Really enjoyed this Rhys, was interesting to hear your opinions on this after being battered by SROL's hate for this car. I agree pretty much all of what you said. The car was a crazy concept that we all (people who like fun) wanted to see succeed. I was actually rooting for it when it eventually appeared at Le Mans...Then they went and fired everyone in a really shitty way. I was really disappointed that Nissan chose to end the program especially with the support they had beforehand. But yeah, more of this shit!
Lesson to be learned from all of this: if a team wants a radical design to succeed, they should probably spend their money on making the stupid thing work as opposed to blowing the budget on Super Bowl commercials and hashtag campaigns.
I was one of the guys who were pretty sceptical of this whole endeavour, but it wasn't because the GT-R LM was doing something new. I love it, when racecar designers do new shit. The reason I was sceptical, was because of the attitude of the Nissan PR guys, when they announced this thing. I mean, when they announced it, they came out and said "We're gonna win this years (2015) Le Mans". Not "We're entering Le Mans, with the goal of at some point winning it". That to me, sounded like, they had absolutely no idea of the monumental challenge they were about to undertake. Hell, not even Porsche when they returned to Le Mans, who, if anyone, could be confident enough to pull an LMP1 win out of the bag, straight out of the gate, announced that "We're gonna win this years Le Mans". I don't think there was anything wrong with the concept. It was Nissan NISMO who cocked up the execution.
Late to compare to everything else, but one of the things that needs to be told to put things into perspective is the story of the Porsche 919. You know, the car which in the eight months prior to its competition debut needed a completely-redesigned crankshaft because bad vibes and was otherwise generally horribly unreliable, plus wasn't the best of pace, plus reports of employee turnover. Then comes 2014 and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, and the 919 proves itself to be the fastest LMP1 on the track, hindered only by a poor tyre wear and a rear suspension lacking durability. Then comes 2015 and the 919 has one of the most dominant seasons of this decade in all of motor racing. Point being, I'm in full agreement that the Nismo severely needing development. Least its legacy lives on in a car that was faster than it in 2015 (which tbh, is kinda an achievement in itself; being slower than the Kolles as a LMP1. Someone should cover that, since god knows nobody else will.)
"hundreds of thousands of dollars" more like millions. Already Nissan spent aproximately 40 million dollar per year for the lmp1 car, toyota spent around 80 mio. and Audi and Porsche spent upwards of 150 mio. dollars, per year.
Ben Bowlby can sometimes be found around club racing circuits over here and I actually managed to grab him a few months ago and asked about this. It was obviously still a bit of a bitter point for him to talk about but he said maybe it was for the best. Nismo jumped the gun with the Marketing really and the car needed another year of development, but he maintains that had it got more time it would have walked over everything eventually, and probably had every protest imaginable lodged against it for its troubles. It's a shame F1 isn't more open with its regulations, cos guys like this could thrive there big time.
My reaction when I saw this thing was "wow, that looks pretty different, bring it on". Once more info came about about Nissan's crazy ideas for the car, that view morphed into "This is a crazily stupid idea that will never work, and I love it" I would have loved to see Nissan up there with Audi, Porsche and Toyota (don't forget Rebellion and Bykolles) in LMP1, but I'm sad this was the route they had to take. If they just made a Nissan-ised version of an LMP1 car, or took once of their existing ideas that worked, a la Deltawing, and adapted it for LMP1, I could still see them there and competing. Instead they've reduced to the engine supplier for just about every LMP2 team out there. They don't even enter a GTR into GTE. Why not?
Nissan didn't have the right idea in mind when they started the operation. Porsche, with the 919, did secret things behind closed doors, of course, for years.... Nissan announced it with an engage of a car cover over what looked like a standard LMP car, probably an LMP2, and a year or two later were asked to go and win at Le Mans at the peak of the LMP1H. I think a year longer of not "testing" but actual RND and real testing for functionality and reliability of the car as a whole would've seen quite a different result... Too bad Nissan made a multi-million dollar meme that will leave a bad taste in the mouths of the GT academy drivers until their deathbed calls.
