GT6 | Nissan XANAVI NISMO GT-R 2003 top speed | Tokyo R246 Reverse race | PS3

One of the main reasons Nissan struggled in the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) in the 1990s was because of the Skyline GT-R R34's iron-block inline-6. So as soon as production for the R34 ended in 2002, Nissan replaced the car's RB26DETT engine with the VQ30, an aluminum-block V6, mated to a transaxle for optimum weight balance.

The new GT-R made its racing debut in May 2002 in a half-ready state. The following year, Nissan came out with the 2003 GT-R, which added pipe frames to the chassis fore and aft of the cabin. This finished product was a race car with exceptional handling, even prompting some to call it a "cornering machine."

Two Nismo GT-Rs and one Impul GT-R entered the 2003 JGTC series. In the opening race, the No. 23 Xanavi Nismo GT-R finished 2nd behind a Toyota Supra. In the following race, the No. 22 car driven by Masami Kageyama and Richard Lyons took the checkered flag, as did the No. 12 car in the 4th and 8th races, driven by Benoit Treluyer and Yuji Ide.

From the second race on, the Motoyama-Krumm team in the No. 23 car placed consistently in the points. They had no wins, but in the JGTC where higher placing teams are given heavier weight handicaps, these finishes were ideal and resulted in Motoyama and Krumm grabbing the Drivers' Championship and Nismo garnering the Constructors' Championship.