Nissan P35
Nissan NP35
The Nissan P35 is a standard developed by Nissan Group C sports car prototype, which should be used in the World Sportscar Championship. The car was developed by Nissan's U.S. motorsports department Nissan Performance Technology Inc. ( NPTI ), who had earlier charged under the name Electra Automotive Engineering in the United States and race were already responsible for the successful Nissan GTP ZX- Turbo. The new series prototype should be ready in mid-1992 and be operational from 1993 competitions, but led economic difficulties at Nissan soon after the start of the test runs for the deletion of the project and so no P35 was ever reported in an official race.
Even during the development of the P35 began Nissan's Japanese motorsport division Nismo to work on a modified P35- construction, which should be adapted to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. This car, which became known as NP35, could once be used in a race before this project was completed. These were the last prototypes that Nissan built until 1997.
Development
At the end of the very successful Nissan R90CK 1990 season in the World Sports Car Championship it was decided in the future to withdraw from the competition and R90CP instead used to in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship ( JSPC ) and the GTP ZX- Turbo IMSA GT Championship for the focus in the United States. Rule changes in the World Sportscar Championship would have forced Nissan, rather than their turbo engines employ newly developed naturally aspirated and redesign all the cars accordingly.
1991 Nissan thought his plans again, as in the JSPC the newer Group C cars were allowed now that would refer nissan older vehicles to the places. Nissan turned to NPTI, the Executive Department, which was responsible for motor sport in the U.S. and the IMSA GT Championship program had operated. NPTI was commissioned to develop a new car and Nismo built to a new engine, which corresponded to the new rules.
P35
The P35 was designed by Yoshi Suzuka and Trevor Harris and showed little similarity to the GTP cars of NPTI, as not only different rules were observed, but also other aerodynamic requirements were that needed to be taken into account. Water cooler and air vents for the brakes found in the nose and place the intake for the engine was mounted above the cockpit. The side air inflow openings to the vertical surfaces of the side panel guide the air to the oil coolers ( and also had special surface effects ). There was a one-piece, low rear wing, even if a double rear wing was tested shortly. The chassis of the P35 should arise from carbon- fiber reinforced plastic ( CFRP ), but the first test chassis eventually consisted partly of aluminum and partly from KFK. The designers chose this design for the sake of saving time, since NPTI had little experience in building pure KFK chassis.
Nismo developed a new engine with a displacement of 3.5 liters, as he was required by the rules of group C. He was not allowed to be competitive just turn up like a Formula 1 engine, but had to have a high stability for long distance races. Nismo built an engine with 3499 cm3 displacement, who called himself VRT35, 630 hp ( 463 kW) developed and was able to rotate up to 12,000 min-1. While Peugeot, Toyota and Mazda V10 engines began, the VRT35 was a V12.
After setting the P35 project 1992 you stopped the car briefly for a possible successor to the NPT -90 IMSA GTP in the Championship if they had the VRT35 engine replaced by a turbocharged 3.0 -liter V6 type VG30 as it was used in last year's car. So we carried out tests in the wind tunnel with the so-called 93GTP. Nissan but otherwise looked around and decided to participate in the Indy 500 race. However, this decision had only a short time inventory (although you now Indy cars developed in the wind tunnel ) and it soon became the parent company, the impact of the deepening recession. This eventually led in 1993 to the closure of NPTI.
A total of three P35 chassis for testing purposes emerged.
NP35
While NPTI developed the P35, Nismo decided that this car - although allowed for the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship - was not really ideal for Japan's short tracks. It was therefore decided at Nismo to develop its own version of the P35 with a larger output and some mechanical changes.
Nismo took Original forms of P35 for their own development, which became known as NP35. After Nismo had access to carbon fiber production, the chassis of the single ever built NP35 was made in contrast to that of the P35 made entirely of this material. The V12 engine VRT35 has also been revised and then had a higher performance because the race of the JSPC not so long lasting and thus the stability did not play such a big role.
It was built only a NP35 before Nissan gave up this project.
X -250
1996, when the NPTI closed and the World Sportscar Championship, the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship and the GTP class in the IMSA GT Championship had been abandoned, took a group of former NPTI employees, among them John Christie, it into their own hands to build a new car for the IMSA WSC class with an open cockpit (Le Mans Prototype ). For an earlier P35 chassis ( chassis # 01) was used, from which you cut off the cockpit cover and a rollover protection as well as a cockpit demarcation anbrachte to protect the driver. The VRT35 engine was replaced by a 3.4-liter V8 from Ferrari. The team named the new car X -250 in memory of the 250 people who had lost by the closure of NPTI their employment.
Racing history
The P35 has been tested several times in the course of 1991, with most of Johnny O'Commell drove. The tests were carried out, among others, on the Mid - Ohio Sports Car Course and the Daytona International Speedway. The P35 was never used in a competitive race and a copy was placed in the Nissan factory in Zama ( Kanagawa ) to Japan.
The X -250, which originated from a previous P35, launched only once in a competitive race, the 12 Hours of Sebring 1997., Where the car suffered electronic problems and had to stop the first car the race after only 21 laps. The X -250 was never used again in competition racing, but has been preserved and is now taking part in historical events.
Chassis # 02 of the Nissan P35 is now in the workshop the Motorsport engineers at Coventry University. It is used as a training vehicle for students of the famous local Bachelor of motorsport engineering degree program.