On August 16th, a day before the Round 5 Pokka Sapporo 1000km was to start; new race cars from Lexus, Honda, and Nissan to be fielded in next season’s GT500 class were unveiled at the Suzuka Circuit. The new cars are built based on the same chassis and aerodynamics specifications as Europe’s popular racing series, DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft) and with the USA GRAND-AM series.
The engines have been redesigned completely for the next season. These three manufacturers independently developed, produced, and installed new 2000cc, inline 4-cylinder Turbo engines built based on a specification exclusive for Japan. All three engines follow the new requirements for Japanese racing for equivalent power output as the existing 3400cc V8 engine. This is in line with the recent trend to develop light-weight and fuel efficient engines with engine downsizing.
These new machines, the Lexus’s “LF-CC,” Nissan’s “GT-R,” and Honda’s “NSX CONCEPT,” share the same monocoque, but each has a machine design that is clear in its own characteristics. SUPER GT cars, while sharing the same technical specification with the DTM, have various differences such as the position of fuel filler opening, air-conditioner, etc. due to the differences in the racing style as well as the environment of Japan and Asia.
