What would be your circuit of choice in this insane Nissan? 👇 Discover the car for sale: rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/lm23/le-mans/lots/r0005-1990-nissan-r90ck/1332788
Can’t pick a favourite (sadly we mere mortals don’t get to drive machinery at this level) but def the best era and insane cars! Thanks for featuring these very special racing cars.
I remember building this car in the Lola factory at 19 years of age, we built about 9 of them if I recall, mostly for the Nissan Factory Group C team, some for Nismo Japan, and a few for NPT Automotive in the USA. To this day I have a blocked tear duct in my left eye from spending about 6 hours laying upside down with my head in the footwell, grinding carbon fibre away to fit the steering rack! I looked like a coal miner by the time I finished! 😂 I used to sit in the car sometimes in the workshop, as a Formula Ford 1600 racer, wondering if I'd ever get to drive it. Sadly not, but this is one of the best features I've ever seen of the car, well done you lucky git! 😂
I always try not to look at Group C through rose tinted glasses too much. The C1 cars were all amazing looking and sounding machines. Most of the C2’s weren’t always the best looking things in the world. Most looked like kit car projects to me. It’s not a criticism, it was just the huge budget gap between C1 and C2. They all sound great though. 😊
The wastegates "jammed shut". Such an unanticipated malfunction. So fortunate it only happened during qualifying. No idea how that happened. So mysterious.
McLaren's current V8 dates back to the V8 used in the R90. Every modern McLaren, from the 2011 MP4-12C to the P1 to the 720S is powered by a single family of twin turbo V8s. This engine didn’t come out of nowhere; it started life in a largely-forgotten supercar from Nissan. This is the Nissan VRH35L. It’s a twin-turbo 3.5 liter aluminum V8 used for endurance racing at Le Mans, the final line of development of Nissan’s VRH35 architecture that debuted in ‘89. Nissan and Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) put the VRH35L together for their entry into the madcap GT1 category back in 1997 in the R390 GT1. Early on in the development of the old MP4-12C, McLaren picked out the VRH35 for the basis of its engine program and bought the rights to it from TWR, as Car and Driver reported at the time. McLaren and their engine builder Ricardo did a great deal of work to the design and basically made the thing their own, renaming it the M838T. Edited for more context. Source: Jalopnik
Sir Ben Collins FTW! While they are at it the rest of the OG TG trio deserves it also! The four of them made UK automotive journalism known the world over.
@@anydaynow01 I love the OG top gear and preseners obviously. but let's just be honest. JC is a fckn bigot and probably doesn't deserve to be called 'sir'
That flutter sound is actually compressor surge. Most of the earlier race cars didnt use blow-off valves to keep the boost pressure in between shifts. Im sure they went through many turbos throughout their race season.
@@danielssonsgarage this. The chatter noise is fine when shutting off the accelerator. My Mini Cooper S does this. It’s when you can hear it on boost with the throttle pushed down you have a problem.
that isn't even top speed, that's ONLY on the first section of the mulsanne before the first chicane, it could definitely go faster with how slippery those group c cars were
@@mauricemotors8207 How do you want to get there with hybrids, if they're slower than good old LMP1, and they trimmed down LMP2 just to show any competitiveness during latest LM24. Not to mention they want to scrap the LMP2 just as they did LMP1, next year. Oh my...
3:01 that's not the "pop-off valve" it's reversion through the turbo compressor .. 3:07 and that's not what a wastegate does .. that's the pop-off valve 😄
I heard someone once say that "..they couldn't let the Stig speak because of they had, he'd have run away with the show.." I'm sure it was the commentors personal jokey opinion, but I couldn't agree more. Each video from this channel is a treat and Ben is obviously a natural.
Great to see someone with the years of experience and multitude of cars driven, still getting the buzz from driving these cars and taking us along for the ride. Brilliant
YESSS! This Nissan R89/R90/R91 is - in my view - the pinnacle of Group C racecars and probably one of the most beautiful and brutal cars ever made! The shape is just perfect, not an unsightly line or curve in sight, evoking exactly the emotions that a super-fast Group C car should. In terms of sheer looks and sound this stands head and shoulders above all modern (year 2000 onwards) Le Mans Prototypes. I hope it fetches the good high price it deserves at the auction, and most importantly to a new owner who will give it the right love and care and will keep sharing it with the world, at Goodwood Festival Of Speed for example. Mega-car! Was looking forward to this video Ben, thank you so much for sharing with us!
