Nissan GT1 GT-R news - GT-R goes GT1 - 20090

See more Nissan GT1 GR-R pics

It's turning into a good day for racers here at TopGear.com. Earlier we brought you news of the indubitably handsome Maserati GT4 GranTurismo, and now Nissan has given us a first look at its not-to-be-messed-with GT-R racer, set to compete in the FIA's GT1 class this year.

Looks mean, huh? OK, the paint job might be a bit Ford-tiger-stripes from the early 90s, but we'll forgive that. Check out that rear wing. Check out those arches. Check out those side-exit exhausts.

Nissan has ditched the GT-R's twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 engine in favour of a naturally aspirated 5.6-litre V8, which puts out a mighty 600bhp and 479lb ft of torque... all to the rear wheels.

The GT1 GT-R - which will be run by NISMO and Gigawave Motorsports - will make its race debut at the FIA Silverstone meet on May 3, and is likely to take part in three further races this year before a full campaign in 2010. It'll be gunning for the Maserati MC12s, Corvette C6Rs, Saleen S7Rs and Ford GTs. They should be afraid.

If you want a whole lot more GT goodness, make sure you pick up a copy of May's issue of Top Gear magazine - which goes on sale next Thursday - in which we drive all the official FIA GT3 racers. When we say ‘we drive', we mean ‘Stig drives'. Don't miss it.

Now watch the awesome GT-R give Jeremy a near-fatal injury at the Fuji Speedway: