Nissan Backs Ground-Breaking Deltawing Project for Le Mans

London (ots/PRNewswire) -

Nissan DeltaWing experimental racecar to be powered by
Nissan 1.6-litre DIG-T engine technology in this generation's most
revolutionary and exciting motorsport

project

- Nissan leads efficiency charge as founding partner of project
- Innovative new racing car to run at Le Mans with Nissan technology
- Nissan DeltaWing will act as test bed for new road car technologies
- Drive for efficiency will see car use half the fuel of its conventional
counterparts, bringing Nissan "PureDrive" principles to the track
- Initial backers include racing legends Dan Gurney and Don Panoz, concept
designer Ben Bowlby and Michelin
- Special invitation from ACO to occupy 'Garage 56'
- Car to wear number '0' and run outside race classification

Nissan is aiming to change the face of endurance racing forever
by becoming a founding partner in the most radical motorsport project
of its time - Nissan DeltaWing.

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A highly-advanced and hugely-efficient Nissan engine will power
the remarkable DeltaWing car as it races in anger for the first time
at the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours (16-17 June).

While Nissan DeltaWing will not be classified in the 2012 Le Mans
24 Hours, the Company is looking to showcase the pioneering
technology that will show one potential direction for the future of
motorsport and will feed into the research and development of future
technologies, that filter down to Nissan's road car product range.

A race-prepared 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine, featuring direct
petrol injection and a turbocharger, will power Nissan DeltaWing,
which is half the weight and has half the aerodynamic drag of a
conventional racer.

With innovation at its core, Nissan was a natural partner to be
invited into the DeltaWing family by the existing group of core
partners - US-domiciled British designer Ben Bowlby, American
motorsport entrepreneur Don Panoz, the All-American Racers
organization of former US Formula 1 driver Dan Gurney, Duncan
Dayton's two-time championship-winning Highcroft Racing team and
Michelin Tyres North America.

The engine, badged DIG-T (Direct Injection Gasoline -
Turbocharged), is expected to produce around 300hp, sufficient to
give Nissan DeltaWing lap times between LMP1 and LMP2 machines at Le
Mans, despite having only half the power of those conventional
prototypes. It features the same technology found in Nissan road
cars, such as the range-topping Nissan Juke DIG-T.

"As motor racing rulebooks have become tighter over time, racing
cars look more and more similar and the technology used has had less
and less relevance to road car development. Nissan DeltaWing aims to
change that and we were an obvious choice to become part of the
project," said Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor
Co., Ltd.

"But this is just the start of our involvement. Nissan DeltaWing
embodies a vast number of highly-innovative ideas that we can learn
from. At the same time, our engineering resources and commitment to
fuel efficiency leadership via our PureDrive strategy will help
develop DeltaWing into a testbed of innovation for Nissan".

"This announcement gives Nissan the opportunity to become part of
a ground-breaking motorsport project and one which could shape the
future of the sport," he added.

Nissan DeltaWing concept originator and designer, Briton Ben
Bowlby, said: "Nissan has provided us with our first choice engine.
It's a spectacular piece. We've got the engine of our dreams: it's
the right weight, has the right power and it's phenomenally
efficient."

Nissan DeltaWing is unlike any other racing car currently on
track. The driver sits well back in the car, almost over the rear
axle and looks ahead down a long, narrow fuselage to narrow twin
front tyres, specially created for the car by tyre partner Michelin.
With a rear-mounted engine, the car has a strong rearward weight
bias, which makes it highly manoeuvrable, while its light weight and
slippery shape make it far more efficient.

Its innovative design and forward-looking technology have
encouraged the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), the organisers of
the famous Le Mans 24 Hours, to invite the car to run in this year's
race from 'Garage 56', the spot in the pitlane reserved for
experimental cars. As it doesn't conform to any existing championship
regulations, Nissan DeltaWing will not be eligible to challenge for
silverware and will carry the race number '0'.

Nissan's expertise has been applied to the development of the
engine, in order to make it light and efficient enough to prove the
philosophy behind the concept can work in 'real-world' motor racing.
The Company, always among the first to embrace such radical ideas and
surprising new performance innovations, has promised to apply key
learnings from the experience to inform strategies for its PureDrive
aerodynamics and efficiency package for road cars, as well as its
overall research & development programmes.

Dan Gurney's legendary All American Racers organization has built
the DeltaWing. The new car continues the California organisation's
incredible legacy as a race car constructor which has included 157
different cars built - earning major victories in Formula 1,
sportscars and the Indianapolis 500.

Paul Willcox, Senior Vice President, Nissan in Europe, said:
"Nissan is a very innovative, forward-thinking company prepared to
take a risk or two. And exactly the same applies to Nissan DeltaWing.
Our involvement in the project shows the boldness of Nissan from an
engineering and innovation mindset."

The first two Nissan DeltaWing drivers to be confirmed are
British Sportscar racer Marino Franchitti and Nissan's reigning FIA
GT1 World Champion Michael Krumm. The car will make its first public
demo laps at Sebring, Florida, at 12.30pm local time on Thursday,
March 15.

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ots Originaltext: Nissan International SA
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Contacts: Gabi Whitfield, Contact For: Product Communications,
Title: General Manager - Nissan Product Communications, Phone:
+44-7768-80-20-84, Email: Gabi.Whitfield@nissan.co.uk Paul Ryan,
Contact
For: Highcroft Racing, Title: Head of Communications - DeltaWing
Project,
Phone: +1-678-644-0404, E-mail: paul@highcroftracing.com, Nick
Garton,
Contact For: Broadcast Media, Phone: +44-7827-01-54-65, E-mail:
nick@performancepr.co.uk