After years of watching you drive and having no idea who you were (TG) the way in which you drive is very nostalgic to me. Pure control, I almost feel as if they missed a trick not having you commentate while driving. Utter joy to watch Ben. From someone who may never get the chance to drive on track, thank you.
Such a pleasure to watch you Ben. Could watch you talk about cars all day. You could of been a presenter on top gear i reckon. Keep up the great content mate.
THIS is peak Nissan for me in my youth! It's these race cars in this era that made me fall in love with the brand. We didn't get the GT-R in the states, but it's cars like the R90CK that made me want a 300ZX and 240SX in the early 90s.
Ben the amount of Top Quality videos you have been putting lately is nothing short of Impressive , But this video and especially that insane car tops them all ( personal opinion ) . Keep up the great work Ben .
Ben, you got the best job in the world! I've been driving the R92CP in Gran Turismo 7 on my PS VR2 in my simpit and it's the closest I'll ever get to these Group C monsters! I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thank you! 🙏🏾
These machines were absolute beasts, and I can't imagine the heroes driving these. Having Mr. Collins drive this seems like a perfect match to review it. Talking about how he would set it up is such a wonderful dialogue that suits the setting of the car, track and driver in combination with the vintage footage and music.
Dear Mr. Collins, I have to say „Thank you“ for making the last two episodes of „Ben Collins Drives“, cause they literally melted my petrolhead heart 😍😍😍 This Nissan R90CK was my all time favorite of that era, and I hade quite a few posters of it in my room, and always was dreaming about one day having a go in it… For sure, this day will never come, but I‘m okay with that cause my most favorite racing driver or „test driver“ of my most favorite TV show named „Top Gear“ (maybe you‘ve heard about that show 🤪) had a blast in it and so you made me smile from one ear to another 😁 Back in the days of Stig, I had to download every episode of Top Gear because the show sadly never aired in Germany at that time, so every time the show was broadcasted in the UK I waited till the first download was available and then I sat in front of my TV with my mouth wide open and always thought „Man, this Stig is really good“… 🥴😉 Fun fact, I worked at that time for a German TV show called „Abenteuer Auto“, we always tried to do stuff like you did on TG, but we didn’t have the budget and most importantly no Stig, but anyhow we had over 12 years a lot of fun. And at that time I worked with a guy who filmed the episodes where you competed against another German TV Show, driving against Sabine Schmitz in double-decker cars, if I remember correctly. I am a true petrolhead, and I always admired the enormous talent you had driving cars very fast and always on the edge, but watching you driving always made me smile, till now! 🙏 So again, a big THANK YOU for all the things you did to enjoy people like me, and I wish you all the best! 👍 Best regards from Germany 🇩🇪, Philipp 👋
Dude I just wanted to point out that you do an excellent job presenting despite not liking being on that side of the camera. You are a natural. I was a fan of your in the white helmet, much much more of a fan without it.
Love your commentary Ben; you tell a lot more than pretty much any other driver. And what a beast that Nissan is- still after all these years! Many thanks for the vid!
The old footage out the windscreen when he's hooning down the straight ... holy moly ... I don't think I've seen something that scary before. Balls of streel to drive that thing in anger. Great that you are getting to drive these big beasts ! Good things happen to good people, right !
Ive seen some onboard videos of this car and its sucessors the R91 and R92 and those cars were insanely fast. They go like stink. Absolute missiles. A real handle to drive too.
