After returning to sports car racing in 1995, Nismo had contested the GT1 class with the Skyline GT-R LM. The Skyline was quickly outpaced by a new generation of manufacturers exploiting loopholes in the GT regulations to produce cars barely resembling road-going machines — among them the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR and the Porsche 911 GT1. A purpose-built replacement was needed.
Nismo turned to TWR for the engineering collaboration. The car's styling was led by Ian Callum of TWR. Mechanical and aerodynamic design came from Tony Southgate, also of TWR, and Yutaka Hagiwara of Nismo. Southgate's prior work included the Jaguar XJR-9, which had won at Le Mans; the R390 GT1 consequently shared the cockpit tub, greenhouse, and roofline tooling with the Jaguar XJR-15, though the front and rear ends, suspension, and dimensions were entirely different. The R390 was lower and wider than the XJR-15 but slightly shorter in length.
For the engine, Nismo resurrected the VRH35Z powerplant from the Nissan R89C of the Group C era. This 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V8 offered an aluminium block, low centre of gravity, and suitability as a stressed member — advantages the older iron-block RB26DETT inline-six could not match. Modified and designated VRH35L, the racing version produced approximately 650 PS (641 hp) at 7,000 rpm. A detuned variant for the lone road car produced 558 PS (550 hp).
A total of eight R390 GT1 race chassis were built across the two-year programme.
Three R390 GT1s arrived at Le Mans in 1997 in a black and red livery. All three failed scrutineering and required modifications before being allowed to race, which led to gearbox overheating problems during the event. Martin Brundle set the fastest time in pre-qualifying. The best-placed car qualified fourth overall and second in class behind a Porsche 911 GT1. During the race, two of the three cars retired with gearbox failures around the midpoint. The third car survived — requiring two complete gearbox changes — and finished twelfth overall and fifth in class.
For 1998, Nissan returned with four upgraded cars. The rear bodywork was extended to satisfy the ACO's "luggage space" requirements, a new rear wing was fitted to the racing versions, and a rear diffuser was added for increased downforce. The road car received a ducktail spoiler in place of a wing.
Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Porsche, and BMW all outqualified the Nissans, with the R390s filling positions from tenth downward on the grid. However, after early retirements eliminated all the Mercedes-Benz and BMW entries, all four R390 GT1s went the distance and finished in the top ten: third, fifth, sixth, and tenth overall, beaten only by two Porsche 911 GT1-98s.
Following the 1998 race the GT class rules were overhauled, replacing LMGT1 with a new LMGTP prototype category that removed road-going homologation requirements. With Mercedes and Toyota preparing to evolve their cars, Nissan opted to move to the open-cockpit LMP classes rather than modify the R390 into a prototype GT. The R391 prototype was developed for 1999 with European collaboration, recording mixed results including a race win over Toyota at Fuji. Nissan discontinued Le Mans-style racing at the end of 1999.
The single R390 road car was built as a development prototype and was never intended for sale, though Nissan offered to produce further examples at approximately one million US dollars each. Initially finished in red with UK registration P835 GUD, it was displayed at the 1997 Le Mans. It was later rebuilt with a revised front end, side vents, longer tail, and a ducktail spoiler, and repainted blue for media purposes with the non-genuine registration R390 NIS. The car is currently stored at the Nissan Heritage Collection in Zama, alongside one of the 1998 race cars.
The road car's VRH35L engine produces 558 PS at 6,800 rpm and 637 Nm of torque. Drive goes to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential manual transmission. Nissan rated top speed at 354 km/h, though this figure was never verified in independent testing. A second R390 was later converted for road use by Erik Comas, who purchased a race chassis and had it restored and street-converted by Andrea Chiavenuto over two years.
Both the race and road versions of the R390 GT1 have appeared as playable vehicles in Gran Turismo, Forza, Enthusia Professional Racing, GRID, The Crew 2, Project Gotham Racing, Real Racing 3, and Asphalt Legends.
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