshness of its styling, for the front end in particular wouldn't look out of place on a car 10 years its junior.
Although the MID4 didn't get the green light, the HICAS four-wheel steering and ATTESA four-wheel drive systems that it showcased would underpin future generations of Skyline GT-R.
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Seeing this however, just shows how proud Nissan are about showing off their racing history with pride!! Absolutely love it!!!
Now i wish the heritage centre in essex had ex btcc rs500s and juha's monte carlo escos (i know its in his personal collection) - though i know its not properly Ford owned/funded
Infact the Ford heritage centre is a drop in the ocean to the Nissan collection
Too many great cars there to pick out a handful favs, but the LeMan's racers are awesome. Remember seeing one of those R390's at the Motor Show, at the NEC, back in '98. I was suitably in awe.
The R33 Nismo GTR-LM is a pretty odd car, all that bodywork styling but a standard RB26DETT. If you want the 'definitive' R33 as far as driving goes, it has to be the Nismo 400R surely. Insane car.
If this was open to the public I'd definitely visit.
The R33 Nismo GTR-LM is a pretty odd car, all that bodywork styling but a standard RB26DETT. If you want the 'definitive' R33 as far as driving goes, it has to be the Nismo 400R surely. Insane car.
If this was open to the public I'd definitely visit.
Pedant hat on: Naval Air Base Atsugi is home to aerial units of the Japanese and US navy (i.e. Top Gun). It's not in Zama, nor is it an Army base. History fact: it's where General MacArthur landed when he arrived as the first foreign officer to land in Japan after WW2. Other than that, carry on!
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