Very cool car. Classic jouro turbo faux pas. The noise is most likely compressor stall from the throttle being closed. Wastegates, if open on throttle/load to control boost will usually close with a closing throttle as the control signal to the wastegate reduces with the manifold pressure, which has been reduced by the closed throttle. “Pop off valve” / blow off valve / dump valve can’t be heard in video. If efficient enough you will lose the compressor stall noise and may hear a venting noise on closing throttle depending on how it’s plumbed. Apologies, got caught in a moment of Sunday boredom 😂
Hi Ben, you may remember me from the HKS Mitsubishi F3 days. I worked on the Nissan at the time and, though it makes for a good story, the issue around wastegates seems to have been embellished over time. They weren't stuck shut, as has become the narrative, but just slightly over-boost target. Seeing about 2 bar whereas the target was nearer 1.8 bar. Not that great a difference and in reality actually probably cost a bit of power due to additional retard at higher boost, rather than just keeping on making lots of uncontrolled power. In short, the performance was entirely as expected, although in fact slightly reduced. The real issue was, were the safety systems robust enough to allow that extra boost over the target without destroying the engine, which it turned out they were. Nissan representatives were obviously very concerned about that and the issues behind the scenes were us being allowed to complete the lap, with the danger that the engine may not survive it, an argument we managed to win at the time, thankfully! Regarding the 3:30 from the first session, that was done on 7 cylinders as a coil failed on the out-lap, so that lap was in some ways even more impressive, given the loss of power. I don't want to make light of the lap itself, which was unreal and it shouldn't be underestimated the incredible lap that Mark did. The realities of the engine were somewhat less remarkable. We fully knew what sort of power it had, and it wasn't a mistake by any stretch of the imagination. Just to put the record straight after 34 years.
i know it's not the same but I can sort of relate...I own a 2018 Porsche GT2 RS which is rated at 700 BHP (I believe the rating dyno runs are made at 72 degrees Fahrenheit) and one winter morning in Cocoa Beach Fl. a few years back it got down to the mid 30's and the air was crisp with none of our typical humidity...knowing it was turbo weather I took the big 911 for a cruise and Damn!!! with the tires being cold and the engine feeling like it was about 800 BHP due to the air denseness, it was quit the ride. the GT2 was absolutely ferocious!
Such a gorgeous machine! And seeing it going round the track in this video was awe inspiring, not sure what it is but it has such a presence on the tarmac. Unfortunately I was slightly too young to have witnessed this Era, The golden age of Le Mans (In my opinion) but I'm so glad that you are able to show off these works of art before they go up for Auction.
I was so not expecting a reply from someone whose career I've followed since Dad showed me Top Gear, and a weapon of a driver that I absolutely admire! Thank you for the response mate! Made my night! Hoping to catch you in the Land Down Under for something in the future!
The hissing noise you can hear isn't coming from the wastegate, that's the air pressure being released by either a blow off valve or escaping back through the compressor wheel. The wastegate is on the exhaust and vents off exhaust gas to control turbo speed, that basically makes the same noise as the exhaust
He never said it was the wastegate making that noise. He said Mark Blundells wastegate got jammed closed on his qualifying lap at Le Mans in the 90s and was over boosting the turbo and was surprised the engine didn't detonate. He said the pop off valve was making the hissing noise at 3.07. Cmon bro.....
I really enjoy your commentation and the way you talk about the car - very insightful ;) not to mention the car being driven like it should be - great stuff!
Bit of a faulty metric conversion here. The ACO speed trap recorded it at 366 km/h which is 227mph. Bit of a stretch to claim 1,100 hp too. We simply don't know. This car had a turbo on each bank and a separate plenum chamber for each bank so it likely only affected one side. Really enjoyed hearing your impressions though. I've always liked this car.
@@BenCollinsDrives I sure did. Thanks. I was really interested in the balance side of it. My impression was that the car usually understeered in the Le Mans setup. It doesn’t show up much in the Blundell lap but I guess he’s doing a lot of steering with his feet. Did you find that?
Wonderful video. I love the Group C Nissan. I have all the 1:18 die-cast Exoto replicas (R89C, R90V, R91CV, R91CK) and I remember Mark Blundell's crazy qualifying pole position. I wish I had the opportunity to drive that kind of beast. Or rather... I wish I had the skills to drive that kind of beast. No, I mean... I wish I had the skills to drive that kind of beast.
What would be your circuit of choice in this insane Nissan? 👇
Discover the car for sale:
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/lm23/le-mans/lots/r0005-1990-nissan-r90ck/1332788
Spa
Can’t pick a favourite (sadly we mere mortals don’t get to drive machinery at this level) but def the best era and insane cars! Thanks for featuring these very special racing cars.