One of the great half assed screwups of all time. Nissan needed to take this through to the end. You are dead right Rhys, we don't know what the potential was. Bowlby is a mad genius
The truth was that personally in the build up to Le Mans 2015 I was hoping that Nissan would be on the same pace as Rebellion Racing-since it was year one and the car was expected to be slower than the other LMP1s.
Also, I couldn't find the top speed from the qualifying, but I'm almost 100% certain the Nissan wasn't that much slower in top speed, where they lost their time was in the corner... predictably..
Yes that's true, they were fast on the straights because they did not have to do any sailing to charge the energy storage and the car was slippery by it's concept. I can't remember if they also ended up with more allowed fuel consumption since they basically became a non-H LMP1 entry or if being a works entry overruled that fact.
Nissan went from: We will win Le Mans in 2015 To We will compete to win Le Mans in 2015 To We will win Le Mans in 2016 To We Will Compete To Win Le Mans in 2016 To We Will Win Le Mans in 2017 To F**k it We Quit
There’s an aspect to this car where it kind of comes off as a bit of a shitpost response to the then current current lmp1 technical regulations, that the entire idea was based off the designer thinking they could get more front end downforce than rear end downforce under them.
That's the 1982 Eagle Aircraft "Flyer Special" Indycar. Car Throttle had a great write-up on that car. Basically it was designed by an aircraft designer who decided that everything everyone was doing in terms of racecar design/aero was complete BS. The car was constructed of square steal stock, aluminum, blasa wood, and plywood(yes, like at Lowe's).
Without Electric power like other manufacturer is max speed will be only around 270km/h compare to 317km/h also a acceleration it out of the race before it even race.
Such a weird program, who lets everyone just come up and take pictures during a test for a brand new FIA race car? Fans could just come up and look at the whole car at these open tests. You would have been sent to prison at Weisssach if you dared to look at the 919 in testing. Darren Cox cocked up this whole thing.
that reason why they lost so many time to prepare is they failed the FIA Crash Test not just once but twice. that failure eats so much time consume redesigning there safety measure so if the car will crash at 333 K/ph the car will hold the driver safely like a tank just like the A-10 Warthog but on wheel with no weapons, it's only race and not flying. If they done it with more time, they gonna shattered all Mid Engine Rear wheel drive Hybrid. If they should use this 3 year opportunity to perfected there car for le mans without participating in secrecy for Le Mans 2020, they should just keep this campaign. well i'm not the fan of front wheel drive but this car makes me love it, and i want to see it in 100% full potential.
Honestly they should not skip two races in the season to go straight to le mans that wasn't smart, not enough testing also. I'm sure the car would have been great if the program wasn't canceled as far as racing another year and actual full year.
People making fun of it being FF are plain stupid as are the Nissan executives thinking they can win Le Mans just like that in their first try. And now their just pootling around in Formula E where they also suck.
Yes, but FWD touring cars were only competitive since they were allowed to run lighter. In regards to this GT-R LM though "FWD isn't good for motorsport" as it is doesn't apply though, since the hybrid power was supposed to go through the rear-wheels.
Really enjoyed this Rhys, was interesting to hear your opinions on this after being battered by SROL's hate for this car.
I agree pretty much all of what you said. The car was a crazy concept that we all (people who like fun) wanted to see succeed. I was actually rooting for it when it eventually appeared at Le Mans...Then they went and fired everyone in a really shitty way. I was really disappointed that Nissan chose to end the program especially with the support they had beforehand.
But yeah, more of this shit!
Thanks for recommending this guy Jimmy! Immediately subbed after the video.
*cough* *cough* NP-35 *cough*
Aired g
Lesson to be learned from all of this: if a team wants a radical design to succeed, they should probably spend their money on making the stupid thing work as opposed to blowing the budget on Super Bowl commercials and hashtag campaigns.
Came here from Broadbent's channel and wasn't disappointed.
Welcome - glad you enjoyed it.
I believe that Nissan should have done this:
2015 Le Mans
2015 Fuji
2016 Le Mans
2016 WEC
2017 Le Mans
2017 WEC
etc.
I love the fact that this car is included in GT Sport and it is also very interesting to drive
You step on the gas and it goes like a scalded cat. So much fun driving front wheel drive with mega down force.
In the game I drove it, it had 5% higher top speed and 8% better acceleration than the 2015 919 hybrid.And it had no rear end.
