This celebration of NISMO turning 40 will be headlining this year’s NISMO Festival.
NISMO fans mark your calendars for December 1st, and then get yourselves to Fuji International Speedway on that day, as NISMO is going to be throwing itself a massive birthday bash in celebration of its 40th anniversary!
The headline event for this year’s annual NISMO Festival, this 40th anniversary celebration will have a variety of activities that ‘pay homage to the brand’s rich heritage, racing achievements and the evolution of its high-performance road cars’.
Iconic vehicles from the Japanese tuner’s back catalogue, including the NISMO 270R, NISMO 400R, and R34 GT-R Z-tune, will be on full display on the day, along with models from the NISMO road car lineup extending from the cutesy March NISMO to the flagship Nissan GT-R NISMO. A number of the motorsport icons that helped cement NISMO’s racing prowess meanwhile will also be taking to the Speedway for some demonstration laps, alongside the Nissan Formula E racecar and CNF-powered Super GT Nissan Z NISMO GT500.
Now in its 25th year, the NISMO Festival serves as a fan appreciation event and will feature the annual “NISMO Cars Parade Run,” comprising a comprehensive lineup of NISMO models from past and present. Attendees to this year’s event can also look forward to race car exhibitions, driver talk shows, interactive experiences, and merchandise shops.
Takao Katagiri, head of Nissan’s Motorsports Business Unit and president of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing Co. (NMC), expressed his gratitude for the continued support of fans: “We are immensely grateful for the dedication of our fans over the past four decades. The longevity of the NISMO brand is a testament to this devoted community. We look forward to celebrating this milestone with you at the festival.”
Further details and ticket information will be available in due course this fall on the NISMO Festival website.
Funnily enough however, those who are really pedantic would say that NISMO is actually to be turning 60 this year. Such is because the tuning firm first came about back in 1964, when the Prince Motor Company – a local automaker that would be taken over by Nissan two years later – realised that they could boost their sales by going into the competitive motorsport business. And by stuffing a 2.0-litre straight-six from the Gloria into a Skyline, the Prince Skyline 2000GT took all positions from 2nd to 6th in its maiden race on May 1st 1964.
