Nissan GT-R In North America World Challenge Race Series
Hopefully, this news means more dominance for the Nissan GT-R. The relatively new race group, Brass Monkeys, are teaming up with Nissan North American to bring the GT-R to the World Challenge Race Series this year to compete with Porsches, Corvettes, Vipers, and every other top end performance car under the sun. The Brass Monkey team, who won their first race competing in a Porsche GT3 and finished 3rd overall in the World Challenge Series last year, will be entering the series this year with two GT-Rs. The first will be driven by the veteran racer and two-time series winner Tony Rivera, the second by the wet behind the ears rookie Steve Ott. Here's to hoping the two have a great year with the great car! I can't imagine anyone racing a Nissan GT-R would have too much trouble doing well.
Official announcement below, from autoguide.com:
Brass Monkey Racing has announced plans to campaign a pair of Nissan GT-R cars in the 2010 World Challenge GT Championship with the support of Nissan North America, Inc.
The announcement signals a renewed interest for Nissan, which last participated in World Challenge with a Touring Car effort in 2005. The twin-turbo, all-wheel-drive Nissan GT-R racecars are currently under construction at Brass Monkey Racing’s Texas-based race shop and will make their North American debut March 26-28, in St. Petersburg, Fla., at the hands of two-time series race winner Tony Rivera, of Missouri City, Texas, and rookie Steve Ott, of Houston.
“We’re very excited to bring such an iconic car to the North American professional road racing scene,” Brass Monkey Racing Team Owner A.J. Brass said. “After such a successful season in 2009, finishing third in the Championship and winning in our very first race, we look forward to the challenge of bringing an entirely new platform to World Challenge. With Nissan’s assistance and great engineering and driving, we expect to contend for the 2010 Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships.”
“Nissan is very excited about the new Brass Monkey project,” Nissan North America Senior Manager – Motorsports, Wholesale and Collision Parts Growth Ron Stukenberg said. “This series aligns well with the performance of the GT-R and compliments the production attributes of the car. It’s great to have a Nissan compete in World Challenge after a brief hiatus. We look forward to having Tony and Steve at the front of the field in 2010.”
Brass noted that despite a compressed timeline to finish the new cars, they benefit from an already solid platform with the GT-R.
“Many of the cars in the series have serious modifications to the engines and drivelines from the stock vehicles,” Brass said. “The beauty of the GT-R is that it is an amazing platform to start with and we are able to utilize all of the stock internal components and drivetrain. With the exception of some of the approved series aerodynamic items and an effort to bring the car down to a competitive weight, the car will remain incredibly stock compared to most of our competition.”
Brass Monkey Racing was formed in 2009 with the support of Tax Masters. Its rookie season was a tremendous success, with Rivera, a relative unknown in professional racing, winning in the team’s very first attempt at Sebring in the team’s Porsche 911 GT3. He went on to win at Road America later in the season, finishing third in the Championship standings.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the 2010 season,” Rivera said. “I anticipate the Brass Monkey Nissans will become the most popular cars in the paddock because there is such an unbelievable following worldwide for the GT-R. My first racecar was a Showroom Stock B Nissan NX 2000, so it’s cool to be back in a Nissan – even though this one will be quite a bit different!”
Ott previously raced with Rivera with Brass Mitchell Racing, which later evolved into Brass Monkey Racing, in the 2008 Koni Challenge. Like Rivera, his roots are in SCCA Club Racing, where he finished on the podium at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Running a partial season in the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Championship, he scored good results with Newman Wachs Racing.
“I’ve always wanted to run World Challenge because of the single-driver format and amazing cars,” Ott said. “To have an opportunity to be a part of the Brass Monkey Nissan team is incredible and I can’t wait to begin testing for St. Petersburg.”
Brass Monkey Racing and its Nissan GT-R World Challenge effort will have support from Nissan, Tax Masters, Stoptech, Penske ShocksSouth Side Performance and Seibon Carbon. For more information about Brass Monkey Racing, please visit www.brassmonkey.com.