Virginia International Raceway, because I have a deathwish :D
I'd buy one but the colours are iffy....
Monza
I remember building this car in the Lola factory at 19 years of age, we built about 9 of them if I recall, mostly for the Nissan Factory Group C team, some for Nismo Japan, and a few for NPT Automotive in the USA. To this day I have a blocked tear duct in my left eye from spending about 6 hours laying upside down with my head in the footwell, grinding carbon fibre away to fit the steering rack! I looked like a coal miner by the time I finished! 😂 I used to sit in the car sometimes in the workshop, as a Formula Ford 1600 racer, wondering if I'd ever get to drive it. Sadly not, but this is one of the best features I've ever seen of the car, well done you lucky git! 😂
Group C. The most beautiful racing machines ever. Thanks for the ride Ben!
Nothing like Group C!
The 917 family of race cars and the Ferrari 330sp would like a word with you.......
I always try not to look at Group C through rose tinted glasses too much. The C1 cars were all amazing looking and sounding machines. Most of the C2’s weren’t always the best looking things in the world. Most looked like kit car projects to me. It’s not a criticism, it was just the huge budget gap between C1 and C2. They all sound great though. 😊
B rallye and C are the pinnacle of motorsport, pushing to the absolute limits, no holds barred.
@@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo who? *leaves them 45 seconds behind*
The wastegates "jammed shut". Such an unanticipated malfunction. So fortunate it only happened during qualifying. No idea how that happened. So mysterious.
It happened in 1990, let it go
My thoughts exactly, fortunate accident
That failure would never have happened in a normally open setup. 🤔 Convenient much.
@@DarnelTrump1776 Cause cheating is cheating.
Who knows.... 👀
The engine from the R90CK is the basis for all modern McLaren engines. They purchased the blueprints from Nissan.
That's a bad luck considering that mclarens have unreliable engines 😅
The engines are reliable I think, but some of the other stuff isn't so much
@@EbonixD the engine is largely bulletproof. Its the rest of it that's not so good for reliability
@@dod_the_angel ye I know there electrics are v.dodgy and there transmissions are not great either
Thanks for the info!
McLaren's current V8 dates back to the V8 used in the R90.
Every modern McLaren, from the 2011 MP4-12C to the P1 to the 720S is powered by a single family of twin turbo V8s. This engine didn’t come out of nowhere; it started life in a largely-forgotten supercar from Nissan.
This is the Nissan VRH35L. It’s a twin-turbo 3.5 liter aluminum V8 used for endurance racing at Le Mans, the final line of development of Nissan’s VRH35 architecture that debuted in ‘89. Nissan and Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) put the VRH35L together for their entry into the madcap GT1 category back in 1997 in the R390 GT1.
Early on in the development of the old MP4-12C, McLaren picked out the VRH35 for the basis of its engine program and bought the rights to it from TWR, as Car and Driver reported at the time. McLaren and their engine builder Ricardo did a great deal of work to the design and basically made the thing their own, renaming it the M838T.
Edited for more context.
Source: Jalopnik
Fascinating fact!
Came here to write this, left happy. Monster of a motor!
Wow. Never knew that!
Was just about to comment on this. I noticed the 3.8L V8 and right away knew this was on the Mclaren. Fantastic comment. 👍
@@BenCollinsDrivesIsn’t that fantastic that you have driven the OG Mclaren Auto engine unknowingly. Great job.
Protect Ben Collins at all costs, this man is beyond a national treasure. Definitely more worthy of knightship than 90% of the "Sirs"
Haha I wish!
Like lewis hamilton’s “sir” bullshit
Sir Ben Collins FTW! While they are at it the rest of the OG TG trio deserves it also! The four of them made UK automotive journalism known the world over.
1million% agree with you, driving skills with comentry its just pure gold! I wish he did some aussie cars 🤔 maybe one day
@@anydaynow01 I love the OG top gear and preseners obviously.
but let's just be honest. JC is a fckn bigot and probably doesn't deserve to be called 'sir'
That flutter sound is actually compressor surge. Most of the earlier race cars didnt use blow-off valves to keep the boost pressure in between shifts. Im sure they went through many turbos throughout their race season.
