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Nissan Unveils Z GT500 as GT-R Replacement

Nissan reveals the successor to the championship-winning GT-R model in Super GT…

Photo: Nissan

Nissan and NISMO have unveiled the new Z-model GT500 car that will replace the outgoing GT-R in the Japanese manufacturer’s lineup from the 2022 season.

The Z is a newly-designed car for the top category of Japan’s Super GT championship and will go up against the Honda NSX-GT and the Toyota GR Supra next year.

Nissan has based the vehicle on the seventh-generation Z road car which is due to debut in 2023. Technical details of the competition version have not been released, although GT500 cars are required to run with 2-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged engines.

The Z replaces the GT-R which had formed the base of Nissan’s flagship Super GT model since the 2008 season until its farewell campaign this year.

Nissan driver pairings claimed a total of five championship titles in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.

Z models have been campaigned by the company in the past, including the Fairlady Z33 in which Richard Lyons and Satoshi Motoyama won the 2004 JGTC crown.

“The Nissan Z GT500 symbolizes Nissan’s spirit of taking on challenges and bringing excitement to life,” said Nissan CEO Ashwani Gupta.

“Through our racing efforts we continue to innovate our cars and we race to win with the same daring we have displayed so many times over the years.”

NISMO President and CEO Takao Katagiri added:  “We are entering the 2022 Super GT series with our all-new Nissan Z GT500 car and our huge passion for motorsports.

“We hope that our fans will continue to passionately support the Nissan and NISMO motorsport teams.”

Nissan presented the new Z GT500 with a video showing the car running at Fuji Speedway, including a hot lap from factory driver Ronnie Quintarelli.

Daniel Lloyd is a UK-based reporter for Sportscar365, covering the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, among other series.

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