300ZX V8 IMSA

Posted on May 8, 2023 by classiccarweekly

1994 Nissan 300ZX V8 IMSA GTS

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | May 2023

So this may be a purely purpose-built, tube-frame race car with composite bodywork, but it does have your standard Z32 road car tail panel, which is excellent. Nissan was around for the Group C era, and they eventually transitioned to the GTS class in IMSA.

Initially, they started campaigning second-generation 300ZX race cars with their twin-turbocharged V6s. But those became a little too dominant for IMSA’s liking (in 1994, a 300ZX won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring outright before winning their class at Le Mans). So for 1995, IMSA outlawed the twin-turbo V6.

And Nissan said “okay, we’ll raise you two cylinders.” The next season’s cars, including this one, were powered by a 4.5-liter V8. Two such chassis were so equipped, and the racing history for this one, #008, includes:

1995 24 Hours of Daytona – 21st (with Steve Millen, Johnny O’Connell, and John Morton)
1995 12 Hours of Sebring – 5th, 1st in class (with Millen, O’Connell, and Morton)

This is a pretty serious machine that I suspect would be terrifyingly fast at 50%. You can read more about it here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $156,000.

Nissan NPT-90

Posted on July 24, 2018 by classiccarweekly

1990 Nissan NPT-90 IMSA GTP

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 25, 2018

Photo – Mecum

The IMSA GT Championship was an American racing car series that lasted from 1971 through 1998. Its shining moment was from 1981 through 1992, when a category called GTP existed. It featured prototype sports cars from some big name manufacturers like Porsche, Jaguar, Toyota, and Nissan.

Nissan won the championship in 1989 and this was the follow-up car to the series winning GTP ZX-Turbo. It debuted in the middle of the 1990 season and the competition history for this chassis includes:

1992 IMSA Grand Prix of Mami – 1st (with Geoff Brabham)
1992 12 Hours of Sebring – 2nd (with Brabham, Derek Daly, Gary Brabham, and Arie Luyendyk)
1992 IMSA Road Atlanta – DNF (with Geoff Brabham)

Brabham crashed it at Road Atlanta and that was sort of it for this chassis. It was later comprehensively restored and is powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 capable of 750 horsepower. It’s eligible for historic racing in the U.S. and in Europe (against Group C racers from the same era). Works GTP cars don’t change hands publicly all that often, so this is an interesting opportunity to get one of the big ones. You can read more here and see more from Mecum here.

HPD ARX-03

Posted on May 3, 2017 by classiccarweekly

2012 HPD ARX-03

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | May 11-13, 2017

Photo – Auctions America

Everyone has heard the saying “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday” – meaning, if your race cars run up front, it does wonders for your brand. So Honda, for some reason, decided to build race-winning LMP prototype sportscars, but, not under their own name. Or even Acura’s. But under the “Honda Performance Development” brand – and then abbreviate it so no one knows “Honda” is even building these.

The program started in 2007 with the HPD ARX-01 (which, to be fair, was branded as an Acura for the first few seasons). The car was very good. The ARX-03, the most recent car, debuted in 2012. This one is powered by a Honda HPD twin-turbocharged 2.8-liter V-6. With the V-6, this car is spec’d to compete in the international LMP2 (or P2) class. It ran in the ALMS and was eligible for FIA World Endurance Championship races.

This car is an ex-Level 5 Motorsports car, the race team founded by Scott Tucker whose assets were seized by the government when Tucker was indicted on RICO charges. The race history or this chassis includes:

2012 12 Hours of Sebring – 4th, 1st in Class (with Scott Tucker, João Barbosa, and Christophe Bouchut)
2012 Petit Le Mans – 2nd, 1st in Class (with Tucker, Bouchut, and Luis Díaz)
2012 ALMS P2 Team Champion
2012 ALMS P2 Drivers Champion (Tucker and Bouchut)
2013 12 Hours of Sebring – 6th, 1st in Class (with Tucker, Marino Franchitti, and Ryan Briscoe)
2013 ALMS P2 Team Champion
2013 ALMS P2 Drivers Champion (Tucker)

That’s a pretty impressive resume for a five-year old car. And it’s had some big names from the current era of sports car racing behind the wheel. The HPD LMP program was wound down for 2017 when Acura went GT racing with its new NSX. As the years go by, these HPD prototypes will probably be forgotten about by most people and will eventually be popular on the historic circuit. This well-raced example should bring between $75,000-$100,000 – a steal. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

S/N # ARX-03/02

Update: Sold $110,000.