The prospect of a new world championship, run under fresh regulations was appealing enough for Nissan to develop the highly acclaimed GT-R into a GT racer. It was going to be the first time since 1996 that the (Skyline) GT-R would compete in international GT events. While the FIA GT1 World Championship will not kick off until the spring of 2010, the cars built to the new regulations could already compete from 2009 onwards. Nissan Motorsport (Nismo) opted to use the extra year and worked had to get the new car ready for the official pre-season test at Paul Ricard.
To comply with the regulations many of the trickery that make the GT-R such a revered road car had to be taken off the car. In fact apart from the actual shell of the car, very little is carried over. A naturally aspirated V8 engine, displacing just over 5.5 litre, replaces the twin-turbocharged V6 from the road going version. Breathing through the two mandatory restrictors, this production based engine is officially rated at 600 bhp and 650+ Nm. The advanced all-wheel drive system also had to make way for a more conventional rear-wheel drive layout. A sequential 6-speed gearbox is mounted in unit with the differential for the best weight balance.
Whereas the existing GT1 regulations allowed for extensive changes to the chassis, the 2010 regulations are considerably stricter to cut the development costs of the car. So much of the basic monocoque of the road going GT-R has also found its way into the new racer. Suspension is by McPherson struts at the front and double wishbones at the rear. Both ends feature fully adjustable dampers. Optional on the road car, the GT1 machine sports carbon ceramic discs all around for optimal braking. Additional vents and ducts as well as side-exhausts, a front-splitter and a sizeable rear-wing finish off the competition package.