Rumormill: Nissan working on 600 hp GT-R LM
Rumors have been circulating for almost a year that Nissan plans to campaign the GT-R in several different series outside of SuperGT, including the Grand Am championship and the 24 Hours of LeMans. Japan's Best Car magazine supposedly has it on good authority that Nissan is developing a road-going model of the LeMans competition car that will carry an "LM Edition" badge and be sold in limited numbers.
According to the Japanese pub, the twin-turbo, 3.8-liter V6 will be putting out approximately 600 hp and will be equipped with upgraded brakes, lightweight wheels, a beefed up transmission and reworked suspension components, in addition to a new aero kit to increase downforce.Nissan has produced several limited edition models of each generation of the Skyline GT-R before, including an LM Edition of the R33 that campaigned in LeMans in the late 90s. One good turn deserves another, and with 600 hp under the hood, things are bound to get interesting both on the track and on the street.
[Source: BestCar via Carscoop]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Carlos 2:35PM (11/10/2008)
I'm sure if you were to use the launch control on this car it would void your warranty.
First!
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BigMcLargeHuge 2:39PM (11/10/2008)
I'm sure the Viper won't be owned by Dodge long enough to honor their warranty.
Troll!
Gomi 2:45PM (11/10/2008)
It doesn't matter what kind of tranny it is, if you beat on it, it will break. Enough with these idiotic comments.
2004m3driver 2:51PM (11/10/2008)
Oh wow what refreshing humor about the GTRs launch control warranty Har Har.
Bungle 2:38PM (11/10/2008)
Maybe they're just now putting a body kit on the ringer they've been using for all the magazine tests.
I keed, I keed! ;-)
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MBS 2:40PM (11/10/2008)
Very small, buried deep in the owner's manual: "depressing the accelerator pedal more than 1/4 of the way is considered abusive driving and will void warranty"
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Geeky1 2:40PM (11/10/2008)
So, can the "beefed up" transmission handle the launch control program without puking?
And will they let you turn off VDC on this one?
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Torrent 2:47PM (11/10/2008)
not unless you want to void your warranty.
Geeky1 3:43PM (11/10/2008)
+1 Torrent
And for the GT-R fans whining about the ongoing snide comments about the transmission:
I, for one, was as excited about getting the R35 in the US as anyone else was; I had intended to sell my STI and pick one up after they stopped charging insane markups for them. But you know what? For those of us-at least some of us-that can afford an $80k car that is ostensibly designed for/capable of track use, this kind of BS is a deal breaker. Mitsubishi's warranty crap was one of the major factors that caused me to go with an STI instead of an Evo, and Nissan pulling the same kind of stunt has ensured that I'll be replacing the STI with a Z06.
Todd 2:42PM (11/10/2008)
Awesome.
Will its nick-name be "Super Godzilla"? "Mecca Godzilla"?
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Steven 4:10PM (11/10/2008)
Voidzilla
John P. 2:44PM (11/10/2008)
I think it's great they'll be racing the 24 hours of LeMans. The GTR hasn't done much of anything racing outside of Asia so it should be interesting.
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nolan 2:46PM (11/10/2008)
so they only increased HP by 50? ;)
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jerryl 3:50PM (11/10/2008)
FIA GT rules currently limit [try to] GT1 cars to 600HP....for example the current champion Corvettes are restricted over 350 HP, the Aston Martins about 250 HP. The new 2010 rules will be about 600HP for max in all GT classes. Corvette has won ALMS again this year as well as the Euro Lemans series and is down to the last race in Argentina with Maserati MC12 in the FIA GT series. The Maserati {really an Enzo} and the Saleen S7 will no longer be eligble under the new rules.......their production was too limited.
nolan 5:15PM (11/10/2008)
So you don't deny that the GT-R in ringtime trim is probably making 550hp? That was what I was hinting at with my comment. Actually, if they are succesful in limiting HP in racing situations then we may actually see how good a GT-R vs. all the rest sort of is. Unless them take away the awesome awd :(
I assume the GTR-LM will lose some considerable lbs. to compete.
Torrent 2:46PM (11/10/2008)
Now opening the door the wrong way will void your warranty...
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CBR 2:50PM (11/10/2008)
And yet another zinger....
2004m3driver 2:58PM (11/10/2008)
You can jump in from the sunroof. Its called the F1 Car experience. Or through the windows like Nascar.
Yar 2:58PM (11/10/2008)
"Do you have an SCCA license?"
"No..."
"I'm sorry, we're going to have to void your warranty."
"I haven't even bought the car yet!"
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Daveman427 3:19PM (11/10/2008)
Hmmmm, what is that much better looking car in the background of the side profile pic? Oh wait, that is an older Skyline. I HATE LIVING IN THE FUTURE! I wanna go back to 1997. Sure the new GT-R is fast, but... Celica headlights? Come on Nissan!
(BTW, I really like the R33 Nismo GTR-LM Road Going Version, even if the name is ridiculously long).
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