Nissan GTP ZX Turbo
| Nissan | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| GTP ZX Turbo | |
| Production period: | 1985-1990 |
| Class : | race car |
| Body versions : | Coupe |
| Engines: |
Otto engine : 3.0 liters (478 kW) |
| Length: | 4800 mm |
| Width: | 2000 mm |
| Height: | 1006 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2705 mm |
| Empty weight : | 860 kg |
| successor | Nissan NPT-90 |
The Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo (also known as the GTP ZX-T ) was used by Electramotive Engineering in the IMSA GT championship from 1985 to 1990 . It gained fame as this car was the first to defeat the Porsche 962 . In 1989 and 1990, Nissan also won the constructors' championship with this racing car . The GTP-ZX had a VG30ET V6 turbo engine that had been further developed from the 300ZX . After 1990 this car was replaced by the Nissan NPT-90 .
development
Electramotive Engineering was Nissan's official US motorsport partner from 1984. Your task was to use and develop the racing car. The involvement in the IMSA series, like the LeMans mission from 1983 onwards, served to convey the name of Nissan and the Group's technical know-how to the public. The engine was developed by Nissan with the help of Electramotive. The renowned racing car manufacturer Lola Cars International was commissioned to develop the chassis . The first three chassis with the designation Lola T810 were ready in early 1985. This chassis was a further development of the T710 that Lola had developed for the Corvette GTP from Chevrolet. The first year was dedicated to the further development of the car and then to be competitive from 1986. First and foremost, Electramotive had to adapt the car to the shorter sprint races of the IMSA-GT. Lola built three more chassis, which Electramotive had adapted to the challenges of the IMSA-GT by the end of 1987. However, the adjustments were so extensive that Electramotive finally designed and built the chassis itself. A total of five chassis were manufactured by Electramotive in 1988. In 1990, Electramotive was renamed Nissan Performance Technology Inc. (NPTI) and the GTP ZX turbo was replaced by the NPT-90 at halfway through the season.
Racing history
1985-1986
The Lola T810 made its first appearance in 1985 in Laguna Seca . The car was driven by Electramotive founder Don Devendorf and co-driver Tony Adamowicz . They finished in eleventh place seven laps behind. After an accident in Charlotte , some races were skipped. At the race in Sears Point they finished ninth. The rest of the races that you participated in were canceled with technical problems. To advance the development of the car, Nissan decided to skip several races from the 1986 season. This also included the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours . The car now called the Lola T810 Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo made its debut on the Miami street circuit . But there was still no sign of success. There were still a number of problems to solve. Things went better at the next gig in Mid-Ohio . The driver duo Elliot Forbes-Robinson / Ludwig Heimrath junior achieved seventh place with the car. Electramotive developed the car intensively and at its next appearance, at the race in Portland , the potential that was in the car was already evident. Geoff Brabham fought for the lead at times and ended up with third place, the car's best result so far. A fourth place at Sears Point was followed by mechanical problems in the next races. At the race in Columbus , the last race of the season, it was enough for fifth place. In the IMSA-GT constructors' championship, they finished seventh.
1987
The first race of the season, the Daytona 24-hour race, was skipped and only started at the Miami race. This showed how well Electramotive had worked over the winter. Elliot Forbes-Robinson / Geoff Brabham defeated the Porsche 962, which had dominated until then, and took the first victory for the Lola T810 Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo. But this sense of achievement was short-lived. In Road Atlanta the car retired with a defective clutch and in Riverside an accident ended the race prematurely for the Lola-Nissan. In Laguna Seca it was enough for a fifth place before the technique failed again in Mid-Ohio. It was not until the last race of the season, the race in Del Mar , that the car achieved a noteworthy result with sixth place. In the final ranking it was enough for fifth place in the constructors' ranking. That was an improvement on the previous season, but the overall winner, the Porsche 962, scored six times as many points as the Lola-Nissan.
