Hamilton had previous experience in Aston Martin-engined endurance machinery, having earlier been associated with the RHAM/1 project. Gauntlett, newly appointed chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, sought racing success that would reflect positively on the brand. Although the AML factory was not directly involved in building or running the cars, both parties recognised that a Le Mans result under the Aston Martin name could enhance the marque's prestige at low cost to the company itself.
Nimrod built five cars in total — one development car and four racing examples capable of running in both World Endurance Championship Group C specification and IMSA GT's GTP class. The chassis were designed by Eric Broadley and built by his company, Lola Cars International. The engine was a production-based 5.3-litre V8 unit derived from the Aston Martin V8 and V8 Vantage models, refined by Aston Martin Tickford — then a subsidiary of AML — to handle elevated output levels, with a claimed 550 hp. The works team operated two of the NRA/C2s for competition, while the third was sold to Dawnay Racing, a team owned by Viscount Downe, who was the then AMOC president. For the 1983 season, Ray Mallock evolved the NRA/C2's design into a B-spec model.
Nimrod debuted at the 1000 km of Silverstone, entering one car alongside the Dawnay Racing privateer entry. Mechanical problems ended the works car's race, though Viscount Downe finished sixth in the Dawnay car. Further trouble followed at Le Mans, where the team's race was cut short by an accident. The team's one result of note in this early period came at the 1000 km Spa, where one of their two cars finished in eleventh place. The combined performances of Nimrod and Viscount Downe's entry were sufficient to earn Aston Martin third place in the constructors championship for that year. The best Le Mans result achieved was seventh overall in 1982.
For their next campaign, Nimrod shifted focus to the IMSA GT Championship in North America following EMKA Racing's assumption of Aston Martin's factory-backed European effort with their own car. The team's sole highlight of the IMSA season was a fifth-place overall finish — third in the GTP class — at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Persistent mechanical failures and financial pressure plagued the rest of the campaign, eventually forcing the team's return to Europe.
Continued financial difficulties brought Nimrod Racing Automobiles to a close, with the company ceasing trading in August 1983. A third chassis — designated NRA/C3 — had been under development in carbon fibre for the 1984 season but was never completed before the team was dissolved. The NRA/C2 continued in private hands after the closure: at the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans, two cars entered by Dawnay Racing were destroyed in a catastrophic fire on the Mulsanne Straight, a violent end to the Nimrod chapter of Aston Martin's endurance racing story.