Nismo was founded in September 1984 in Omori, Tokyo, Japan. It was formed by taking over the equipment, buildings, and motorsport business of Nissan's advertising department's third section, which specialized in selling sports kits and providing user support. Nismo also absorbed the Special Car Testing Division from Nissan's Oppama plant, continuing the development of racing cars. Yasuharu Namba, with extensive motorsports experience from Nissan's Testing Division, became the founding president. In 1985, Nismo initiated its participation in motorsports, releasing vehicles in Group C for the All-Japan Endurance Championship and Group A for the All-Japan Touring Car Championship. The Group A car of choice was the Nissan Skyline R30 RS Turbo, while the Group C car featured a race-prepared V6 turbo engine developed with Electromotive and a chassis from March Engineering. In October 1985, Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Akira Hagiwara, and Keiji Matsumoto drove the March 85G Nissan to victory in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Japan at Fuji Speedway, earning an opportunity to participate in the following year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Nismo remained active as a Nissan works' team, primarily in Group A and Group C championships, and provided technical support for the Japanese Rally Championship and other support races.
Nismo began competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1986, following their victory at the 1985 WEC in Japan. Their first entry in 1986 saw the Nissan R85V Amada finish 16th overall. In 1987, they introduced a newly developed V8 turbo engine, and by 1988, they expanded to a 4-car team with two private entries. The following year, 1989, they unveiled three R89Cs equipped with the VRH35 engine. Despite strong qualifying performances, all three cars retired from the race. In 1990, Nismo entered five cars from three Nissan bases in Japan, Europe, and America, with the Japanese-driven Nissan R90CP achieving 5th place overall, the highest position for a Japanese entrant at Le Mans at that time. Vehicle regulations changed the following year, putting Nissan/Nismo's Le Mans challenge on hold. Nismo also competed in the World Sports Prototype Championship in the 1990s with cars like the R88C, R89C, R90C, and R391, claiming the 1990, 1991, and 1992 JSPC titles. In 1992, Nismo entered the Daytona 24 Hours, with the Nissan R91CP taking the overall title. The R91CP set a record of 762 laps, which remains unbroken. That same year, Nissan won their third consecutive Manufacturer Championship in the All-Japan Sports Prototype Championship, with Kazuyoshi Hoshino winning the Driver's championship. However, changes in regulations marked the end of the All-Japan Sports Prototype Championship and the Group C era.
Group A, a competition for mass-produced cars, began in 1985 as the All-Japan Touring Car Championship, with Nismo competing with the R30 from the first season. In 1986, Aguri Suzuki won the championship driving a Skyline. The R31 Skyline GTS-R debuted the following year. In 1989, Masahiro Hasemi became champion driving an R31 Skyline. The R32 Skyline GT-R debuted in 1990 and dominated the season, winning all six races. Kazuyoshi Hoshino completed a perfect season with five victories in his Calsonic Skyline. The R32 GT-R, with its RB26DETT engine and four-wheel drive, won all twenty-nine races it entered from its 1990 debut until the Group A championship series ended in 1993. This record mirrored the 50 domestic touring car victories achieved by the first-generation Skyline GT-R between 1969 and 1972. In 1991, Hasemi won the championship with the Reebok-liveried Skyline, repeating the feat in 1992, while Masahiko Kageyama took the championship in 1993 in the Calsonic Skyline. Nismo also achieved success in the British Touring Car Championship, winning the title in 1999 with Laurent Aïello driving a Nissan Primera.
Nissan cars were active in safari rallies, earning the nickname "Nissan Rallies." The Group B 'Nissan 240RS' ranked 4th in the 1985 World Rally Car (WRC) standings. In 1987 and 1988, Nissan entered the 200SX in Group A, achieving 2nd overall in the 1988 WRC Safari Rally and an overall win on the Ivory Coast Rally. This marked the last time an FR car won in the WRC. Nismo took a break from the WRC but reappeared in 1992 with the N14 Pulsar GTI-R, achieving third overall in the Swedish Rally. However, there were no further major achievements, and Nismo ceased WRC competition. In 1991, Nismo achieved an outright victory in the Spa 24 Hours with an R32 GT-R, driven by Anders Olofsson, Naoki Hattori, and David Brabham. The R32 GT-R also secured its third consecutive victory in the Group N class of the Spa 24 Hours in 1992. Geoff Brabham secured four GTP drivers' championships with Nissan between 1988 and 1991 in the IMSA GT Championship. Nissan won the 1992 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1989, 1990, and 1991.
Nismo also produced limited-edition road cars, starting with the 1987 Skyline R31 GTS-R Group A, limited to 823 examples, followed by the 1990 Skyline GT-R Nismo, of which 560 were produced. Both cars featured performance and reliability improvements for Group A competition. Later, the R34 GT-R ‘Z-Tune’ was created in 2003, with only 20 cars built, each based on a customer-owned V.spec unit with less than 30,000 km on the odometer. The R33 Skyline 400R and S14 Silvia 270R were also produced in limited numbers in 1997. In December 2021, Nissan announced the merger of Nismo and Autech into Nissan Motorsports & Customizing Co., Ltd., effective April 1, 2022. Currently, Nismo participates in Super GT in Japan and Formula E internationally. In the 2024–25 Formula E season, Oliver Rowland won the Drivers' Championship for Nissan. Nismo also maintains a pool of factory drivers known as the Nismo Global Driver Exchange, allowing them to compete in major events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Bathurst 12 Hour.
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