Typically, Nissan ran eight cylinder twin turbo motors on their Le Mans vehicles, and turbo charging has always been one of the companies specialties, winning worldwide acclaim with several of the turbo charged entries in the Z-series. However, when it came to the R391, Nissan decided to forego their traditional strategy of using turbo motors and instead work with a much larger naturally aspirated engine. The motor in question was given the badge, "VRH50A", and was an eight cylinder 5.0 liter motor, which was supposed to match the power of the traditional turbo motors, while maintaining an increased amount of reliability and consistent power throughout all RPM ranges.
Everything seemed promising for Nissan coming into the actual competition, but racing would prove a far different matter than what many expected. Nissan entered three cars in the 1999 Le Mans; two R391's and one Courage chassis with an older generation turbo charged motor. Of the three cars, only the Courage would actually finish the race, as one of the R391 suffered an accident, destroying the car and injuring the driver. The other R391, despite holding it's own at fourth place, suffered a crippling mechanical failure, taking it out of the race permanently. Of course, the race was not a complete disaster for Nissan, and the company still managed to make 8th place with the Courage. However, in terms of the 391, it was a disappointing development, especially for a car that had such high expectations.
However, the R391 would later reclaim it's honor at the Fuji 1000km event. This time, a newly fixed R391 would take first place, beating out all rivals, even those that had overcome the car at the 1999 Le Mans. It is important to note, though, that competition at the Fuji race was very limited, and Nissan's main competition came from Toyota. This is not to cast shadow over the victory however, as it was Nissan's only first place win in their entire Le Mans program.
However, the R391's victory was to be it's last, and following the Fuji race, Nissan retired both the car and it's entire program, leaving NISMO to handle performance aspects related only to strictly production vehicles.
Even though Nissan may have had a less than stellar record racing in the Le Mans, their cars nonetheless represented some very advanced technology and some of the best the automotive field had to offer at the time. The R391 should be a car looked back on fondness and remembered for it's powerful win and the amazing potential that the car had, as well as the innovative and new ideas that went into creating it.
Quoted from - associatedcontent.com
Specs
900kg
5L V8 DOHC
Length - 183.2 in.
Width - 78.7 in.
Wheelbase - 108.3 in.
Front and Rear Double Wishbone suspension
600hp @ 7500 RPM
That's all i know
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