RSS_Auto_Poster
Well-known member
Most car industry interviews take place in nondescript offices at corporate headquarters, or under the searing hot lights of a motorshow stand. Not this time. I'm asking the questions from the passenger seat of a swelteringly hot GT-R N-Attack, which happens to be wearing monochrome camouflage and an angry rear wing.
As you'll have guessed from the name, this is no regular GT-R. It's the very car that circulated the Nurburgring in 7:08.67 with Michael Krumm at the wheel, which - to put it into context - is 20 seconds faster than the Porsche Carrera GT set with Walter Rohrl.
Behind the wheel is Nissan's Chief Operating Officer and fellow Brit Andy Palmer - one of the men responsible for the company's entire operation around the world, including the race ventures here at Le Mans. As I lower myself down into the passenger seat, and before we're let loose around the track, it's time to start with some basics...
TG: So, erm, have you ever driven round Le Mans before?
AP: Never. I know it from a map and a fan-base point of view only. I do a bit of racing.
[If I'm honest this isn't the answer I was hoping for, as I buckle up and we sit waiting for the safety car to be released from our holding position at the bottom of the Esses on the Bugatti Circuit...]
What do you race?
A 370Z, in the UK endurance series or sprints. Always very low key. I do it because I'm ultimately responsible for signing off every motorcar that we make, and though the cars rarely get used that hard by 99.9% of the population, as part of the sign-off I will always drive cars at the limit. Racing just helps me to calibrate my eyes and hands and feet.
[As the historic Group C race nears its conclusion on the main circuit, we're treated to a trackside view of these 80s icons as they barrel their way down to Tertre Rouge - check out a gallery of them in our blog from Le Mans]
So how important is motorsport in that DNA?
It's more relevant now than it ever has been. There was a period in our company that we really forgot that DNA. I think I've got the brand DNA fixed now, I've got the styling DNA fixed, I've got the technological DNA fixed. Now the last thing is to get the handling and steering right - and the general driving experience - which is a work in progress. Basically we want to define the handling we want and make sure that's it relevant. So whether you're driving a Micra or a GTR, the fundamentals will all be there.
[Palmer's main focus of the weekend - other that getting us safely around in one piece - is the Nissan Zeod, the Garage 56 project that continues to redefine the race car rule book.]
When you defined the ZEOD brief, what did success look like to you?
The brief was to hit 300kph and complete a full lap of the circuit on electric power only, so basically we've ticked the weekend brief and everything else now is a bonus. I would like to get as many laps under our belt as possible just to demonstrate the durability, quality and reliability of the technology, and - beyond that - for these guys have some fun. This, of course, makes the brand popular so it's relevant from that point of view. In terms of the technological challenge, to some extent, and somewhat surprisingly, we've done it much earlier than I ever imagined we would.
[Sadly the Zeod retires five laps - just 23 minutes - into the race, when the most traditional element of the whole drivetrain, the gearbox, fails. But with the announcement that next year Nissan will field two cars in the LMP1 class, Palmer is clearly feeling bullish.]
With the announcement of serious plans for Le Mans next
Written By:- Charlie Turner
More of this article on the Top gear website
