Nissan R390 GT1 Pennzoil — A Le Mans GT1 Reborn
Érik Comas × Benoit Fraylon × Le Mans Heroes
A Le Mans GT1 Reborn
The Nissan R390 GT1 Pennzoil is Érik Comas' road-registered former Le Mans race car, reimagined through a bespoke Pennzoil-inspired livery created by automotive designer Benoit Fraylon.
The project connects two defining chapters of Comas' career: the Nissan R390 GT1 he raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the iconic yellow-and-black Pennzoil Nissan Skyline GT-Rs associated with his back-to-back Japanese GT Championship titles in 1998 and 1999.
The Nissan R390 GT1
The Nissan R390 GT1 was developed by Nissan and NISMO in collaboration with Tom Walkinshaw Racing for international GT1 competition and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Powered by Nissan's 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged VRH35L V8 and using a six-speed sequential transmission, the R390 represented Nissan's ultimate GT racing programme of the late 1990s.
Nissan entered three R390 GT1s at Le Mans in 1997 and returned with four extensively developed cars in 1998. That year, the #32 R390 GT1 finished third overall, giving Nissan its first overall podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Érik Comas' 1998 Le Mans Nissan R390 GT1
This particular Nissan R390 GT1 was raced at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans as car #31 by Érik Comas, Jan Lammers and Andrea Montermini.
Starting 13th, the #31 completed 342 laps and finished sixth overall, contributing to an exceptional result for Nissan, with three R390 GT1s finishing inside the overall top six.
More than two decades later, Comas fulfilled a long-held ambition to return one of the cars he had raced at Le Mans to the road.
It's road legal
Yes. Érik Comas' R390 GT1 was restored with the objective of preserving its original Le Mans specification while making it usable on public roads.
Approximately 95% of the car remains as it finished its Le Mans career, including its bodywork, engine, gearbox and braking hardware. Only limited modifications were required for road use, including power assistance, cockpit ventilation, a horn and a more usable clutch.
The car was subsequently road registered in the United Kingdom using period homologation documentation.
The Nissan R390 GT1 wearing a Pennzoil livery
The R390 GT1 never raced at Le Mans in Pennzoil colors.
The contemporary livery is a tribute to another defining chapter of Érik Comas' career: his championship-winning years with NISMO in Japan.
In 1998, Comas won the Japanese GT Championship driving the yellow-and-black Pennzoil NISMO Skyline GT-R R33.
He successfully defended his Drivers' Championship in 1999 with the new R34-generation Pennzoil NISMO GT-R.
More than twenty-five years later, the Le Mans Heroes project reconnects these two icons of Comas' career — the R390 GT1 and the Pennzoil Skyline GT-R — through one contemporary design.
The Nissan R390 GT1 Pennzoil livery?
The Nissan R390 GT1 Pennzoil design was created by French automotive designer Benoit Fraylon, founder of Racing & Emotion and creator of Le Mans Heroes.
Rather than reproducing the original Skyline graphics literally, the design translates the visual identity of the Pennzoil NISMO era onto the radically different proportions of the R390 GT1.
The result preserves the instantly recognizable yellow, black and red motorsport identity while giving the Le Mans GT1 its own contemporary character.
Chassis : Carbon fibre monocoque chassis
Wheelbase : 2,720 mm (107.1 in)
Engine: Nissan VRH35L 3,495 cc (213.3 cu in) 90° V8
twin-turbocharged rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive,
Transmission: Xtrac 6-speed sequential manual
Weight: 1,098 kilograms (2,421 lb)
was a racing car built in Atsugi, Japan. It was designed primarily to gain a suitable racing entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997 and 1998. It was built to race under the grand touring style rules, requiring a homologated road version to be built.
RAC3 Sim Studio: "We're proud to announce our collaboration with Benoit Fraylon, who created a stunning design for legendary driver Erik Comas and his Nissan R390 GT1. This design has been brought to life in Assetto Corsa by the talented Marco17,
and is now available in our Classic Endurance Pack 1!"