My Money's on the World Performance Car of the Year to also be the World Challenge Series Car of the Year
Another GT-R versuses Luxury Sport Super-Car Video
Well, today is just a good day for videos of the GTR smoking super expensive European supercars, if you ask me. First we got it out dueling the Bentley Continental, and now here's a great video from Germany pitting its home-country superhero the 5.2L Lambourghini V10 Supercharged R8 versus the good ole' Nissan GTR. Well, the Audi R8 is an absolute machine with class and precision, but really, the results here should surprise no one. The GT-R's dominance just can not be questioned. A fun video (subtitled in English) and worth a watch!
Bentley Vs. Nissan
MotorTrend recently put the Nissan GT-R R35 up against a Bentley Continental Supersport. At first thought, this sounds like a ridiculous competition: the Godzilla super car versus a leather-wrapped luxury automobile, but upon further inspection the two vehicles are very evenly matched. Honestly, the Bentley puts up a great fight against the R35 as well, and is absolutely worth a watch, the end may even surprise some people.
Mine’s GT-R Products
Well, Mine's is and has been one of Japan's premiere vehicle performance tuning shops, and the work they have been doing with the Nissan GT-R R35 is absolutely incredible. They offer full dry carbon fiber body modification for the Nissan GT-R, as well as fantastic performance upgrade pieces.
Their full ESTA suspension kits offer some of the very best components available in one solid, well-tuned package, and the numbers on the Mine's Titanium VX II Pro Exhaust system for the Nissan GT-R are absolutely incredible. While the Mine's equipment is expensive, it is not like this for no particular reason. The reviews across the board on the Mine's products have been exceptional, and most people claim that the pieces themselves are more than worth the money spent on them.
I'm looking at purchasing one of the VX II Pro Titanium exhausts for myself now, after having seen and heard just how incredible a system it is.
The aerodynamic body pieces designed by Mine's are certain to cut down on track times as well. Coupled with their VX-Rom, VX II Exhaust, Super Catalyzer, and Improved Intake system, you're looking at getting 60+ HP on the GTR. Add to that some 200+ pounds weight reduction from all of their weight reducing products, and you're looking at making one of the most incredible cars ever produced a nearly unstoppable racing force. Mine's is certainly a good company to go with also, as their experience and name guarantee you're getting the very best of the best. Their GT-R R35 line was just finished, and is being carried in America by very few places. I found the Mines Nissan GTR Parts at Southern Car Parts for what appears to be less than any other competitor out there. The SCP guys also seem to have the entire Mine's product line available, as well as a number of other GT-R products, making them a certain go-to for future GT-R performance part purchases.
Mine's and the Nissan GT-R R35, a match made in heaven it would seem!
GT-R Drift Video
MotorTrend recently took a Nissan GT-R R35 out for a little fun, and decided to put it up against a couple of Scion tCs built specifically for drifting. While this is no fair comparison here, it is definitely a fun one. There's also something pretty incredible in watching Godzilla get sideways with a cloud of smoke coming off the tires. A very fun video, with a poignant note at the end about how vehicles built with a specific purpose in mind are awesome a feeling as there can be, and the GT-R definitely fits. I know this makes me want to open the garage, take mine out, and take it for a wild drive!
More on the FIA GT1 R35
Last week I wrote up a small article on the FIA GT1 GT-R r35, which had some good response. The vehicle is undeniably incredible, and as such, warranted a lot more internet searching on this end. I'm sure some of you did that as well. I came across some really great videos giving a better look and listen to the vehicle, and a chance to see just how incredible it is. Figured I'd link them up here to share with all of you. Seriously though, what do you think of the FIA GT1 R35? I think it looks pretty awesome, myself.
FIA GT1-Spec Nissan GT-R
Some news has been coming out recently about the 2010 racing year for the Nissan GT-R. Some changes are being made, and they're interesting ones to say the least. For GT1 the GT-R wont be powered by its standard turbo V6, but instead by a naturally aspirated V8 producing 600HP and 480 LBs/Torque. To increase just how much power that is, the vehicle has also been lightened down to a curb weight of 2,756 lbs. They achieved this lightened weight with a stripped out-interior and the use of a carbon fiber aerodynamics. The FIA GT1-spec GT-R also gets 18-inch RAYS wheels and carbon ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers, to help bring that beast to a quick stop when necessary. In all, it sounds and looks like an absolutely awesome vehicle, and we'll see how it fairs starting April 17th with the first race of the season in the UAE. The GT-R will be up against Porsches, Corvettes, Lambos, Ferraris, and every other super performance car worth mentioning, and may have the credentials to beat them all.
