Nissan R383
The Nissan R383 was a racing car that Nissan built in 1970 for use in the Japanese Grand Prix . It replaced the Nissan R382 from the previous year and was to be the last racing sports car that Nissan built until the mid-1980s.
development
The aim was to improve the R382's chances of winning and so the successor R383 took over many details of the CanAm series of the Group 7 formula from the USA. The R383 got the GRX-3 V12 engine from the R382 with 5954 cm 3 displacement, but a higher output of 700 hp (515 kW).
Nissan concentrated, however, on improvements in aerodynamics, and above all on the downforce that the car should generate. The cooling air openings on the nose of the R382 were completely left out, so that the nose of the R383 was completely flat. This meant that the radiators of the car moved to the sides of the vehicle and the doors had large air vents. The intake manifold of the V12 was also aerodynamically revised and now came to lie below the roll bar, which gave the rear wing more air. He was also moved from the center of the cockpit so that the driver with his helmet wouldn't block him. . The R383 was also tested with a turbocharger on the V12 engine and thus achieved an increase in output to 900 PS (662 kW).
Racing history
The R383 were to be used in the 1970 Japanese Grand Prix against fierce competition from Porsche , Toyota , Isuzu and others. The race was canceled by the Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF), so the R383 was not used in a single competition. Nissan abandoned the R380 program shortly thereafter without ever running the R383 in a race.
In 2006 Nismo restored a functional R383. The car is currently touring with other R380 series cars through exhibitions across Japan.