Its Not interesting. Its Always bonkers
I was one of the guys who were pretty sceptical of this whole endeavour, but it wasn't because the GT-R LM was doing something new.
I love it, when racecar designers do new shit.
The reason I was sceptical, was because of the attitude of the Nissan PR guys, when they announced this thing.
I mean, when they announced it, they came out and said "We're gonna win this years (2015) Le Mans". Not "We're entering Le Mans, with the goal of at some point winning it". That to me, sounded like, they had absolutely no idea of the monumental challenge they were about to undertake. Hell, not even Porsche when they returned to Le Mans, who, if anyone, could be confident enough to pull an LMP1 win out of the bag, straight out of the gate, announced that "We're gonna win this years Le Mans".
I don't think there was anything wrong with the concept. It was Nissan NISMO who cocked up the execution.
Late to compare to everything else, but one of the things that needs to be told to put things into perspective is the story of the Porsche 919.
You know, the car which in the eight months prior to its competition debut needed a completely-redesigned crankshaft because bad vibes and was otherwise generally horribly unreliable, plus wasn't the best of pace, plus reports of employee turnover. Then comes 2014 and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, and the 919 proves itself to be the fastest LMP1 on the track, hindered only by a poor tyre wear and a rear suspension lacking durability. Then comes 2015 and the 919 has one of the most dominant seasons of this decade in all of motor racing.
Point being, I'm in full agreement that the Nismo severely needing development. Least its legacy lives on in a car that was faster than it in 2015 (which tbh, is kinda an achievement in itself; being slower than the Kolles as a LMP1. Someone should cover that, since god knows nobody else will.)
"hundreds of thousands of dollars" more like millions. Already Nissan spent aproximately 40 million dollar per year for the lmp1 car, toyota spent around 80 mio. and Audi and Porsche spent upwards of 150 mio. dollars, per year.
04:10 That's no dream, that's the living embodiment of an engineer's worst nightmare. Tight tolerance parts inside an even higher space.
2:32-3:12 is just legendary
Ben Bowlby can sometimes be found around club racing circuits over here and I actually managed to grab him a few months ago and asked about this. It was obviously still a bit of a bitter point for him to talk about but he said maybe it was for the best. Nismo jumped the gun with the Marketing really and the car needed another year of development, but he maintains that had it got more time it would have walked over everything eventually, and probably had every protest imaginable lodged against it for its troubles. It's a shame F1 isn't more open with its regulations, cos guys like this could thrive there big time.
Yes, F1 sadly steers in the exact opposite direction again.
Please keep these coming, this was awesome!
Man i wish this had gone the same way the 2J did. "Quick someone BAN that thing its kicking to much ass" 😅
My reaction when I saw this thing was "wow, that looks pretty different, bring it on". Once more info came about about Nissan's crazy ideas for the car, that view morphed into "This is a crazily stupid idea that will never work, and I love it"
I would have loved to see Nissan up there with Audi, Porsche and Toyota (don't forget Rebellion and Bykolles) in LMP1, but I'm sad this was the route they had to take. If they just made a Nissan-ised version of an LMP1 car, or took once of their existing ideas that worked, a la Deltawing, and adapted it for LMP1, I could still see them there and competing. Instead they've reduced to the engine supplier for just about every LMP2 team out there. They don't even enter a GTR into GTE. Why not?
the GTR is old compared to its competitors, and still sells
once they"ll have a new one they may get back to racing it
This was amazing!
Dude I just gave you 1000th like for this video
I genuinely loved that car
Nissan didn't have the right idea in mind when they started the operation. Porsche, with the 919, did secret things behind closed doors, of course, for years.... Nissan announced it with an engage of a car cover over what looked like a standard LMP car, probably an LMP2, and a year or two later were asked to go and win at Le Mans at the peak of the LMP1H. I think a year longer of not "testing" but actual RND and real testing for functionality and reliability of the car as a whole would've seen quite a different result... Too bad Nissan made a multi-million dollar meme that will leave a bad taste in the mouths of the GT academy drivers until their deathbed calls.