1988
The completely revised car for the 1988 season was now an in-house design by Electramotive Engineering and was now called Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo. The name Lola had disappeared from the type designation. After their first victory last year, Nissan now saw the time to race for victories in two cars. But accidents thwarted the plan and so the season started with just one car. But since the GTP ZX-Turbo was designed as a sprint car, the first race of the season, the Daytona 24 Hours, was skipped and it was the first time that it was competing in Miami. The driver duo Geoff Brabham and John Morton , who dominated the SCCA with a Datsun 510 in the early 1970s, only finished in eighth place. The next race, the Sebring 12 Hours, was again left out. The next appearance of the GTP ZX-Turbo was in Road Atlanta and this is where the real potential of the car became apparent. Brabham / Morton won by four seconds over the Jaguar XJR-9 . In contrast to the 1987 season, where it remained a victory, this time it was only the first in a series of victories. This was followed by victories in West Palm Beach , Lime Rock , Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen , Road America , Portland and Sears Point. At the race in Portland, two GTP ZX-Turbo cars were at the start for the first time and they immediately achieved a double victory. Geoff Brabham won ahead of John Morton. After eight wins in a row, it set a defeat at the race in San Antonio . After problems with the electrics, Electramotive / Nissan and Brabham / Morton had to be content with twelfth place. The next race went to Nissan again. Geoff Brabham won in Columbus and Derek Daly , who this time drove the second GTP ZX-Turbo, came in seventh. Daly finished fourth in the last race of the season, the 2-hour race in Del Mar, while Geoff Brabham was classified 22nd. Although Nissan won nine of the fourteen races, overall victory in the constructors' championship went to Porsche by just one point. By staying away from Daytona and Sebring, the overall victory was given away. As a consolation, however, the driver's title remained for Geoff Brabham.
1989
After Geoff Brabham won the driver's title in 1988, the designer title was also to come in 1989. But you also had to compete in Daytona and Sebring, even if the GPT ZX-Turbo was not built for long distances. In fact, both cars retired at Daytona. The race in Miami was again a 3-hour race and the Nissan GPT ZX-Turbo took victory with Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson at the wheel. Then came the Sebring 12-hour race . To everyone's surprise, one of the two GTP ZX-Turbo survived the ordeal and Nissan took its first victory in an American endurance race. That win was followed by another win at Road Atlanta. In Palm Beach they had technical difficulties and had to be content with sixth place. In Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, Mosport and Road America, the GTP ZX-Turbo found their way back to their old form and won. In Portland, the new Jaguar XJR-10 won for the first time, but in Topeka , San Antonio and Sears Point the victory belonged to Nissan again. In the penultimate race in Tampa and the last race in Del Mar, the Nissan had to give in to the Jaguar again. But this time it was enough to win the constructors' championship. For the first time since 1983, the winner was not Porsche. As in the previous year, the drivers' championship went to Geoff Brabham.
1990
Nissan knew that defending the title with the somewhat outdated GTP ZX-Turbo would be problematic and therefore worked intensively on a successor. But until this car was operational, the GTP ZX-Turbo had to hold up the flags. As a reinforcement for the NPTI team that came out of Electramotive and started with two cars, the private Busby Racing Team now used a third GTP ZX turbo. As expected, they were eliminated at the season opener at Daytona, but victory at the next race in Miami went to Nissan. With the second place by Busby Racing they even achieved a double victory. The 12-hour race in Sebring also celebrated a one-two victory, but this time, unlike last year, it did not surprise anyone. The success was rounded off with fifth place for the third car. The victories at Road Atlanta and Palm Beach also went to Nissan. In Topeka it was only enough for second place this time. The victory went to the newcomer Eagle-Toyota. In Topeka, however, the successor to the GTP ZX-Turbo, the NPT-90, also celebrated its debut in eighth place. In Lime Rock, the best GTP ZX-Turbo crossed the finish line in fourth place, but Nissan was back at the top again in Mid-Ohio. This time not with the GTP ZX-Turbo, but with the new NPT-90. The NPT-90 also won in Watkins Glen. The best GTP ZX-Turbo came in fifth here. In Sears Point, the NPTI team competed with two NPT-90s. The GTP ZX-Turbo was only used by private teams. With seventh place for the Seabroke team, the end of the GTP ZX-Turbo's career was obvious. In Portland and Road America it was still enough for fifth place. After finishing ninth in San Antonio, John Paul Jr. In the last two races in Tampa and Del Mar, finishing third with the GTP ZX-Turbo. Nissan won the second constructors 'title and Geoff Brabham his third drivers' title. The last race of the GTP ZX-Turbo was in Miami in 1991. Garry Brabham took thirteenth place on his debut. Although the car appeared twice in the registration lists, it was no longer used. His career ended, but the name stayed with him for some time. The NPT-90 carried it on the rear wing.
Success in other series
One of the first three Lola T810 chassis was delivered to the Japanese Le Mans Company for use in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship . As in America, the car kept breaking down due to technical defects. Only in the last race, at the 1000 kilometers of Fuji , did Lola T810-Nissan finish in eighth place. In the following year, too, the car only crossed the finish line once. It was Fuji again, this time in sixth place. Le Mans Company did not develop the car any further and from 1987 took part in the Japanese championship with a Porsche. After the GTP ZX-Turbo was replaced by the NPT-90 in America, a car came to Europe, where it was used in the interseries . In three races, however, it never crossed the finish line and was therefore no longer used.