@@daniel.s8126 same lol and for someone stating that Ben doesn't understand what a waste gate actually does
@@daniel.s8126 true, just surprises me as most motoring enthusiasts know about all these details.. love Riccardo, shame the luck he had
Compressor surge off throttle isnt so bad for ball bearing turbos, surge under load though is bad.
@@danielssonsgarage this. The chatter noise is fine when shutting off the accelerator. My Mini Cooper S does this. It’s when you can hear it on boost with the throttle pushed down you have a problem.
@@danshaw7663 That's how they limit the power on the turbos.
That's not a blow off valve Ben. That's compressor surge.
Also it sounds incredible.
Even by today's standards, that top speed of the Nissan is still crazy 😲😲
It is NUTS 🤯
that isn't even top speed, that's ONLY on the first section of the mulsanne before the first chicane, it could definitely go faster with how slippery those group c cars were
@@BenCollinsDrives definitely a era we may never get back maybe with hybrids but with increasing emissions it’s gonna be difficult.
@@mauricemotors8207 How do you want to get there with hybrids, if they're slower than good old LMP1, and they trimmed down LMP2 just to show any competitiveness during latest LM24. Not to mention they want to scrap the LMP2 just as they did LMP1, next year. Oh my...
I'm not sure it wouldn't be faster than today's lemans cars!
Hearing Ben cackle at the beginning knowing he was the stig for a while is just awesome. Cool vid as always thanks for it Ben and company
3:01 that's not the "pop-off valve" it's reversion through the turbo compressor ..
3:07 and that's not what a wastegate does .. that's the pop-off valve 😄
I heard someone once say that "..they couldn't let the Stig speak because of they had, he'd have run away with the show.." I'm sure it was the commentors personal jokey opinion, but I couldn't agree more. Each video from this channel is a treat and Ben is obviously a natural.
Great to see someone with the years of experience and multitude of cars driven, still getting the buzz from driving these cars and taking us along for the ride. Brilliant
Glad you're enjoying the videos! I'm really enjoying making it all and putting it out there.
YESSS! This Nissan R89/R90/R91 is - in my view - the pinnacle of Group C racecars and probably one of the most beautiful and brutal cars ever made! The shape is just perfect, not an unsightly line or curve in sight, evoking exactly the emotions that a super-fast Group C car should. In terms of sheer looks and sound this stands head and shoulders above all modern (year 2000 onwards) Le Mans Prototypes.
I hope it fetches the good high price it deserves at the auction, and most importantly to a new owner who will give it the right love and care and will keep sharing it with the world, at Goodwood Festival Of Speed for example.
Mega-car! Was looking forward to this video Ben, thank you so much for sharing with us!
Glad you enjoyed it! As you might be able to tell, I had fun driving this one.
Been searching of a video like this of the R90CK for years… Thank you !
You're welcome!
After years of watching you drive and having no idea who you were (TG) the way in which you drive is very nostalgic to me. Pure control, I almost feel as if they missed a trick not having you commentate while driving. Utter joy to watch Ben. From someone who may never get the chance to drive on track, thank you.
Thank you Sir, Time machine content.
Awesome as always.Thanks for sharing and taking us along
3:04 no Ben, that's not how a wastegate works. I think you mean the blow off valve.
Such a pleasure to watch you Ben. Could watch you talk about cars all day. You could of been a presenter on top gear i reckon. Keep up the great content mate.
I appreciate that!
Love it that you are just speaking naturally…not this pumped up hyperbole that everyone seems to want to rabbit on with nowadays
THIS is peak Nissan for me in my youth! It's these race cars in this era that made me fall in love with the brand. We didn't get the GT-R in the states, but it's cars like the R90CK that made me want a 300ZX and 240SX in the early 90s.
..and Paul Newman at the wheel
Ben the amount of Top Quality videos you have been putting lately is nothing short of Impressive ,
But this video and especially that insane car tops them all ( personal opinion ) .
Keep up the great work Ben .
Glad you're enjoying it all! 1 more to go!
R390 Next?
I've seen this car in pictures and grainy video but to see it like this it looks amazing and more modern than i could imagine.
