This is the ROAD LEGAL 1998 Nissan R390 GT1 - Villa d'Este 2022

During the 2022 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este I have filmed the only road legal 1998 Nissan R390 GT1.

If it hadn't been for Gran Turismo, the Nissan R390 GT1 would've likely ended on the list of the most obscure supercars ever. Built in right-hand-drive configuration, the only road-legal example made a rare appearance this past weekend on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. It attended the 2022 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este to show off its dual-side exhaust tips and a massive red wing while making wonderful V8 music.

At the heart of the mid-engined supercar was the VRH35L unit co-developed with Tom Walkinshaw Racing with a pair of turbochargers. The 3.5-liter mill made a healthy 550 horsepower and 470 pound-feet (637 Newton-meters) of torque back in 1998 when the R390 GT1 was unveiled as a road car before the subsequent racing version. Output was channeled to the rear axle via a six-speed sequential transmission with a short-throw gear lever.

The engine sounds absolutely marvelous even when the car is standing still and it's a real shame Nissan never followed on its promise to build it. If it had been made, the supercar would've ended up costing a hefty $1 million. Even though it was a fairly large car, stretching at 185.8 inches (4.7 meters) long and 78.7 inches (2 meters) wide, R390 GT1 weighed as much as a fully loaded Mazda MX-5 Miata (ND). Indeed, the single-seater machine tipped the scales at a mere 2,420 lbs (1,100 kg).

Nissan made some impressive performance claims, including a 0 to 30 mph (48 km/h) in 1.2 seconds, 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 3.9 seconds, and 0 to 80 mph (129 km/h) in 6.0 seconds. Flat out, the R390 GT1 was said to hit a top speed of 220 mph (354 km/h) after completing the quarter mile in 11.9 seconds. Even nearly 35 years later, these are some juicy figures for what would've been the ultimate Nissan.

Ian Callum was responsible for the design, and in case you haven't realized by now, he borrowed the headlights from the 300ZX. The incredibly low ride height makes it quite difficult to drive on public roads, not that the Porsche 911 GT1 Straßenversion or the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR are street-friendly either…

Text source: Motor1

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[cestusfr]

It is not the road legal version that exists. it is a race version modified and homologated for the road, like the longtail F1 GTR.

[chilldwill]

Never thought id see more then 7 second clips of this from years ago, but Im finally seeing a 9 minute video of this car.

Man I wish Nissan brung back the R390 GT1 in production

[JuddGV]

The Nissan R390 GT1 & Toyota TS020, legendary Japanese counterparts of the end of the 90's

[enigmaticcruz]

The VRH35 in the R390 will eventually become the McLaren M383T in the 12C and ends up being developed into the M840T. Crazy to think that a modern McLaren roadcar uses an engine developed in the late 80's.

[GiovanaSGG]

Beautiful car, nice video and sound quality. Good memories with Gran Turismo 2. <3

[johnsonle]

You know it a true race car when there storage inside the door for your helmet

[CaH-ngcn]

The helmet holder in the door, is another level.

[ogremair]

Uploader is the OP here, liking every comment

[alfonsosantos]

Dubai had 3 of this cars . What a beautiful machine 🙏

[carycoller]

Now I feel like cutting my lawn after hearing this thing idle 😒

[cyoann]

Door is wide enough to store an helmet 😂

[ajrf]

Anyone knows if this finally went to Le Mans (2022, I refer)?

[skorpionic]

Feels disappointing to see this car being a garage queen.

[bobyoung]

I love it when fast cars go fast. This video was a major disappointment.

[viliusr.]

my kia can do this without push pull by additional people

[guybeingaguy]

You try too hard to zoom in out pan left right.
Half the video is the tail of the car.
👎

[leifandersen]

It looks ugly and have drying rack on the back.who needs all this to drive on the road.On a cicuit it makes sense, but not on the road.There are more potent cars to buy like BMWs, Audis etc.