Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo

[Ferrer]

The forerunner to the GTP ZX-Turbo, the original Nissan-engined Lola T810 #10

[Vince Klortho]

Are there any photos of the Shapiro Motorsports XZ-T #24 that raced at Miami in 1991 and was sponsored by Auto Toy Store ?

I have been searching for weeks to find some and have totally struck out.

I would appreciate it.

[csl177]

Vince, since NPT were so dominant those years, nearly all photos of the are of Brabham & Robinson's cars.
You could contact John Shapiro directly with a request... it's worth a shot.

You have PM.

[Vince Klortho]

Brabham drove the car for that race I believe and I think it was the last one that version of the ZX-T raced. I found a video review of the race and it did not show the car unfortunately.

[csl177]

Brabham drove the car for that race I believe and I think it was the last one that version of the ZX-T raced. I found a video review of the race and it did not show the car unfortunately.

That was GARY Brabham... Geoff drove for NPT: Nissan Grand Prix of Miami

Like I said, best bet for images is probably John Shapiro since it was his car. Check your in box and good luck.

[Vince Klortho]

I tried the e-mail route and had no success. Maybe I lack diplomacy. Does anyone else want to try their luck ?

[Chernaudi]

I don't know if for the sake of this thread that it should be noted that the NPT-90 family aren't directly related to the ZX-T that it replaced, in so far as that the NPT-90 was a brand new car that shared only parts of the engine and gearbox with the ZX-Turbo.

However, Nissan North America and Nissan Performance Technology Inc (NPTI) did badge the NPT-90 series as the GTP ZX-Turbo for marketing reasons, to link it to the use of (albeit in much modified form) a stock block engine derived from the 300ZX. However, it was very advanced by 1990 when the NPT-90 was introduced, having an aluminum block (instead of cast iron), twin turbos and DOHC heads, which the 300ZX didn't have at the time, and most of these mods weren't used on the ZX-Turbo, which used an iron block, SOHC heads, and a single turbo. Both engines were good for 1000+bhp in qualifying trim either way.

But then again, it's like saying that the ZX-T was a Lola 810 derivative. Indeed it was, but Trevor Harris and Electramotive (which became NPTI in 1990) built their own chassis based on a much modified 810, and the ZX-T chassis led to the all original NPT-90.

And it's also worth noting to see how the NPT-90 version of the ZX-Turbo seemingly influenced the Nissan R90CK and especially the R90CP and subsequent R-CP cars, since both shared an areodynamicist in Yoshi Suzuka, who also helped design the Nissan GT-R.

[drakkie]

Some pictures from this car and it's development:

http://www.suzukaracing.com/PictureLeMans1.html
http://www.suzukaracing.com/PictureGTP%201.html

Some more from the same site:



Plus attached a full calendar with results and stats, including notes about aerodynamics improvements