Nissan R382

The Nissan R382 was a racing car that Nissan Motors built in 1969 for the Japanese Grand Prix. Built to the Group 7 formula, it featured Nissan's first V12 engine and replaced the R381 of the previous year. The R381 had shown its potential in aerodynamics and reliability but could not use the planned 600 hp 5954 cc V12 that Prince was building, which was finished soon after the R381 won the Japanese Grand Prix and was now named GRX-3. Nissan therefore built an all-new open-cockpit car, scratch built and sharing nothing with the R381, with a wide rectangular front end. The adjustable rear wings were dropped because the FIA outlawed them, so a wing was designed into the tail bodywork to form the rear fenders, with a radiator placed in the opening beneath it to cool the V12. With three R382s entered against Porsche 917s, Toyota 7s and Isuzu R7s, Nissan dominated the field.