Nissan GT-R NISMO
Nissan GT-R NISMO

Nissan GT-R NISMO and Nissan BladeGlider concept make European debut in Geneva– Mar 04, 2014– Geneva, Switzerland (Techreleased) – Two of the biggest attractions of the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show have made the trip to Geneva to make their European debuts today.

Nissan GT-R NISMO

The thrilling GT-R NISMO is a thrilling race-inspired version of Nissan’s legendary supercar, delivering 600PS (441kw) from advanced 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V6. Nissan’s latest member of the NISMO family employs innovation, uncompromising engineering and motorsports-inspired technologies to achieve new levels of power, speed and handling.

Nissan GT-R NISMO
Nissan GT-R NISMO

While the GT-R NISMO showcases some of Nissan’s most exciting innovations for today, the BladeGlider concept looks ahead to tomorrow’s performance car technology.

Nissan GT-R Nismo Overview – Flagship of the Nismo lineup

1. Mechanical Features

Nissan GT-R Nismo employs innovation, uncompromising engineering and motorsports-inspired technologies to achieve new levels of power, speed and handling.

Engine

  • Under the hood, the 3.8-liter V6 engine benefits from the know-how that Nismo has gained from participating in such events as the world-renowned Nürburgring 24 hour race. Engine power has risen and is now rated at 600PS (441kw) and 481 lb ft (652 Nm) of torque.
  • New high-flow, large capacity turbochargers, which are used for GT3 racing, improve breathing, while optimized individual ignition timing control for each cylinder and upgraded fuel pump improve combustion.

Chassis  

  • The springs and custom-developed Bilstein DampTronic dampers in the front and rear suspension are specially tuned to deliver exceptional grip levels and progressive handling response at the limit. Three suspension modes can be selected: Comfort, Normal and R, for circuit applications.
  • Exclusive Nismo tires – developed by Dunlop – exhibit outstanding grip and handling characteristics. Front: 255/40 ZRF20; rear 285/35 ZRF20.
  • Specially-developed links fitted to the front double wishbone suspension increase castor trail to optimize wheel position during high-G cornering and improve straight-line and cornering stability. Additionally, large high-rigidity bolts are used to increase stiffness of the wheel-hub attachment area.
  • To minimize body-roll during cornering and changes of direction, the Nissan GT-R Nismo features a 17.3 mm hollow rear anti-roll bar which raises roll stiffness while reducing weight.

Body construction

  • Increased rigidity in the bodyshell is achieved using adhesive bonding in addition to spot welding leading to precise suspension response under extreme load, the Nismo “factory tuned” enhancement.

2. Exterior design – Exclusive styling with improved aerodynamics

  • Using the latest Computational Fluid Dynamic simulation techniques to analyze airflow, Nismo has developed an aero package that improves road-holding, minimizes the negative impact of drag, while giving the car a menacing and muscular appearance.
  • Together, the front bumper, engine undercover strake and carbon rear spoiler increase downforce, lowering the center of gravity and generating an additional 100kg*1 (at 300km/h) compared to the freshly updated 2014 Nissan GT-R model. The car’s aerodynamic characteristics are tuned to ensure the downforce is equally spread front to rear at all speeds for progressive handling characteristics. A widened front bumper configuration and elongated yet tapered rear bumper design keep the drag to Cd 0.26, same with that of 2014 Nissan GT-R.
  • The Nissan GT-R Nismo will be available in four body colors: Brilliant White Pearl, Meteor Flake Pearl Black and Ultimate Metallic Silver. And unique to the GT-R Nismo model, a Dark Matte Grey*3accentuates the car’s imposing exterior muscularity.
  • The GT-R Nismo’s black 6-spoke wheels are inspired by Nissan’s GT-R race car which races in the GT500 class in SUPER GT.

3. Interior

  • The Nissan GT-R Nismo cockpit inspires driver confidence through both its craftsmanship and optimized driving position.
  • Ergonomically sculpted carbon-fiber-backed reclining RECARO seats comfortably, yet firmly, support the driver and front-seat passenger.
  • Nismo racers influenced the design of the steering wheel which is dressed in Alcantara®, with three spokes, red center mark and red stitching to give the best combination of grip, feedback and comfort.
  • The combi meter has carbon-like finish, and tachometer features a red design. The meter hood is also dressed with Alcantara®.
  • Interior trim features include discreet red stitching on the seats, center console, door trim and steering wheel.
Nissan BladeGlider Concept
Nissan BladeGlider Concept

Nissan BladeGlider Concept

Nissan’s latest sports concept will challenge conventional thinking on sports car performance handling, braking and weight distribution. The Nissan BladeGlider features a radical front narrow track layout, where the front is significantly narrower than the rear, creating a swept-wing profile when seen from directly above.

