Nissan celebrated the 40th anniversary of its launch on Tuesday. Nismo Performance Divisionwhich was formally established on September 17, 1984.
A portmanteau of “Nissan motorsports”, Nismo has managed most of the automaker’s racing activities, produced high-performance parts and designed complete high-performance variants of Nissan vehicles for the past four decades.
Nismo 40th Anniversary Exhibition at Nissan Headquarters in Yokohama, Japan
To celebrate, Nissan is displaying the iconic Nismo race cars and the performance division’s current road car lineup at its headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, through October 15. Highlights include the Nissan R390 GT1 which finished third at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans — the manufacturer’s best result in the French endurance classic to date — and a Group A R32 Skyline GT-R in the classic Calsonic blue and white livery.
Nissan was not back to Le Mans in the top prototype category since 2015, when it launched the fascinating but ultimately doomed GT-R LM Nismo. But Nismo is yet active in Formula E and the Japanese Super GT series. The Nissan Z Nismo is the only Nismo-branded model currently sold in the U.S., but additional models are sold in other markets, including a newly revealed Nismo version of the Ariya electric crossover.
Nismo 40th Anniversary Exhibition at Nissan Headquarters in Yokohama, Japan
Nismo merged with Autechanother Nissan tuning division, in 2022 to create Nissan Motorsports & Customizing Co., although the Nismo brand name was retained. The Nismo name also began appearing in off-road parts for Nissan pickup trucks and SUVs.
Nismo will continue to develop new models informed by its racing programs, Nissan’s global motorsport chief Takao Katagiri said. Nissan in March announced a plan to launch 30 new vehicles over the next three years, including several EVs and hybrids, so Nismo will have plenty of platform options for future performance models.
