Racecar Lust--Nissan GTP-ZX
Prototype sports car racing, in which drivers pilot two-seat fendered sports cars either very similar or very different from production cars, has a tendency to operate in a boom-bust cycle. This is invariably the process:
Step 1 - Independent racers band together to form a new series with new technical regulations aimed at keeping costs low.
Step 2 - Over the first few seasons, the independents slowly build competitive fields and entertaining racing.
Step 3 - Big auto manufacturers identify the growing series as an opportunity for exposure. They then jump in with wildly sophisticated and exotic equipment, bringing increased fan excitement.
Step 4 - After roughly five years of exciting, white-hot competition, the cars become so expensive that the independents can't compete and are forced to leave.
Step 5 - The costs rise so high, and the competition is now so thin that the factories begin to drop out.
Step 6 - The series slowly dies.
Step 7 - Return to Step 1.
One of the most interesting boom-and-bust cycles came in the 1980s and early 1990s in the form of IMSA GTP--the top-level American sports car series of the time. IMSA GTP sports cars took the form of wildly exotic closed-roof cars, powered by a variety of engines--V-8s, V-12s, twin-turbocharged V-6s--with so much power and aerodynamic downforce that the most advanced GTP cars were quicker than Indy cars on many tracks.
The cars were incredibly fascinating; this week I'll be remembering my five favorite IMSA GTP cars. First, the Nissan GTP-ZX.
When Nissan debuted its GTP-ZX in IMSA GTP, it was known mostly as a carnival sideshow--immediately fast, but incredibly fragile. For several years it would beat the inexorable phalanx of Porsches 956s and 962s to an occasional pole position, lead in spectacular fashion for a few laps, and then the high-horsepower twin-turbocharged V-6 would hand-grenade itself. The consensus among competitors was that if Nissan ever solved its reliability problems the GTP-ZX could be trouble--but Nissan would likely have to back off the power to solve that reliability problem. Most marques never solve that problem, and many leave if they do not taste immediate success.
Fast-forward to 1988. Porsche had dominated IMSA GTP with that marque's typical single-mindedness, but for 1988 Porsche teams had a new bogey in their sights--the highly-touted big-dollar Jaguar factory effort. The confluence of Jaguar's debut and the habitual low expectations for Nissan set the stage for one of the most dominant seasons ever posted in sports car racing.
Still leery of its reliability, Nissan skipped the two early-season endurance races in Daytona (24 hours) and Sebring (12 hours); but after digging that hole, the 1988 GTP-ZX established itself as one of the most incredibly dominant sports prototypes ever. Running against a battery of previously dominant Porsches and the much-ballyhood Jaguars, the GTP-ZX came from nowhere to win eight straight races and nine total to easily walk away with the championship. Porsche had been slain; Jaguar had been upstaged. Somehow, Nissan was the easy, walkaway kingpin of sports car racing.
Porsche, Jaguar, and other manufacturers responded by sinking more money and technology into their cars in the next several years. None of that mattered. Nissan continued its dominance with essentially the same car in 1989 and 1990, at which point it debuted a new, equally dominance prototype racer.
All told, lead driver Geoff Brabham won four consecutive driver's championships for Nissan to cap the Japanese company's improbable rise from sideshow to powerhouse.
I've always found the GTP-ZX to be one of the prettiest race cars ever made, in addition to one of the most successful. With its high-downforce Batmobile front-end detailing, its 900-plus horsepower twin-turbo V-6, and its long tail and beautiful diffuser skirts, it projects both menace and elegance. Underdog or seasoned champion, the GTP-ZX had speed and style to burn.
The images are all from Wikipedia. The video below shows the very first GTP-ZX, in its initial, rarely documented black California Cooler livery. This was the version that had a tendency to run quickly--until it didn't run at all. I'm not sure what's going on with that announcer; he has a speaking style somewhat reminiscent of the Mayor of Springfield in The Simpsons, and "we expect to do just fine" isn't really much of a rabble-rousing tagline.
The second video is a wrap-up of the 1987 Grand Prix of Miami; the video is notable for three things.
1. This race marked Nissan's first IMSA GTP win; the company's sole win in an otherwise unsuccessful 1987 season, but a powerful warning to the rest of the field that if a Nissan could hold together, it could dominate. It was a foreshadowing of Nissan's 1988 blitzkrieg.
2. Just listen to some of the big names called out in this video. Not only was IMSA GTP attracting the best sports car drivers from around the world, but open-wheel stars like Emerson Fittipaldi, Bobby Rahal, and Michael Andretti were taking stints in GTP.
3. The music is just fantastic.
--Chris H.
Nissan GTP ZX Turbo - More amazing video clips are a click away
Mochi Mochi on June 09, 2008 at 07:39 PM
Nothing like race car lust. I love these fully fendered racers. As much as I love open wheel cars, these babies really get me going. I know there's no street practicality to them - not like anyone is going to drive to the market - but they have the vague image of a street car. And they keep the rain off. There's also the history of endurance racing beautifully captured in films like Le Mans. It's kind of a racer's dream. What a driver would build for himself or something like that.
I was trying to get a few specs on the displacement, but it would appear that the Nissan was in the under 3 liter range. Likely a 2.5 liter. To produce 900hp from anything in the 2.5-3 liter range is a magnificent achievement.
The history about closed wheel purpose built race cars is rich. The little lotus 23 is one of my favorites... it's just beautiful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_23
This type of racing just does not get enough press in the States.
Chris on June 10, 2008 at 03:48 AM
Yup, 3 liter V6--Iron block, too, a development of the VG30 used in the Z and the Maxima of the time. I miss those cars. I think I saw the California Cooler car on eBay a few weeks ago. . .