N
issan hasn’t had
an easy time in
its return to top-
flight Australian
touring cars
under Supercars’ Car of the
Future regulations.
As the first non-Ford and
Holden entrant into Supercars,
Nissan paved the way for other
manufacturers but also paid the
price for being first on board.
Engine and aerodynamic
parity issues set Nissan
Motorsport back in terms
of competitiveness with the
Altima V8. And, in many ways,
the team has never recovered
from those handicaps.
The recent departure of
Nissan Australia CEO Richard
Emery has only intensified
speculation about the
manufacturer’s involvement in
Australian motorsport.
Emery championed Nissan’s
involvement in Supercars and
the Bathurst 12 Hour. Under
his watch, Nissan extended its
backing of the team formerly
known as Kelly Racing for a
further two years in 2017 and
2018.
Stephen Lester, the former
managing director of Infiniti
Canada, steps into the role of
Nissan Australia CEO and will
lead the manufacturer at a criti-
cal juncture.
Nissan Motorsport will
continue with the Altima body
and V8-powered VK56DE
engine into 2018, though the
Altima is no longer sold inAustralian showrooms, leav-
ing no four-door sedan in the
manufacturer’s line-up.
The Gen2 rules allow Nissan
to resort to its performance
arm NISMO’s racing line-up,
namely the GT-R 3.8-litre
twin-turbocharged V6 that’s a
regular in GT3 racing around
the world, including the
Bathurst 12 Hour.
Switching to the GT-R twin-
turbo in Supercars will align
Nissan with Holden’s new
engine platform, which comes
into place in 2019. And aligning
with NISMO’s racing program
saves Nissan the costs incurred
by developing its own product
such as with the Altima V8.
But a switch to the GT-R
twin-turbo would see NissanMotorsport have to forgo all six
years of development into its
V8 engine.
Plus, running the GT-R in
both Supercars and GTs raises
the question of differentiation
between the two, something
Emery raised as a concern
and is an ongoing issue for
Supercars into Gen2.
If Nissan was starting from
scratch, it would race the GT-R
twin-turbo in Supercars by rely-
ing on NISMO’s expertise and
turn its domestic development
into running the Navara in the
new-look SuperUtes series.
However, the costly years
of the Altima V8, which has
produced just a handful of
podiums, leaves Nissan at the
crossroads.Nissan has the biggest factory-backed presence in Supercars this season but it isn’t
translating into results as head office weighs up its future in the category.