With 1128 horsepower, the Nissan R90CK holds the record for most powerful car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

It was the largest Japanese armada of all time: nine cars! For 1990, Nissan went all out. Adding to the numbers advantage, there were new technologies such as carbon disc brakes, which was not necessarily progress considering they needed to be constantly maintained at the right temperatures. The problem came from the brand new chicanes added to the Mulsanne Straight that year. Now used more often over the course of a lap, the brakes don't have the time to cool down as before. Nissan understood this before others. 

And that wasn't all. The Japanese manufacturer had two cards up its sleeves: a mule car (for spare parts) and a "special" chassis, recognisable by its white mirrors instead of the usual yellow. It's role was to take the pole position! And although its V8 engine didn't differ from that of its sister cars, the wastegate regulating the turbo pressure was very different!

Nobody had tested the car in this final configuration. « We were unable to make the mechanical work properly prior, and we weren't sure the hard tyres would hold up for a lap," remembers Mark Blundell, the one chosen to go on the adventure. As the sun set, he headed out toward the unknown.  Never has a warmup lap lived up to its name so well. The water temperature was already in the red! Blundell got a message over the radio to pit immediately, but he ignored the call, removed his earpieces and headed into the Ford chicane...

Producing 800 hp in race trim, the twin turbo 3.5 litre V8 made 1128 hp for the qualifying lap!	The n°23 of Hasemi-Hoshino-Suzuki, fifth, would be the best finisher in the race.

Catapulted by 1128 hp, the tyres spun all the way to the entrance of the Dunlop curve, taken in fourth gear! Despite the two new chicanes, Blundell reached 366 kph on the Mulsanne Straight...and against all odds, the engine held on to finish the lap in 3:27. " I reconnected my earpiece and learned that we had the fastest time by 6 seconds," recalls the hero of the day. "Coming into the pits, there were a lot of smiles, but also a few frowns because of my bit of insubordination. I had come to make a name for myself, and I had succeeded. I do regret how much we didn't know about the car and the qualifying tyres. We could have improved the time by three or four seconds."

That would prove to be the highlight of Nissan's weekend as the race would turn to disappointment. The following year, Mazda would become the first Japanese maker to win Le Mans, giving carbon discs their first win as well.

Julien HERGAULT / ACO - Translated by Rainier Ehrhardt / ACO