Nissan R390 GT1 '98

For the road car, see Nissan R390 GT1 Road Car '98.

The Nissan R390 GT1 '98 is a Le Mans race car produced by Nissan. It first appeared in Gran Turismo 2 and has been featured in all subsequent mainline games up to Gran Turismo 6.

The car appears to be the #32, driven by Aguri Suzuki, Kazuyoshi Hoshino, and Masahiko Kageyama, who has finished the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans in 3rd place overall.

In-game description[]

"Developed specifically for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this race car scored the first podium finish for Japanese drivers at the historic race."

Nissan, in an effort to claim the ever elusive title of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, developed a GT1-class machine in 1997 with TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing). Tony Southgate created the basic design and placed a VRH35L, a twin turbocharged 3.5 liter V-8 which is a favorite from the days of Group C cars, into a carbon monocoque body and added an orthodox suspension.

That year, the R390 was entered in Le Mans without sufficient testing and did not fare well. To rectify their mistake Nissan made big changes to the R390 for the following year, including adding ABS and TCS. Also, the stock gearbox was swapped in favor of one made by X-Track. With adequate amounts of testing, Nissan engaged in a full assault at the 1998 race with four R390s. The No. 30 car was driven by John Nielsen, Micheal Krumm, and Franck Lagorce, the No.31 by Jan Lammers, Eric Comas, and Andrea Montermini, the No.32 by Aguri Suzuki, Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Masahiko Kageyama, and finally, the No. 33 by Satoshi Motoyama, Takuya Kurosawa, and Masami Kageyama.

Porsche, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW were all present at that year's Le Mans, making for a fierce struggle. In the end, the Porsche cars were too strong, posting 1-2 finish. but the No.32 R390 managed an impressive 3rd place. This marked the first time an all-Japanese team had made it to the podium.

Acquisition[]

Game	Purchase location	Credits	Other methods
Gran Turismo 2	---	---	Win the Gran Turismo World League.
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec	---	---	Win the Professional GT All-Stars event.
Gran Turismo 4	Nissan Legendary Cars Showroom^[1] Late '90s Showroom^[2]	4,500,000 2,924,999	---
Gran Turismo PSP	Nissan Dealership	3,500,00	---
Gran Turismo 5	Used Car Dealership (Lv. 23+)	2,928,673	---
Gran Turismo 6	Nissan Dealership	1,700,000	---

Trivia[]

In early versions of GT2, this car was known as simply the R390 98 and coded as the racing modification for road counterpart, then later the R390 GT1 Le Mans '98.
In GT Sport and GT7, a photo of this car can be seen in Nissan's Museum in Brand Central, referencing its Le Mans achievement. However, the car itself does not appear as a playable vehicle in either game.
The GT3 iteration of the car weighs 900 kg, 100 kg lighter than it was in reality.^[3] Subsequent games would later correct the error.