Nissan
GT-R LM Nismo
The
Nissan GT-R LM NISMO is in automotive-speak a front-engined, front-wheel-drive
car. The internal combustion engine drives the front wheels, and the energy
recovery system harvests energy from the front wheels. We've used the relatively
low-powered internal combustion engine to drive the front wheels, and then we
add power from the ERS to augment acceleration.
A relatively conventional twin-turbo, 3.0-liter V6 gasoline
engine is the engine that supplies the front wheels with power, but a kinetic
energy recovery system (ERS) rounds out the car's power supply to bring the
horsepower figure up to 1,250.
Picture the long driveshaft extending from the front of
the car to the back of the car, terminating at the rear axle line. It connects
to a differential housing that scales upward – high enough for driveshafts to
reach across and over the through-flow aero tunnels. Those driveshafts connect
to individual gearboxes that also sit in tall housings. With the high
differential housing connected to the high outrigger gearboxes via driveshafts,
the rear wheels are turned by short driveshafts from the base of the gearboxes.
Those front tires are indeed meaty: 14 inch as opposed to the
9-inch tires in the back. With weight being such a concern, packaging it
effectively was a big deal. The front weight bias and primarily
front-wheel-drive drivetrain necessitated Nissan's different approach to its
layout.
The aero center of pressure for the front-wheel-drive racer
was moved forward to match the weight distribution, also necessitating the move
to a wider front tire.
The GT-R LM Nismo's steering wheel is almost as complex as
many modern Formula One cars', yet F1 isn't the same hotbed of crazy technology
that LMP1 is.
This
is amazing given that the car is designed for flow-through aerodynamics, so
they couldn't allow for rear driveshafts in the way.
