Nissan P35
| Nissan | |
|---|---|
 Nissan NP35
|
|
| P35 / NP35 | |
| Production period: | 1992 |
| Class : | race car |
| Body versions : | Coupe |
| Engines: |
Otto engine : 3.5 liters (463 kW) |
| Length: | 4795 mm |
| Width: | 1990 mm |
| Height: | 1080 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2870 mm |
| Empty weight : | 750 kg |
The Nissan P35 is a Group C sports car prototype developed by Nissan that was to be used in the sports car world championship . The car was developed by Nissan's US motorsport division Nissan Performance Technology Inc. (NPTI), which had previously entered races in the US under the name Electramotive Engineering and was already responsible for the successful Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo . The new prototype series should be ready in mid-1992 and be used in competitions from 1993, but economic difficulties at Nissan soon after the start of the test runs led to the cancellation of the project and so no P35 was ever reported in an official race.
While the P35 was being developed, Nissan's Japanese motorsport division , Nismo , began to work on a modified P35 design that would be adapted to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship . This car, which became known as the NP35 , could only be used in a race before this project was also completed. These were the last prototypes Nissan built until 1997.
development
At the end of the 1990 sports car world championship , which was very successful for the Nissan R90CK, the decision was made to withdraw from this competition in the future and instead rely on the R90CP and the GTP-ZX Turbo used in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship (JSPC) focus for the IMSA GT Championship in the USA. Changes to the rules in the sports car world championship would have forced Nissan to use newly developed naturally aspirated engines instead of their turbo engines and to redesign all cars accordingly.
In 1991, Nissan reconsidered its plans, as the JSPC now also allowed the newer Group C cars, which would put Nissan's older vehicles in place. Nissan turned to NPTI, the corporate division that was responsible for motorsport in the United States and had operated the IMSA GT Championship program. NPTI was commissioned to develop a new car and Nismo built a new engine that complied with the new rules.
P35
The P35 was designed by Yoshi Suzuka and Trevor Harris and showed little resemblance to the GTP cars from NPTI, as not only different rules had to be observed, but also other aerodynamic requirements that had to be taken into account. The water cooler and cooling openings for the brakes were located in the muzzle and the intake opening for the engine was installed above the cockpit. The side air inflow openings on the vertical surfaces of the side fairing lead the air to the oil coolers (and also had special interface effects). There was a one-piece, low rear wing, although a double rear wing was briefly tested. The chassis of the P35 was supposed to be made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (KFK), but the first test chassis were made partly from aluminum and partly from KFK. The designers opted for this type of construction to save time, as NPTI had little experience in building pure KFK chassis.
Nismo developed a new engine with a displacement of 3.5 liters, as prescribed by the rules of Group C. In order to be competitive, it was not just allowed to rev up like a Formula 1 engine, but had to be extremely stable for long-distance races. Nismo built a motor with 3,499 cm 3 capacity, which VRT35 called, 630 hp (463 kW) and developed to 12,000 min -1 could rotate. While Peugeot , Toyota and Mazda all used V10 engines, the VRT35 was a V12.
After the P35 project was discontinued in 1992, the car was briefly considered a possible successor to the NPT-90 in the IMSA GTP Championship if the VRT35 engine had been replaced by a supercharged 3.0-liter VG30 V6 , such as he was used in the previous year's car. Tests were carried out in the wind tunnel with the so-called 93GTP . But Nissan looked elsewhere and decided to take part in the Indy 500 races. However, this decision only lasted for a short time (although Indy cars were now being developed in the wind tunnel) and the parent company soon felt the effects of the increasing recession. This eventually led to the closure of the NPTI in 1993.
A total of three P35 chassis were created for test purposes.
NP35
While NPTI was developing the P35, Nismo decided that this car, while eligible for the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship , was not ideal for Japan's short circuits. Therefore, Nismo decided to develop its own version of the P35 with a larger output and some mechanical changes.
Nismo used original forms of the P35 for their own development, which became known as the NP35. After Nismo had access to carbon fiber production, the chassis of the only NP35 ever built, unlike that of the P35, was made entirely of this material. The V12 engine VRT35 was also revised and then had a higher output because the JSPC races did not last as long and consequently the stability did not play such a big role.
Only one NP35 was built before Nissan abandoned that project as well.
X-250
In 1996, when the NPTI closed and the World Sports Car Championship, All Japan Sports Prototype Championship and the GTP class in the IMSA GT Championship were abandoned, a group of former NPTI employees, including John Christie , took it into their own hands to build a new car for the IMSA WSC class with an open cockpit (Le Mans prototype). An earlier P35 chassis (chassis # 01) was used for this, from which the cockpit cover was cut off and a rollover protection and a cockpit demarcation to protect the driver. The VRT35 engine was replaced with a 3.4 liter Ferrari V8 . The team named the new car the X-250 in memory of the 250 employees who lost their jobs when the NPTI closed.
Racing history
The P35 was tested a number of times during 1991, mostly driven by Johnny O'Commell . The test drives were carried out on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Daytona International Speedway , among others . The P35 was never used in a competitive race and one was brought to Japan at the Nissan factory in Zama (Kanagawa) .
The NP35, on the other hand, was used in competitive races, but only once. The last race of the 1992 JSPC season (and thus the last JSPC race at all) took place at the Mine Circuit , for which Nismo registered the only existing NP35. It had to compete in its class against the Toyota TS010 and the Mazda MXR-01 and was the slowest car in the qualification with 5 seconds behind the Nissan R92CP , which took pole position. In the race itself, the NP35 showed a lot of mechanical problems but it was able to finish the race. Of the cars that were not eliminated, he finished last, 25 laps behind the winning Toyota TS010. After this first and last race, the NP35 was stored together with the P35. Nissan occasionally presents the vehicles in exhibitions, especially the annual "Nismo Festival".
The X-250, which arose from an earlier P35, only started once in a competitive race, the Sebring 12-hour race in 1997. There the car suffered from electronic problems and was the first car to abandon the race after only 21 laps. The X-250 was never used in competitive races again, but has been preserved and now takes part in historic events.
Chassis # 02 of the Nissan P35 is in the motorsport engineers' workshop at Coventry University today . It is used as a training vehicle for students on the well-known Bachelor of Motorsport Engineering course there.
Web links
swell
Mulsanne's Corner: 1993 Nissan P35 (English)