Would have been a hell of a car if it turned out as expected
One of the great half assed screwups of all time. Nissan needed to take this through to the end. You are dead right Rhys, we don't know what the potential was. Bowlby is a mad genius
3:09 *H A P P Y H O L I D A Y S*
It's kind of sad they pulled out after one bad year. I mean yes it was a disaster but Rome wasn't built in a day
The truth was that personally in the build up to Le Mans 2015 I was hoping that Nissan would be on the same pace as Rebellion Racing-since it was year one and the car was expected to be slower than the other LMP1s.
I'm pretty sure one of the guys put his kid in the tunnels to take photos or something hahaha
LOLBUS ENGAGE
Also, I couldn't find the top speed from the qualifying, but I'm almost 100% certain the Nissan wasn't that much slower in top speed, where they lost their time was in the corner... predictably..
Yes that's true, they were fast on the straights because they did not have to do any sailing to charge the energy storage and the car was slippery by it's concept. I can't remember if they also ended up with more allowed fuel consumption since they basically became a non-H LMP1 entry or if being a works entry overruled that fact.
Do more of these
jay leno got one of these cars
RIP Longboye
Nissan went from:
We will win Le Mans in 2015
To
We will compete to win Le Mans in 2015
To
We will win Le Mans in 2016
To
We Will Compete To Win Le Mans in 2016
To
We Will Win Le Mans in 2017
To
F**k it We Quit
Sooooo true!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess you can say *Puts on Sunglasses* they went Slightly Mad.
There’s an aspect to this car where it kind of comes off as a bit of a shitpost response to the then current current lmp1 technical regulations, that the entire idea was based off the designer thinking they could get more front end downforce than rear end downforce under them.
The
Slowest
LMP1😇😇😇
I feel it could have worked...if it was given time and more development
Link of the mod?
9:03 can someone tell me the name of the car plz
That's the 1982 Eagle Aircraft "Flyer Special" Indycar. Car Throttle had a great write-up on that car. Basically it was designed by an aircraft designer who decided that everything everyone was doing in terms of racecar design/aero was complete BS. The car was constructed of square steal stock, aluminum, blasa wood, and plywood(yes, like at Lowe's).
Without Electric power like other manufacturer is max speed will be only around 270km/h compare to 317km/h also a acceleration it out of the race before it even race.
The Nissan GT-R LM did 338 km/h during the race!
Such a weird program, who lets everyone just come up and take pictures during a test for a brand new FIA race car? Fans could just come up and look at the whole car at these open tests. You would have been sent to prison at Weisssach if you dared to look at the 919 in testing. Darren Cox cocked up this whole thing.
that reason why they lost so many time to prepare is they failed the FIA Crash Test not just once but twice.
that failure eats so much time consume redesigning there safety measure so if the car will crash at 333 K/ph the car will hold the driver safely like a tank just like the A-10 Warthog but on wheel with no weapons, it's only race and not flying.
If they done it with more time, they gonna shattered all Mid Engine Rear wheel drive Hybrid.
If they should use this 3 year opportunity to perfected there car for le mans without participating in secrecy for Le Mans 2020, they should just keep this campaign.
well i'm not the fan of front wheel drive but this car makes me love it, and i want to see it in 100% full potential.
Honestly they should not skip two races in the season to go straight to le mans that wasn't smart, not enough testing also. I'm sure the car would have been great if the program wasn't canceled as far as racing another year and actual full year.
old video. but... it think, with a working hybrid system. it could have been at least competitive.
against the privateer LMP1 Cars maybe 😂
I remeber the nissan lmp1 It was insane but pretty BAD.
Who fucking disliked this
TL;DR: work on the car before you put it in your Super Bowl commercial
People making fun of it being FF are plain stupid as are the Nissan executives thinking they can win Le Mans just like that in their first try. And now their just pootling around in Formula E where they also suck.
Ambitious, but rubbish
fwd isnt good for motorsport
FerrariTestDriver Nissan also had a FWD touring racer back then.
Yes, but FWD touring cars were only competitive since they were allowed to run lighter.
In regards to this GT-R LM though "FWD isn't good for motorsport" as it is doesn't apply though, since the hybrid power was supposed to go through the rear-wheels.
Lmp1 is probably the least cool racing car on the world after fe
...people without any clue about motorsports say.