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History
Electramotive Engineering of California was started by Hughes Aircraft
Corporation scientist and motor racing enthusiast Don Devendorf who
had run in IMSA’s lower classes with success during the 1970s and early
1980s in modified Datsun/Nissan sportscars. Devendorf’s partner in the
venture was his friend, John Knepp.
Electramotive became America’s leading specialists in the sale and preparation
of road and racing Nissans, and when the Japanese company decided to
enter the GTP category, they naturally approached Devendorf to run the
project. First of all, Devendorf bought a Lola T810 rolling chassis
which was really a T710 monocoque, very similar to the tubs built for
GM for their ‘Corvette GTP’ project. The T810 had slight detail modifications
to allow for the Nissan engine, cooling and bodywork installations.
The two chassis shared the same suspension installation and physical
dimensions.
The John Knepp-developed turbo V6 engines, based upon the production
‘Z’ car engine, were built by Nissan and featured the stock iron block
and aluminum heads of the original engine, but Knepp designed, developed
and reprogrammed the engine’s sophisticated electronic brain. This engine
was named the 3.0-liter VG30 and, in 3.2-liter twin-turbo alloy-block
(Electramotive cast) configuration, was also used by Nissan in their
March-based Group C cars. The Bodywork of the American GTP car was designed
by Yoshi Suzuka.
Appearing first of all at Laguna Seca in May 1985, the Nissan ZX-T was
not successful in its first year, but in 1986, at Portland, Geoff Brabham
won pole. He and Elliot Forbes-Robinson led the race only to run short
of fuel with just two laps left. Stopping for a top-up, they finished
third.
The effort was in full swing by 1987, more chassis arriving from Lola
and development was ongoing: a Hewland gearbox replacing the original
Weismann transmission. At Miami in early 1987, the car won at last.
Brabham and Forbes-Robinson took pole and beat Rahal and Mass’ Porsche
962. Electramotive Nissans took four more pole positions but no more
victories that season. The Nissans were fast but unreliable.
In 1988, Jim Chapman’s JC Prototypes built a new chassis, designed by
Trevor Harris, to take the older car’s running gear and bodywork. Goodyear
tires replaced the Bridgestones previously used. IMSA had introduced
new regulations to restrict the tremendous horsepower which was beginning
to be seen from the turbo-engined GTP cars. Restrictor plates had to
be fitted to engine intakes, IMSA reasoning that the horsepower advantage
would now go in the favor of the big American V8s. Nothing daunted,
John Knepp built an electronically-controlled turbocharger wastegate
into the engine management system. This much-copied wastegate was the
key to the team’s success. In desperation, in mid-season, IMSA made
another rule change, which gave the pushrod cars an extra weight advantage
but it made little difference.
Nissan dominated IMSA racing in 1988, much to the dismay of the newly-arrived
TWR Jaguars. Knowing that their strength lay in the shorter sprint races,
Electramotive avoided the early races at Daytona and Sebring. But after
that, Geoff Brabham, using the new chassis ‘8801’, won almost every
race, taking nine wins (including eight in a row), usually partnered
by John Morton. Nissan won the manufacturers’ title and Geoff Brabham
became the IMSA GTP Drivers’ Champion.
1989 was very much a repeat of 1988. A second Chapman chassis ‘8802’
had been built and delivered to Electramotive. The opposition was in
disarray, as Porsche were now fading from the scene with the 962, Jaguar
were developing their new XJR-10 V6 turbo and Dan Gurney’s Eagle Toyotas
were still on the learning curve. Nissan and Brabham were champions
again.
Devendorf’s team, by 1990, had been reorganized and re-titled "Nissan
Performance Technology, Inc." (NPTI). The lightweight Eagle Toyotas
were now showing themselves as the main threat even though Jaguar were
providing slightly better opposition, but the ZX-Ts still dominated.
Both Nissan and Brabham kept their championships. Halfway through the
year, an all-new NPT90 car, still using the VG30 engine, was debuted
and ran concurrently with the older car. Just one month after its first
race, it was driven to victory at Mid-Ohio in June, by Derek Daly and
Geoff Brabham.
NPTI took delivery of two Lola-built Group C R90CKs with VRH35Z engines
in 1990 and took them to Le Mans as part of Nissan’s 7-car attack, but
both retired.
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