1992-Built/1993-Specification Nissan P35 Endurance Racing Prototype With 4.2-Litre Menard Competition Technologies (MCT) Superleague Formula V12 Engine

• An intriguing 'might have been'
• Subject of extensive restoration works
• Dyno tested with current 4.2-litre V12
• Iconic Nissan racing livery

Here Bonhams is privileged to offer this fascinating endurance-racing 'might have been' - the never-raced Nissan P35 developed by the Japanese company's American-based racing operation, Nissan Performance Technology Inc. (NPTI), for the final 3.5-litre sports-prototype formula and Nissan's intended 1993 competition programme.

The P35 programme was curtailed amid Japan's economic downturn, the collapse of the World Sportscar Championship and Nissan's withdrawal from prototype racing. The car had been conceived for the new 3.5-litre naturally aspirated Group C regulations before NPTI explored its development for 1993 IMSA GTP competition.

NPTI's P35 was designed by Trevor Harris (of earlier Shadow sports-car fame) and aerodynamicist Yoshi Suzuka. It featured a radical new chassis and aerodynamic package owing little to Nissan's preceding GTP ZX-Turbo and NPT-90 models.

In original period specification, the P35 programme cars were powered by Nissan's all-new VRT35 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V12, for which Nissan claimed more than 630PS (approximately 621bhp) at 11,600rpm. Designed for the Formula One-inspired endurance regulations, it drove through an NPTI-developed six-speed sequential gearbox. Overall, the P35 weighed just over 750kg (1,650lb), making it one of the lightest and most technically advanced sports prototypes Nissan had produced. The original VRT35 is not fitted to chassis 02 today; its current MCT engine is described below.

While the P35 development cars completed extensive testing, 'P35-02', presented here in visual 1993 IMSA specification, never entered competition.

Economic pressures, the aforementioned collapse of the World Sportscar Championship and Nissan's decision to withdraw from prototype racing closed the programme. Today, chassis No '02' survives as an important piece of Nissan motor sport history and offers a rare glimpse of what might have been.

The first two P35 chassis tubs were hybrid structures: aluminium monocoques incorporating carbon-composite roll-over and seat-back structures. This approach enabled NPTI to produce development cars rapidly while its composite capability was being established. Aerospace engineers Paul Kuhl and Ed Derian designed the definitive carbon monocoque, which weighed approximately 152lb complete with its roll-over structure and suspension pick-up hard points; the hybrid tub was reported to weigh approximately 172lb.

Although Nissan claimed more than 630PS for the 3.5-litre VRT35 V12, NPTI personnel later estimated from track data that its actual output was closer to 500-520bhp; the team was reportedly not permitted to verify the figure on a dynamometer. No turbocharged alternative was incorporated into the original P35 package. The resulting lack of intercoolers and associated ducting contributed to the P35's notably small frontal area.

Testing was conducted at the Mid-Ohio and Daytona Speedway road circuits, with shakedowns at Carlsbad, Nissan's Arizona Testing Center and Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona. Bob Earl undertook much of the development driving. Nissan test driver Johnny O'Connell later recalled the car's exceptional cornering and braking performance, but also its lack of power compared to the competition. At Daytona it reached approximately 170mph while recording laps in the 1 minute 38 second range.

In parallel with the American development programme, NISMO prepared the related NP35 in Japan for the shorter races of the All-Japan Sports Car Championship. It used a dedicated Japanese-made carbon monocoque and a revised VRT35 engine specification. Late in 1992 NISMO entered the NP35 for the final round of that year's championship at Mine, where it finished fourth in class. As economic pressures intensified, Nissan instructed its American subsidiary to return all P35 project-related components to Japan.

In the summer of 1992 NPTI launched a series of wind-tunnel tests seeking to optimise the P35 platform for GTP racing. A proposed high-nose configuration was intended to generate increased front-end aerodynamic downforce. This '93 GTP' derivative would have used Nissan's turbocharged IMSA GTP engine in place of the V12, with the radiators relocated from the nose to the sidepods.

NPTI was closed on 29 March 1993 as an economy measure. Three P35s and the lone NP35 had been completed by that time. The first two P35s used aluminium-carbon hybrid monocoques, while the third featured the definitive carbon structure. It is believed that two additional carbon tubs were subsequently scrapped.

Former NPTI crew chief John Christie and several former colleagues subsequently converted P35 chassis No 1 into an open-cockpit World Sports Car renamed the X-250. A 3.4-litre Ferrari V8 was installed, a WSC-mandated flat floor replaced the original ground-effect tunnelled floor, and the carbon roll-over structure was replaced by a conventional steel hoop. The X-250 made its race debut at the 1997 Sebring 12 Hours but retired after 21 laps with electrical problems. In 2000 Christie sold the once-raced car to Larry Sietsma, and it has subsequently appeared in HSR and Ferrari-related events.

Carbon-chassis P35 No 3 remained with Nissan and has been displayed at Nissan's Technical School without an engine. Nissan also retained the unique NP35, which has appeared at NISMO events.

The chassis offered here, No '02', was acquired by enthusiast Chris Randall in 2002 and became the subject of a long-term restoration, ultimately completed to running order by Phil Stott Motorsport.

As the original Nissan VRT35 engine was not present, in 2020 an MCT V12 engine (no. 717-013) was acquired for the project. Engine Developments Ltd/Judd subsequently rebuilt the engine and carried out modifications to adapt the engine, starter arrangement and gearbox interface for installation into the P35.

Engine No 717-013 is a 4.2-litre naturally aspirated MCT V12 designed in the late 2000s for the Panoz DP09 Superleague Formula car. It is not a Nissan engine, and not period-correct to the P35; but is a rare and powerful substitute installation which enabled chassis No '02' to be restored to running order in the absence of its original 3.5-litre V12.

Prospective purchasers intending to compete should make their own enquiries regarding event eligibility and technical-passport requirements as the present MCT engine differs materially from the original Nissan 3.5-litre VRT35 specification. In recent years the car has been dyno tested with this motor in place.

Today, chassis No '02' survives as a rare and important piece of Nissan motor sport history, providing a compelling glimpse of what might have been had that final generation of Group C-inspired prototypes reached international competition.