Nissan’s insane GT-R LM NISMO racing car for the World Endurance Championship series of races was ambitious, interesting, and potentially game-changing. Sadly, when the car deputed for its first race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year, it was a total dud. The car suffered from dozens of issues, and it was nowhere near as fast as the other cars in the LMP1 class.
From problems getting the chassis to pass crash certifications, to a problematic hybrid system, the car constantly underperformed. It isn’t surprising that Nissan has decided to end the project, but it is disheartening. WEC racing has always been the home for wild ideas and new project designs. Seeing something so dramatically different like the GT-R LM was refreshing and made me more interested in watching Le Mans.
I would have liked to see Nissan give the team more than one year to compete, but sometimes the best course of action is to just cut your losses and move on. Everyone at AutoTalk.com is sad to see so many talented people lose their jobs in the holiday season, but we hope that everyone finds new work soon.
