Nissan Powers a Quarter of Le Mans Racers

Without much fanfare NissanNissanJapan, 1932 > present159 models
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has become a major supplier of prototype engines in the LMP2 classes at Le Mans. Plus, a modified version from their Nissan JukeNissan JukeJapan, 2010 > present135 versions
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is powering the experimental DeltawingNissan DeltaWingJapan, 2012 > present19 photos
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this year. A quarter of the cars this year are powered by NIssan and 13 of the 20 LMP2 cars are Nissan-powered. 

Nissan is also a major supplier of drivers for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 16 and 17. Two graduates from  the Nissan GT Academy will be driving in the race. Lucas Ordonez was second in his class last year at Le Mans, and Jordan Tresson who won the GT Academy last year will also be racing in the big race. Ordonez will share the car with ex-Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle and his son Alex Brundle. 

The other Nissan factory drivers in the race will be Michael Krumm and Satoshi Motoyama in the Deltawing who both have raced for Nissan in the Super GT GT500 class. The Deltawing's final driver is Scotsman Marino Franchitti.

"This year's Le Mans 24 Hours will be our biggest yet and the Nissan DeltaWing shows the direction we are looking to take with motorsport technology in the future. We are already dominant in LMP2, where teams know that we can help them win, while the DeltaWing project is the kind of experiment in design and technology that only a company as forward-thinking and bold as Nissan could get behind," said Paul Willcox, Senior Vice President of Nissan in Europe.

The Nissan VK45DE 4.5L V8 is the engine that it sells to its customer teams. It was originally raced in the GT500 class. These engines won every race in their class in the Le Mans Series and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, now known at the World Endurance Championship. While designed by Nissan, the customer team engines are actually assembled by Zytek and Oreca. The engines produce about 450hp and 570Nm of torque.

The smaller 1.6l turbocharged four-cylinder engine provides power for the Deltawing. It has 300hp and 310Nm of torque with a five-speed manual transmission.