New drivers, new tracks and new regulations can go a long way towards shaking things up, but nothing can make a racing series more exciting like fresh machinery – and Japan's Super GT championship is going to have just that in spades. Honda recently revealed its new NSX GT (in concept form, anyway), and Lexus its new LF-CC racecar. But as the current two-time reigning champions, Nissan isn't about to give up without a fight, and to that end, it has announced a new version of its GT-R to compete in the same top-tier GT500 class.
The changes incorporated into the new Nissan GT-R Nismo GT500 aren't as drastic, of course, as the all-new cars Honda and Lexus are working on. But it still has to comply with the new regulations, which have been sync'd up with Germany's DTM series in all aspects except for engine specs. Those remain unique to Super GT, which calls for V8 engines with no more than 500 horsepower – not the twin-turbo V6 you'd find in the road-going GT-R.
After undergoing its first shakedown last month, Nismo demonstrated the new GT-R GT500 at the Suzuka race this past weekend and will showcase it at the Nismo Festival at Fuji in December. The real action will kick off next spring.
