Nissan Z GT500 Race Car Replaces GT-R In Super GT Racing Series
The Nissan Z GT500 race car made its official debut this morning in NISMO live stream event on YouTube. Based on the new Nissan Z, the Nissan Z GT500 race car was revealed at a ceremony at Fuji International Speedway where it was announced that the car will campaign in the 2022 season of the Super GT racing series.
Racing the Nissan Z GT500 in Super GT harkens back to the 1970s when Nissan was new to racing in the United States and campaigned the S30 240Z in the SCCA C production series.
As you may already know, that started a legacy of racing that quickly elevated the Z to iconic status. 90s racing fans probably remember the Z32 300ZX that dominated the IMSA series with the red, white, and blue livery.
“The Nissan Z GT500 symbolizes Nissan’s spirit of taking on challenges and bringing excitement to life. Through our racing efforts, we continue to innovate our cars and we race to win with the same daring we have displayed so many times over the years,” said Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta.
“We are entering the 2022 Super GT series with our all-new Nissan Z GT500 car and our huge passion for motorsports. We hope that our fans will continue to passionately support the Nissan and NISMO motorsport teams,” said President and CEO of NISMO Takao Katagiri.
The coming of the Nissan Z GT500 means the departure of the R35 NISMO GT-R that campaigned in Super GT for over a decade. The implications of that are greater than they might seem at first.
With no NISMO GT-R GT500 racing in Super GT then there will be no more NISMO GT-R road cars since the two vehicles were linked.
This could also signal the GT-R riding off into the sunset altogether. There have been rumors that the R35 model of the GT-R is coming to the end of its run with Nissan considering a hybrid drivetrain for the R36 GT-R.
That means the price of NISMO GT-Rs on the second-hand market is about to go up. It also means that it is almost certain that Nissan will produce a NISMO variant of the new Z car.
While Nissan has not made any official statement, in our opinion it is a foregone conclusion that the automaker will reveal a NISMO Z at some point next year.
For now, you can watch the debut of the Nissan Z GT500 race car below. If you want to share any of your theories about the fate of the GT-R, tweet us at @MotorworldHype.
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