Ben, you got the best job in the world! I've been driving the R92CP in Gran Turismo 7 on my PS VR2 in my simpit and it's the closest I'll ever get to these Group C monsters! I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thank you! 🙏🏾
If you like Gran Tursismo then you'll LOVE what's coming next .....
I want to go back in time and tell myself from the mid 2000s that one day, the Stig will be hosting his own show, just to see my own reaction.
😎
An amazing car and more so since 1990 was my first trip to Le Mans! I therefore saw this in action along with the Silk Cut Jags. Happy days!!
These machines were absolute beasts, and I can't imagine the heroes driving these. Having Mr. Collins drive this seems like a perfect match to review it. Talking about how he would set it up is such a wonderful dialogue that suits the setting of the car, track and driver in combination with the vintage footage and music.
Agreed its a savage car. What an epic video
Another great video! I love the sound of that Nissan. Thanks Ben!
Dear Mr. Collins,
I have to say „Thank you“ for making the last two episodes of „Ben Collins Drives“, cause they literally melted my petrolhead heart 😍😍😍
This Nissan R90CK was my all time favorite of that era, and I hade quite a few posters of it in my room, and always was dreaming about one day having a go in it…
For sure, this day will never come, but I‘m okay with that cause my most favorite racing driver or „test driver“ of my most favorite TV show named „Top Gear“ (maybe you‘ve heard about that show 🤪) had a blast in it and so you made me smile from one ear to another 😁
Back in the days of Stig, I had to download every episode of Top Gear because the show sadly never aired in Germany at that time, so every time the show was broadcasted in the UK I waited till the first download was available and then I sat in front of my TV with my mouth wide open and always thought „Man, this Stig is really good“… 🥴😉
Fun fact, I worked at that time for a German TV show called „Abenteuer Auto“, we always tried to do stuff like you did on TG, but we didn’t have the budget and most importantly no Stig, but anyhow we had over 12 years a lot of fun. And at that time I worked with a guy who filmed the episodes where you competed against another German TV Show, driving against Sabine Schmitz in double-decker cars, if I remember correctly.
I am a true petrolhead, and I always admired the enormous talent you had driving cars very fast and always on the edge, but watching you driving always made me smile, till now! 🙏
So again, a big THANK YOU for all the things you did to enjoy people like me, and I wish you all the best! 👍
Best regards from Germany 🇩🇪, Philipp 👋
Dude I just wanted to point out that you do an excellent job presenting despite not liking being on that side of the camera. You are a natural. I was a fan of your in the white helmet, much much more of a fan without it.
1985 & 86 my dad took me to The Grand Prix of Miami. Unbelievable, the prototypes and drivers of the day! Available on UA-cam.
Holy mother of god. I cannot believe top gear didn’t let this man speak. Amazing footage and presentation. Just awesome.
Epic! One of the best car videos, Ben, amazing car, amazing commentary and driving.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very underrated channel! A true Motorsports fan dream.
Love your commentary Ben; you tell a lot more than pretty much any other driver. And what a beast that Nissan is- still after all these years! Many thanks for the vid!
The old footage out the windscreen when he's hooning down the straight ... holy moly ... I don't think I've seen something that scary before. Balls of streel to drive that thing in anger. Great that you are getting to drive these big beasts ! Good things happen to good people, right !
It's mad that this car was made the year I was born and it's an absolute spaceship and even some of the 80s cars were monsters ahead of there times
some say he has the best channel on yt
What a beast along with the sauber c9 my favourite car ever
The car is an absolute monster and incredibly impressive, the turbo also sounds amazing, it must've been fun to drive such a masterpiece
Monster, that's the perfect word.
"bloody hell" sums up perfectly i guess
Just incredible! 😮😮😮 Could've watched that for an hour 🤘😀
Such a pleasure to see those old race cars driven in anger!
Auction listing.. Uhh not in my price range. Such a great drive for you. The Stig would be proud.
Love the video Ben! Thanks for sharing!!!
Ive seen some onboard videos of this car and its sucessors the R91 and R92 and those cars were insanely fast. They go like stink. Absolute missiles. A real handle to drive too.
Amazing video! Love it, keep them coming!
