Nissan Has Officially Killed Off The GT-R LM Nismo

Nissan’s GT-R LM Nismo will not race in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s LMP1 category. The Japanese firm has announced that its entry to the series has been withdrawn.

After an extensive development and test programme, the bold, unusual front-wheel drive GT-R LM Nismo debuted at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. Nissan entered three cars but all of them suffered numerous issues and problems, although there were at least some positives to take away from the less than ideal debut.

The #22 machine led the way but picked up an unclassified finish, while the #21 and #23 cars both registered DNFs. They all spent plenty of time in the Nissan garage, during what was effectively a very public test.

In August Nissan confirmed the GT-R LM Nismo would not appear again in the FIA WEC in 2015, and now the plug has been pulled on the project altogether.

They said in a statement:

“Nissan entered LMP1 in the 2015 season with an innovative new, and bold concept, with the ambition to compete at the front of the field. The teams worked diligently to bring the vehicles up to the desired performance levels. However, the company concluded that the program would not be able to reach its ambitions and decided to focus on developing its longer term racing strategies.

“Racing is a core part of the Nissan DNA, and the company has a proud history of innovating to win. Nissan’s commitment to motorsports remains strong, as evidenced by its victorious track record in the 2015 season – from achieving the overall winner of Super GT two years in a row in Japan, to winning the Blancpain Endurance Pro Class, Bathurst 12hr race with the GT-R GT3. Nissan will continue its support of WEC through its various engine programs including recent introduction of LMP3 engine.”