Bowlby outlined the performance advantages of the BladeGlider’s narrow front-track/wide rear-track design.

Acceleration

The weight distribution of the BladeGlider makes it ideal for quick, efficient launches from a standstill and intense acceleration once off the line. The primary reason for this is that the rear tires are considerably wider than the front tires, resulting in more traction at the rear, enabling the tires to get a better grip on the driving surface. Also, the wide rear track allows for virtually all of the car’s heavier components-including the two in-board motors, lithium ion batteries and passengers-to sit between the rear tires; hence, most of the cars’ weight (70 percent in this case) sits directly on the two driven wheels. Therefore, when the power is sent to the rear wheels, the mid-engine/rear-drive BladeGlider exhibits very little tire slip, allowing the 285/35 tires to bite into the driving surface and launch the car in a highly efficient manner.

Thanks to the BladeGlider’s extremely narrow front end, which includes the skinny 100/80 tires, air drag is minimal. The BladeGlider features one of the lowest Cds ever for a concept road car, allowing the car to “glide” to speed with little air resistance.

Another benefit to the car’s narrow front end is weight. Thanks to less hardware and smaller components, the BladeGlider’s overall curb weight is considerably less than that of a similar size car with a conventional front end.

Handling

The most impressive, and most remarkable, advantage the BladeGlider has over its conventional counterparts is handling. While traditional performance enthusiast may scratch their respective heads wondering how a car with such a narrow front track can take corners; the answer is relatively simple. The narrow front track of the BladeGlider allows less weight to be placed on the front wheels. While some say that more weight on the front tires equals better grip, the complete opposite is actually true. Sure, with super wide tires, extra load may result in more grip, but this is not an efficient solution, nor is it always true. For example, front-heavy cars are prone to excessive understeer – the loss of grip at the front wheels, where the car does not turn as much as the steering demands. The thinner tires up front allow the BladeGlider to turn in crisply because only 30 percent of the car’s total weight rests upon them. An added benefit is improved steering in terms of effort, feel and precision.

Also, the narrow front track allows the car to have minimal lateral weight transfer through corners, at both the front and rear ends. Cars with wider front tracks dramatically shift their weight to the outside tire when turning, leaving the inside tire to do virtually nothing. Thus, only one tire is steering the car through a corner; but with the BladeGlider, both tires stay in good contact with the road surface and share nearly the same cornering load, virtually working as one unit. And thanks to the independent suspension system, each tire’s effectiveness is augmented through turns.

The wide rear track and wide rear tires also contribute to the BladeGlider’s exceptional handling. By providing a stable and rigid foundation for the car, they allow the car’s front tires to effectively point the nose of the vehicle in the right direction. Think of a sledge hammer and its handle. Put the hammer on the ground and move the handle in the desired direction. It can be done with relatively little effort because the head of the hammer is providing a stable foundation. This unique effect of the BladeGlider can be enhanced with torque vectoring (or an enhanced limited slip differential) that can be programmed into the in-wheel motors, allowing the rear tires to help point the car’s nose.

Braking

Unlike conventional road vehicles, the rear brakes of the BladeGlider do more work than the front brakes when slowing the car down; therefore, they are larger and more powerful than the front brakes (the opposite is true in all other road cars). This provides a tremendous advantage when braking from high speed, as the wider tires, which have most of the car’s weight on them, provide excellent traction when decelerating. With the rear tires doing most of the work during acceleration and braking, and the front tires providing grip through turns, the overall performance workload at the four points of contact is distributed ideally: the front tires steer the car, the rear tires propel and stop the car.

X-Factor

With the driver sitting in the middle of the cockpit and near the rear wheels, the BladeGlider’s chassis relays clear and immediate feedback to the driver. Therefore, when the car’s front or rear tires lose grip, the chassis lets you know immediately, giving the driver ample time to correct car’s trajectory.

Another added benefit is tire wear, or lack thereof. Each rear tire and each front tire are doing an equal amount of work (as noted above), so their wear rate is also equal. Conventional cars frequently suffer from uneven tire wear, but the BladeGlider won’t require a tire change as often as a conventional car, especially when subjected to aggressive, spirited driving.