Very cool car.
Classic jouro turbo faux pas. The noise is most likely compressor stall from the throttle being closed. Wastegates, if open on throttle/load to control boost will usually close with a closing throttle as the control signal to the wastegate reduces with the manifold pressure, which has been reduced by the closed throttle.
“Pop off valve” / blow off valve / dump valve can’t be heard in video. If efficient enough you will lose the compressor stall noise and may hear a venting noise on closing throttle depending on how it’s plumbed.
Apologies, got caught in a moment of Sunday boredom 😂
For those not speaking the King's language, 238mph = 383km/h. Insane!
That is what Supercharged Inline 4 Nitro Top Fuel Bike can do in 5 seconds and under.
Tonight: the stig is getting frightend by a 90's Nissan! 😂
Everything was better in the 90s
What a car
Thanks for the vid
Hi Ben, you may remember me from the HKS Mitsubishi F3 days. I worked on the Nissan at the time and, though it makes for a good story, the issue around wastegates seems to have been embellished over time. They weren't stuck shut, as has become the narrative, but just slightly over-boost target. Seeing about 2 bar whereas the target was nearer 1.8 bar. Not that great a difference and in reality actually probably cost a bit of power due to additional retard at higher boost, rather than just keeping on making lots of uncontrolled power.
In short, the performance was entirely as expected, although in fact slightly reduced. The real issue was, were the safety systems robust enough to allow that extra boost over the target without destroying the engine, which it turned out they were. Nissan representatives were obviously very concerned about that and the issues behind the scenes were us being allowed to complete the lap, with the danger that the engine may not survive it, an argument we managed to win at the time, thankfully!
Regarding the 3:30 from the first session, that was done on 7 cylinders as a coil failed on the out-lap, so that lap was in some ways even more impressive, given the loss of power.
I don't want to make light of the lap itself, which was unreal and it shouldn't be underestimated the incredible lap that Mark did. The realities of the engine were somewhat less remarkable. We fully knew what sort of power it had, and it wasn't a mistake by any stretch of the imagination. Just to put the record straight after 34 years.
i know it's not the same but I can sort of relate...I own a 2018 Porsche GT2 RS which is rated at 700 BHP (I believe the rating dyno runs are made at 72 degrees Fahrenheit) and one winter morning in Cocoa Beach Fl. a few years back it got down to the mid 30's and the air was crisp with none of our typical humidity...knowing it was turbo weather I took the big 911 for a cruise and Damn!!! with the tires being cold and the engine feeling like it was about 800 BHP due to the air denseness, it was quit the ride. the GT2 was absolutely ferocious!
Personnal favorite group c era car. The kid I was back then was so sad they didn't make it that year with the 5 cars factory effort.
Beautiful car, such a great review love your passion and excitement!!
Thanks Mr. Collins for this video ❤
gorgeous video and production, top gear quality presentation. seeing you bang through the gears is such a pleasure!! cheers!!
Glad you enjoyed it! Had a lot of fun with this one.
The fact that Ben can wrestle this car under control and not get overwhelmed by it shows his racing experience.
Great Video this thing sounds vicious, Thanks for doing it.
Anyone else prefer his car reviews as Stig?
Only Joking!
Another brilliant video thank you Mr. Collins.
You are welcome.
lol burn!
Such a gorgeous machine! And seeing it going round the track in this video was awe inspiring, not sure what it is but it has such a presence on the tarmac. Unfortunately I was slightly too young to have witnessed this Era, The golden age of Le Mans (In my opinion) but I'm so glad that you are able to show off these works of art before they go up for Auction.
You're so right. This car has so much presence on the track. What a monster 🙌🏻
I was so not expecting a reply from someone whose career I've followed since Dad showed me Top Gear, and a weapon of a driver that I absolutely admire! Thank you for the response mate! Made my night! Hoping to catch you in the Land Down Under for something in the future!
You're welcome! Love to have you along on the channel.
this looks so good it's like the end of the road for design, you can't draw something better
One of my favourite Group c monsters. Have done 1000s of km in its sibling the r92cp on gt7. Lovely machine and great video keep it up
I loved the 92cp on Bathurst. So damn fast!
