VIN: the works Nissan R390 Long Tail chassis R7
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History of chassis R7
After the 1997 debacle at Le Mans where two of the three R390s had to be sacrificed to ensure there would be enough parts for the lead car to finish, Nissan and their motor sport partner, TWR, returned in 1998 with much-improved machinery.
The problems of 1997 had arisen as a result of last-minute modifications that were not properly tested. The R390s had been permitted to run at Pre-Qualifying in May despite not conforming to the 125-litre luggage space regulations for cars in the GT1 category.
Prior to the 24 hour race in June, TWR reworked the exhaust system to free up sufficient luggage space. However, it transpired the re-routed pipes melted the solder that held the gearbox oil coolers together.
Midway through the race, Nissan decided to retire chassis R1 and R4 so that R2 (the best placed R390) would have the parts it needed to finish.
No such errors were made in 1998 when the new long tailed R390s proved a model of reliability.
For Pre-Qualifying, chassis R7 was allocated to Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Aguri Suzuki. The light blue machine posted eighth quickest time overall while the sister cars were sixth and seventh.
A fourth R390 (a 1997 car rebuilt to the latest spec. for Nova Engineering) was 16th.
The three works Long Tails arrived at the 24 Hour race with new light blue and white colour schemes. Each was sponsored by a different Nissan partner: R7 was backed by Calsonic which produced automotive air-conditioners and heat exchangers.
Hoshino and Suzuki were joined by Masahiko Kageyama for the race. They lined up 14th on the grid behind R8 in tenth and R6 in 13th. The silver and green Nova entry (R1) was 19th.
Although the R390s were eclipsed by the latest GT1 cars from Toyota and Mercedes-Benz in terms of single lap pace, reliability proved the R390’s strong suit in 1998.
By the third hour, all three TWR cars were running in the top ten. Thereafter, only minor problems for R6 and R8 hampered progress.
Meanwhile, R7 ran faultlessly to finish third overall.
It become the first all-Japanese crewed car to make the podium at Le Mans.
R7 was subsequently retired to Nissan’s Heritage Collection.
Notable History
Light Blue Nissan livery
03/05/1998 IND Le Mans Pre-Qualifying (K. Hoshino / A. Suzuki) 8th oa, 8th GT1 class (#32)
Light Blue & White Calsonic livery
07/06/1998 IND Le Mans 24 Hours (K. Hoshino / A. Suzuki / M. Kageyama) 3rd oa, 3rd GT1 class (#32)
Nissan Heritage Collection
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Nissan - https://www.nissan-global.com
