The New Nissan’s Z GT4 Race Car from Nissan Is Not the NISMO You Were Hoping For
Following the release of a mysterious teaser image of a speedy Nissan’s Z GT4 sports car on Twitter, which caused fans to speculate and speculate, Nissan is now shedding light on its brand-new Nissan’s Z GT4 race car. While some fans of the Z may be upset that this isn’t the higher-performance, roadgoing 2023 Nissan Z NISMO variant — as some anticipated the tweeted teaser may be — this racing version of the Z may very well offer some clues for the impending Z model.
First and foremost, the fact that Nissan will be competing in the GT4-spec class rather than the FIA’s GT3 division is an intriguing development. The GT4 race vehicles are much more similar to their counterparts that are driven on public roads, with the exception of considerable weight reduction achieved through the removal of the majority of the interior components and additional safety equipment, including a roll cage and a fire suppression system.
Due to the more direct approach to the building of race cars, GT4 racing is a lot more cost-effective than running in the GT3 class against the likes of Porsche and Chevrolet’s factory programs. As a point of comparison, the racing version of the 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 R costs more than half a million dollars, while the cost of a GT4 race car ranges anywhere from $100,000 to a quarter of a million dollars. Additionally, there is the minuscule fact that the Z’s major rival on the street, Toyota’s GR Supra, also competes in GT4…
Nissan called on its NISMO Racing Division to assist in the development of the Nissan’s Z GT4 race car. This division was responsible for fine-tuning the production Z’s VR30DDTT twin-turbo V-6 engine as well as optimizing the chassis and suspension for use on the track.
NISMO installed a basic aerodynamic package, which consisted of a front splitter with canards and a strut-supported wing designed in the form of a GT wing. In spite of the fact that they were designed specifically with racing in mind, the GT4’s enhancements wouldn’t be out of place on a street-legal NISMO Z, and we believe that the next generation of high-performance Z cars will take quite a bit of cue from this model.
Under the guise of a “test-entry vehicle,” the 2023 Nissan’s Z GT4 was put through clandestine testing in the engineering facilities of NISMO as well as at the Fuji 24 Hour event in Japan. Nissan claims that the Z GT4 participated in Super Taikyu Series competitions as well.
Nissan’s Z GT4 will most likely compete in IMSA events in the United States, such as the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, as well as in SRO competitions with the Pirelli GT4 America series. It wouldn’t surprise us in the least if the car competed in some of the other racing series in the United States.
When the 2023 Nissan’s Z GT4 race vehicle makes its debut at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas this November, the 2023 Nissan Z GT4 race car specifications will be made public for the first time. The first part of 2023 will reportedly be when Nissan starts delivering the Z GT4, as verified by the automaker.