Click gallery thumbs for larger images:
Source:AutoGuide
GT-R Gets Launch Control Reprogrammed
"For 2010, Nissan is changing the launch-control programming on its scorchingly fast GT-R. On the ’09 car, engaging the full-bore launch control required switching off the stability control (VDC). The engine would rev to 4400 rpm before a neck-snapping automated clutch drop. After a moment of wheelspin, the GT-R would hurtle to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, the quickest time we achieved in several tests of the ’09 GT-R.
The problem was that some owners of this $77,840 screamer were assassinating their $20,000 gearboxes, and the GT-R’s warranty states that shutting off the VDC voids the warranty. Break your transmission after a few launch-control starts and you’ll pay, not Nissan. The alternative, to leave the VDC on, resulted in a wimpy, 1800-rpm launch. So, for 2010, Nissan is offering a single launch-control feature that works whether or not the VDC is engaged.
The new setup is a compromise that provides owners with launch control that won’t potentially void the warranty. With the new program, engine revs build to 3000 to launch the GT-R. The result is far less distressing to the transmission than the 4400-rpm launch and quicker than the 1800-rpm launch.
Everything has a price: The new model is slower by 0.5 second to 30 mph and 0.6 second to 60. Don’t sweat it, though—by 150 mph, the two models are tied."
I don't know how much I like the performance losses here, although I do see the necessity in doing it for posterity's sake with the vehicle. I hope that in 2011 they can do another tweak and give us GT-R drivers back those lost numbers while maintaining the durability of the new system. This does seem like a major issue with a car that has seemed to me to be otherwise perfect.
I'm glad I know about this issue now, because I would surely cry if I destroyed the insides of my Godzilla! Be aware GT-R owners, your vehicle is only 99% perfect! I know, I was as surprised as you to hear this.
Source: Car and Driver
More Info on Hybrid R36
From Insideline:
There has been no end to the rumors of what the Nissan GT-R will become next, but the most credible rumor circulating in Japan right now is that a Nissan GT-R Hybrid is in development. The hybrid Godzilla would be part of the R36 generation of the GT-R. Sources close to the project tell us would likely debut in 2012 as a 2013 model with a pricetag around $100K.
The drivetrain for the 2013 Nissan GT-R Hybrid is expected to be a version of the hybrid system in the upcoming Nissan M35 Hybrid, but with a dramatic power increase and an all-wheel-drive layout. However, instead of a normally aspirated V6, the GT-R Hybrid would use a twin-turbocharged V6 just as the R35-derived Infiniti Essence concept did. It would be the same twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 (VR38DETT) the GT-R uses today.
The target would be 440 horsepower for the hybrid application (versus 485 on today's GT-R), with an additional 160 hp coming from the electric motor -- the same one used on the Essence.
With 600 hp to go around, the hybrid GT-R would be just as quick as today's production GT-R, sources tell us. We also hear, though, that serious weight will need to be cut out of the car to offset the addition of the battery pack. And even with that dieting, the GT-R Hybrid is still expected to be heavier than today's car (3,800 pounds).
Fuel economy, though, is expected to be 25-30 mpg, which of course is the very point of building a Nissan GT-R Hybrid. If achievable in the real world, Nissan would have a convenient rebuttal to pundits who argue that supercars (and more generally, fun cars) will lose their relevance in the coming green era. -- Mak Tokuyama, reporting from Japan
Awesome Video! GT-R and ZR1 videos on Nurburgring juxtaposed!
This was one of the more entertaining videos I've watched in a while now, and is definitely worth checking out. We get to see two drivers running time trials around the Nurburgring and compare how their vehicles handle the fiesty track. On the top left you have the Corvette ZR1, whose sound should be coming out of your Right speaker. On the bottom right, Godzilla himself, the Nissan GT-R, whose sound will be heard through the left speaker. You can turn one up or down to hear the different exhaust notes and tire squealing noises around the different turn, or just to listen to them both at the same time for a symphony of awesome. Great drivers too! These guys took some turns at speeds/angles where I would be almost certain an accident was upon me, but they handle the track with finesse. A fantastic watch, hope you enjoy it as much as I did!