Nissan warmed up the cold temperatures in the Windy City for the 2015 Chicago Auto Show during a welcome reception held at Venue One by unveiling the innovative 600-horsepower GT-R LM NISMO racing car. Journalists and photographers bum rushed the makeshift stage jocking for pole position to view and shoot the electrifying vehicle.
Lucas Ordóñez and Jann Mardenborough, the 2008 and 2011 Winners of GT Academy, were selected to join the Nissan NISMO LM P1 team alongside established NISMO racer Michael Krumm. “I want to show that there is a different route to the top of motorsport – than just years and years of expensive go karting – by winning at Le Mans,” said Mardenborough. “It’s an honor for me to be chosen to compete in LM P1 for Nissan. I have raced at Le Mans twice in LM P2 so I have seen the current LM P1 cars at very close quarters out on the track. To think I will be racing one this year is very exciting. The Nissan GT-R LM NISMO looks set to be an historic race car and I get to drive it.” Michael Krumm brings a dearth of technical knowledge and vehicle development to the squad and is actually the first man to pilot the GT-R LM NISMO. It runs off of a 3-liter twin-turbo V6 gasoline engine which is positioned in the front of the front-wheel-drive LM P1 car while its hybrid power is generated from the front driveline.
“Jann and Lucas have proved their merit as professional racing drivers time and time again, not least with their Le Mans podium finishes,” said Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO. “What looks like an overnight success is years of incredibly hard work by Jann, Lucas and the Nissan NISMO team that develop all of the winners of Nissan GT Academy.”
Make sure to get down to McCormick Place to see the GT-R LM NISMO in person if you reside in Chicago.
