1963

The story began when Nissan were pioneers of the first Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka and won a class victory with the Datsun Fairlady 1500.

1966

Nissan bought the Prince Motor Company who manufactured the R380, a race car inspired by the Porsche 904. Powered by a six-cylinder 180hp engine, it was too heavy (720 kg) to compete with its European counterparts.

1967

The R380 evolved, this time inspired by the Porsche 906 and 910 ... still too heavy, its performance was unconvincing.

1968

Results were slow in coming, and Nissan launched into a new programme. With its V8 Chevrolet power, the R381 won the Grand Prix of Japan ahead of Porsche and Toyota..

1969

The American V8 gave way to a home grown 600 hp V12. Still unknown in Europe, the Japanese GP was the sporting event of the year in its homeland. Toyota, Isuzu and Daihastu came with huge budgets but it was still Nissan that won!

1970

With the escalation of manufacturers out to win, the Japanese Grand Prix could only lead to a deadlock. Taking as a pretext the new anti-pollution standards, Nissan threw in the towel.

PS. It was revealed much later that would have been the mysterious R383 V12 turbo, nicknamed "700 hp" by its mechanics!

1973

In America, the 'Z' coupe scored many wins, including those of Bob Sharp Racing, and driven by no less than Paul Newman.

1983

After a long absence, Nissan returned to endurance racing. Different avenues were explored like the Nissan powered March 83G or this Skyline Silhouette transformed into a Group C car. It gave its best, but could not compete with the Porsche 956. Regardless, the revolution was started!

1985

It was Nissan's offshoot in North America that saw the return of a "true" prototype. The GTP ZX Turbo is a legend in the USA, as great as the Porsche 956. After a difficult start in the IMSA series it progressed from year to year to finally dominate the 1988, 89 and 90 seasons.

1985

The matching of the March 85G chassis with the Nissan V6 of the GTP ZX gave rise to the R85V. Under a deluge it won on its first outing in the World Championship race at Fuji! The following year, it became the first Nissan to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished 13th..

1986

Appearing in 1986, the March 86G chassis could not challenge Porsche and Jaguar in the Japanese sports prototype championship. It did not have success in the 24 Hours of Le Mans either, where it raced until 1989.

1988

The R88C little more success than its predecessor. In the 24 Hours of Le Mans of 1988, it retired after qualifying 15th..

1989

The R88C continued its career in Japan in 1989 (podium at 1000 km of Fuji).

1989

In 1989, the programme was stepped-up and the effect was noticeable. Now with a Lola chassis powered by a new turbo V8 that was not based on a production block, but specially designed for endurance racing. Sidelined by teething problems, none of the three cars that completed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans made it to the chequered flag but at the end of season the R89C had a podium finish at Donington.

1990

1990 marked the first major offensive of Nissan at Le Mans. An armada of seven cars were present in La Sarthe! The very effective, R90CK took pole position and the crew of Brabham-Robinson-Daly led the race until dawn ...

1990

But ... it was the R90CP that gave the Japanese manufacturer consolation, finishing the Japanese championship season ranked fifth, The diappointment of 1990 marked the end of the programme and it would be another seven years before another major project was initiated.
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1990

Although the company ended its global commitment, it continued in the Japanese Championships (JSPC) and in the American IMSA series.

1991

In 1991, a R90CK finished in 2nd place at the Daytona 24 Hours.

1992

Victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1992 remains to this day the most prestigious success for Nissan in endurance racing. That performance was repeated in 1994.

1992

Too young to retire, the R90CK raced in the USA until 1992..

1992

... Also in Japan where this "Kokuyo, Take One" finished second at Fuji.

1992

R92CP dominated the Japanese championship until 1994..

1992

With its 3.5 litre naturally aspirated V12, the NP35 had to compete with the Peugeot 905 and Toyota TS010.

1993

…However, the disappearance of the World Championship put an end to the career of the prototype which had only one race in the Japanese championship (1992). As for the American version with a V6 turbo, it did not go beyond private testing.

1994

After winning at Daytona and Sebring, the 300 ZX developed in America, presented itself as a serious candidate for overall victory at Le Mans. However the Cunningham team finished fifth (IMSA GTS class victory).

1995

The 63rd edition marked the official, but low-key, return of Nissan to the Le Mans 24 Hours. Two Skyline GTR were enterd in GT1. However, these heavy cars bred in the Japanese league could do nothing against the pace of the McLaren F1 GTR. One of them, however, finished 10th..

1996

In a blossoming class, the evolved Skyline could still not mach the pace of McLaren and Porsche. Neither car finished the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

1997

A change of approach! Nissan had the means to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with three R390 GT1 prepared by the architect of Jaguar's victories, Tom Walkinshaw. Although the first attempt ended with two retirements and a 12th place, the second would be much more convincing ...…

1998

In 1998, the four cars entered all reached the chequered flag, and finished 3rd, 5th, 6th and 10th positions. Although it had remarkable reliability, the car could not match the pace of Mercedes, Porsche and Toyota.

1999

The following year, Nissan abandoned GT1 for a normally aspirated proto... Back to basics with the first open prototype body since the R383 in 1970. Still in development, the R391 did not shine at Le Mans, but won the 1000 km Fuji at the end of the year. In 2000, Nissan ended its international sporting programme.

1999

The sporting offshoot of the company raced in Super GT with the Skyline, 350Z and the GT-R.

2009

Returning to the global scene with the GT-R, early results were modest. It was hoped that it might race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2010, but that was not to be. However, it was competitive and won the Tourist Trophy 2010 before taking the FIA ​​GT1 title in 2011
 

2011

The 79th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans finally saw the return of Nissan, but only as an engine partner. The Greaves Motorsport Zytek raced with the VK45 V8 in the LM P2 category.

2012

Still as an engine provider, Nissan is invested in the DeltaWing project which occupied the 56th pit at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (restricted to new technologies). A promising start to the race was cut short by retirement after an accident.

2013

Nissan makes its return in V8 Supercar. Although not in the the endurance racing family, the Australian series has long events such as the famous Bathurst 1000 km.