Nissan Deltawing Showcased At Los Angeles Auto Show

November 30, 2012 by Nissan

– Revolutionary Racecar Establishes New Ground In Weight Reduction, Fuel Consumption; Fresh Off Top-Five Finish at Petit Le Mans –

LOS ANGELES – Southern California gets its first look at the revolutionary Nissan DeltaWing racecar at the 2012 Los Angeles International Auto Show, which runs at the Los Angels Convention Center from Nov. 30th through Dec. 9th. The low-slung ground missile features half the weight, aerodynamic drag, tire wear and fuel consumption of normal endurance racing cars while remaining competitive on track.

The car's unique shape allows for excellent downforce without the use of extra aerodynamic wings. Its 4.0-inch wide front tires and narrow track present a unique solution to high-speed handling. Light vehicle weight and low drag enable DeltaWing to use an ultra-light 1.6-liter Nissan DIG-T Turbo engine that gets its origins from the Nissan JUKE crossover. The smaller displacement, high fuel efficiency of the Nissan engine also translates into fewer refueling pit stops over the course of endurance competitions.

Originally designed by racing engineer Ben Bowlby as a concept for future Indy Car racing, the groundbreaking project was brought to fruition by Nissan and its partner Michelin with a target to race at the famed Le Mans 24 Hours in France. The entire development process was only 100 days – an astonishingly short span for preparing an all-new machine for endurance racing. Once at Le Mans, Nissan DeltaWing posted competitive times and hit nearly 200 mph on the famed Mulsanne Straight. After an early cooling issue, DeltaWing was in a viable position to finish the race when another racecar crashed into it and damaged the vehicle in hour six, taking it out of action.

The repaired DeltaWing triumphantly returned to competition on Oct.20, 2012 at Petit Le Mans 10-hour race near Atlanta, GA. Driven by American Gunnar Jeannette and Spaniard Lucas Ordonez – the inaugural Nissan PlayStation GT academy winner – the car not only completed the race, it finished fifth overall out of more than 40 entrants.

The car consumed half the racing fuel and tire wear of its closest competitors, validating the initial targets.

'The guys did an incredible job,' said Bowlby. 'This car is still surprising us all. To have reliability like that was really quite incredible – it didn't skip a beat.'

The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) has approved the design for participation in next year's competition, but for now, the car on display Nissan's Los Angeles Auto Show stand is the only example in the world.

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The Nissan DeltaWing was recently awarded Automobile Magazine's 'Racing Car of the Year for 2012,' as well as Evo Magazine's 'Innovation of the Year.' Designer Ben Bowlby was presented the Dino Toso Award as top racing aerodynamicist by Race Tech magazine in the United Kingdom. The car was also awarded by Popular Science as one its 'Best of What's New' winners and was nominated by Autosport Magazine in the UK as a finalist in its Racing Car of the Year Award.