You've all become world class at not showing surges of acceleration .
The hissing noise you can hear isn't coming from the wastegate, that's the air pressure being released by either a blow off valve or escaping back through the compressor wheel. The wastegate is on the exhaust and vents off exhaust gas to control turbo speed, that basically makes the same noise as the exhaust
He never said it was the wastegate making that noise.
He said Mark Blundells wastegate got jammed closed on his qualifying lap at Le Mans in the 90s and was over boosting the turbo and was surprised the engine didn't detonate.
He said the pop off valve was making the hissing noise at 3.07.
Cmon bro.....
Such an incredible car! I’d love to see a full lap from the head camera.
Working on it!
@@BenCollinsDrives thank you stig! i was hoping to see the whole lap as well
@@BenCollinsDrives Awesome!
Ahhhh! That looks so fun!
Loving the recent uploads, hope theres many more to come 👍🏻
1 more on the way next week! 1997 Viper.
That would be a wild ride. What a beast! Lovely sound
It was!
That “bloody hell” when the turbo spools up is so genuine 😂
The hilarious thing is this isn't even Nissan's craziest prototype, that's the GTP ZX-Turbo
I really enjoy your commentation and the way you talk about the car - very insightful ;) not to mention the car being driven like it should be - great stuff!
So glad I found your channel!
The audio balancing on this was fantastic. Engine and commentary beautifully combined, and cool music only between scene/mode switching.❤❤
Its too short , but what is the name of the music?
when the stig says bloody hell, it must be lethal
Just a bit 😂
Fantastic video Ben, great driving as ever. Thank you for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it.
And the later sister car, R92CP starts a myth of going 240 MPH on the Fuji straights
*Nissan back then is just built DIFFERENT*
Glad to see u more active on the channel
Another great video Ben!! Loving these old Le Mans car videos 👌🏻
Glad you're enjoying them! I'm loving making these.
Where has the Nissan Company that did this gone? What a machine! Amazing video mr Stig! Abraço de Lisboa!
These are awesome Ben, keep the videos coming man!
Whoever does your sound is very good at thier job.
It was tough I can tell you! The production team are top notch.
Just one word, Wow !
It’s a good looking beast.
It's a handsome thing, right?
If you need to ask who he is, you have no idea. Congrats Ben!!
Just playin with it, awesome machine
Crazy machine, and that glorious sound!
Yep, and YEP!
How a great oppotunity to watch video such this car!
I'm surprised and happy to see she is ready to race.
Lola cars did great job^^
Awesome car. Fantastic driving. Great stuff!
Nice but still waiting for Mazda 787B 😅🤣
'97 Viper next week!
Bit of a faulty metric conversion here. The ACO speed trap recorded it at 366 km/h which is 227mph.
Bit of a stretch to claim 1,100 hp too. We simply don't know. This car had a turbo on each bank and a separate plenum chamber for each bank so it likely only affected one side.
Really enjoyed hearing your impressions though. I've always liked this car.
All that aside, hope you enjoyed the film!
@@BenCollinsDrives I sure did. Thanks. I was really interested in the balance side of it. My impression was that the car usually understeered in the Le Mans setup. It doesn’t show up much in the Blundell lap but I guess he’s doing a lot of steering with his feet. Did you find that?
@@thethirdman225Ben mentioned the vehical was nose heavy during his drive.
Wonderful video.
I love the Group C Nissan. I have all the 1:18 die-cast Exoto replicas (R89C, R90V, R91CV, R91CK) and I remember Mark Blundell's crazy qualifying pole position.
I wish I had the opportunity to drive that kind of beast. Or rather... I wish I had the skills to drive that kind of beast. No, I mean... I wish I had the skills to drive that kind of beast.
This is giving me Gran Turismo 4 vibes. Back in the day the Nissan R89C and Nissan R92CP use to give my Mazda 787B a hard time.
GT4! What a top game.
Great car, but that jacket Ben is pure coolness. Wow 👌
Beautiful piece of engineering and a privilege to drive Blundells car.
savage indeed but a challenge of driving skill another great vid ben keep em coming
Dude thats my fav race car, after the 917.
One of my new favourites now too. What a weapon.