Front engine LMP

Delighted to see that, according to this second Road & Track article by Marshall Pruett, Simon Marshall is well and truly back in the fold with Ben and Zack on the Nissan project:

Developing the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO

 

The Nissan doesn't look all bad in the images but the proof will be in the pudding once
we start seeing some testing times and at the season opener at Silverstone.

The main aspect which is curious is the elongated front body work which houses the
larger front wheels. Recalling when Audi went to the large front wheels with the R18 TDI
e-tron quattro had the drivers complaining that the couldn't see the apexes in the turns
especially at night. Audi remedied this by adding sideward facing lighting.

But, in the case of the Nissan, driver forward vision certainly looks compromised with the
high fenders and long nose, etc.

BHW

 

Interesting design, would be fantastic for something new and different to be competitive. Compared to other LMP cars though it looks like there's hardly any aero work been done.

 

like the rest of the car, you have to think of it "backwards"

the aero through the car and how it exits the back is pretty amazing.

(the article did say only 2 days in a wind tunnel...not sure if that's full scale or total...but thousands of hours of CFD simulation)
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Here's a great shot showing the flow-through tunnels:
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thanks, I was trying to find that pic! all I could find was the darker one I posted above.

 

Kudos to Nissan - don't know how successful it will be, but I absolutely applaud the innovation and risk taking.

I'm rooting for them. I'm a long time Nissan fan (since my 240Z / 280Z days) and own one now.

Agree with previous poster - this is why WEC is cool.

 

This is as exciting as the Gee Bee R1/R2 racers.

Fat front, thin rear.

It is also MUCH easier to generate downforce at the front of a car, rather than the rear. Very interesting approach.

This thing is designed around aero/speed/efficiency rather than mechanical layout. Reliability may take a serious hit for its initial year, problems will seriously set it out.

The straight line speed could be insane!

Whether it works or not - Nissan is going to get a HUGE publicity grab.

 

I think the biggest challenge the drivers are going to face is the proper vision. I mean look how far the side mirrors are..

 

Why?

Pete

 

Agreed.

Taking into consideration how low the drivers sit in the cars now, the elongated front section,
big wheels/tires, etc. forward vision will be a challenge, where does the car end? Etc.

When Audi went to the large front wheels on the R18 TDI e-tron quattros, drivers complained
that they couldn't see the apexes of the turns especially at night. Audi came up with more
side view lighting which helped evidently.

We have seen front engined cars in sports car racing before of course, the Ford Mustang GTP
and Panoz cars and it didn't seem to be a problem. We'll see how it goes...

BHW

 

There's a cockpit shot somewhere Pete. Have a look they are sitting so far behind, and the front end of the car is so long. It's crazy..

 

It will be a good bet that the mirrors will be attached to the A-pillar of the cockpit
before the season starts.

They've quite likely got a rear-ward facing camera to in dash screen acting as a rear view mirror in the cockpit

BHW

 

Nose cams each front corner as well, why not?

 

I wondered if they'd use something like that or a "park distance" sensor on the nose

 

This might help in practice for sure, to get to know the car.

The performance of the car is designed around high speed tracks. I wouldn't expect its performance to be there in lower speed sections.

 

Exactly, I was thinking of the front corner cams as a training tool which I imagine they would be able to dispense with fairly quickly. For that purpose, cameras would be better than non-visual sensors.

 

specifically, this car was designed around Le Sarthe...rightfully so, of course.

however, the majority of the WEC calendar is on F1 tracks, many of them (COTA, Shanghai, Bahrain) being modern, Herman Tilke designed tracks. it will be interesting to see how the Nissan does in low speed, close quarters racing in traffic in a segment like T12-16 at COTA.

 

A few pictures of it at the Chicago Auto show:
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The Nissan is reviewed by engineers from Audi, Porsche and Toyota.

BTW, Nissan is testing the car alongside Audi this week at Sebring.

Nissan's LMP1 rivals react to "brave" and "risky" WEC racer - WEC news - AUTOSPORT.com

BHW

 

I LOVE the innovation in the LMP1 class.....F1 would do well to follow suit

 

I wonder what is with the cutouts over the tires?

 

air extractors for pressure buildup...Most all LMP cars have it

 

The cut-outs, often referred to as BHHs or 'big honking holes' by the teams, are mandatory in LMP. They, along with the vertical tail fins, were introduced in response to this 2008 incident, among others:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO6oSWITli0

 

The Nissan is the only one to have a completely mechanical energy recovery system! Wow! Will less be more?