Nissan’s Nismo performance division celebrates 40th anniversary

Nissan on Tuesday marked the 40th anniversary of its Nismo performance division, which was formally established on Sept. 17, 1984.

A portmanteau of “Nissan motorsports,” Nismo has handled most of the automaker’s racing activities, produced performance parts, and engineered complete performance variants of Nissan vehicles for the past four decades.

To celebrate, Nissan is displaying iconic Nismo race cars and the performance division’s current lineup of road cars at its headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, through October 15. Highlights include the Nissan R390 GT1 that finished third at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans—the automaker’s best finish at the French endurance classic to date—and a Group A R32 Skyline GT-R in the classic blue and white Calsonic livery.

Nissan hasn’t been back to Le Mans in the top prototype category since 2015, when it fielded the fascinating but ultimately doomed GT-R LM Nismo. But Nismo is still active in Formula E and the Japanese Super GT series. The Nissan Z Nismo is the only Nismo-branded model currently sold in the U.S., but additional models are sold in other markets, including a newly revealed Nismo version of the Ariya electric crossover.

Nismo was merged with Autech, Nissan’s other tuning division, in 2022 to create the Nissan Motorsports & Customizing Co., although the Nismo brand name was retained. The Nismo name has also begun appearing on off-road parts for Nissan pickup trucks and SUVs.

Nismo will continue developing new models informed by its racing programs, Nissan global motorsports boss Takao Katagiri said. Nissan in March announced a plan to launch 30 new vehicles over the next three years, including several EVs and hybrids, so Nismo will have plenty of choices for platforms for future performance models.