After a disappointing turn at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year, Nissan has officially announced that it’s putting the radical GT-R LM Nismo race car on ice.
Using an unconventional front-engined, primarily front-wheel drive design, the GT-R LM Nismo endured a difficult year, having missed the season’s opening races and struggled with reliability.
Three cars were entered at the 2015 Le Mans race, only one of which made the finish line but which was later discounted after it failed to complete more than 70 per cent of the winner’s laps.
Although Nissan had previously committed to bringing it back later this year, with test runs conducted in December, the manufacturer has now announced it’s withdrawing the car from racing.
In an official statement, Nissan said: “Nissan entered LMP1 in the 2015 season with an innovative, new and bold concept, with the ambition to compete at the front of the field.
“The teams worked diligently to bring the vehicles up to the desired performance levels. However, the company concluded that the program would not be able to reach its ambitions and decided to focus on developing its longer term racing strategies.”
Regardless, Nissan will continue to be present at the World Endurance Championship this year, albeit acting only as an engine supplier to teams in the LMP3 class.
The manufacturer also said that it had gathered a significant amount of data from the car, which it hopes to put towards developing its road cars and more successful return to racing in the future.
