According to the Technical Director and Team Principal for Nissan LMP1, Ben Bowley, the next GT-R may derive its engine from the LM Nismo race car. The LM Nismo, which was shown earlier this year in Chicago, features a 3-litre V6 which Bowley says is the “god-child of the true, road going GT-R. It’s a direct injection engine, and the combustion technology, and integration of turbo and intake system within the head design, is all very interesting and highly applicable to the road.”
There were suggestions that the R36 GT-R would run a hybrid powertrain or be a plug-in hybrid, but being so early in the development stage has made most news surrounding the car very speculative. The comments by Bowley seem to be the clearest indication of what will end up in the car.
The LM Nismo is a very interesting specimen by itself, as it’s a front-engined, front wheel drive racer in a class dominated by cars that prefer to put their power at the rear. This was done due partly due to the tighter regulations surrounding rear airflow and downforce. Not only they did shift most of the weight and power to the front, but they also fitted narrower tyres to the rear to overcome understeer and allow the car to handle neutrally.
Yes, I can see it’s interesting! Now it has to demonstrate and confirm it 😀