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Nissan is making doubly sure its new go-fast GT-R coupe gets every chance at superstardom - the first picture of the motorsport version it will race in Japan next year comes only days after it unveiled the street-legal model (inset) at the Tokyo motor show.
The GT-R race car underwent its first official shakedown 72 hours ago on the Suzuka circuit.
Nissan race team director Yoshitaka Iijima said: "The test went well without any problems. We obtained positive feedback on the car.
"We are aware of the Nissan GT-R popularity and racing heritage. We will make our best effort to win the championship next year."
The carmaker's racing arm, Nissan Motorsports International will enter the GT-R in the GT500 class of Japan's Super GT series. It is four years since Nissan competed in the series, when it won the 2003 title with the previous Skyline GT-R.
Nissan has dropped the Skyline name now that the GT-R will be built in left- and right-hand drive for the global market.
Road and race variants will be known as the Nissan R35 GT-R.
Nissan's previous GT-R race car was based on the older R34 series, which ran turbocharged straight-six 2.6-litre engines.
The new GT-R uses a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V6 unit, a development of the bulletproof 3.5-litre V6 found in the 350Z sports car and Maxima sedan.
The road-going GT-R that will go on sale in New Zealand next year at around $150,000, produces 353kW (473bhp) at 6400rpm.
Its peak torque of 588Nm is available between 3200rpm and 5200rpm. Nissan claims a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 311km/h (192mph).
