In 1993 Nissan was a dominating force in the Australian Supercar racing series with its AWD monster, the GT-R. Nissan left the series after their winning streak thanks to regulation changes and thus began the decades long Holden vs Ford racing series.
Now after 20 years of absence, Nissan is reentering the series with a V8 powered Nissan Altima. The car is powered by a version of the VK56DE engine that is found in the Nissan Patrol SUV. The engine has been downsized from 5.6-liters to an even 5.0 to satisfy regulations. Displacement may be down, but Nissan has upped the power output to 600+.
Kelly Racing will be the group behind the car and state the car is very close to a stock Altima on the outside. Todd Kelly stated, “Aside from flaring of the rear guards, and extending of the front guards; the doors, roof, bonnet and bootlid panels are all the same length as the road car.”
Joining the Altima in the 2013 Series will be Mercedes-Benz so we now have a four maker racing series. Looks like things are getting a bit more frisky Down Under. To see the new Altima check out the gallery below, but be warned, the car tearing up the track will wear a different livery. It will be covered in the Jack Daniel’s livery that Kelly Racing’s current cars already wear.
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