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Power to the People: Nissan Showstoppers Set to Star at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Power to the People: Nissan Showstoppers Set to Star at Goodwood Festival of Speed

  • Interactive stand set to engage visitors with NISMO, new Note and EV
  • Note Safety Shield demonstration highlights amazing new technology
  • EV Zone debuts radical ZEOD Le Mans contender and MY13 LEAF
  • Hillclimb cars include FIA GT3 GT-R racer, MY13 GT-R and 370Z NISMO

LONDON, UK – Nissan is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Goodwood Festival of Speed (July 11-14) with a spectacular range of activities that bring the excitement and passion of the brand to life.

The entertainment starts at the Moving Motor Show, now firmly established as the curtain-raiser to the Festival itself. Taking place on July 11, it featured a Nissan stand bursting at the seams with innovative new cars available for visitors to drive. These include the new Juke NISMO and 370Z NISMO, plus the amazing new MY13 LEAF. Those lucky enough to secure test drives sampled these innovative machines around the Goodwood Estate on a route that takes in the famous Goodwood hillclimb course.

Visitors are also able to sample the famous hill climb digitally too. For the first time, the Goodwood Hill will be playable on Gran Turismo 6 and Nissan's Moving Motor Show stand will have Playstation3s equipped with a special Hill Climb demo. Record a fast enough time and you could gain a "wildcard" entry straight through to the GT Academy national final. Who knows, you could even become a NISMO Athlete, like previous GT Academy graduates Lucas Ordonez and Jann Mardenborough.

Away from the Moving Motor Show, Nissan's main stand celebrates the official launch of the NISMO road car range, along with the innovative new Note and new, British-built LEAF. Nissan will, once again, have a range of interactive experiences that will allow visitors to immerse themselves in new technology, embodying the company's Innovation and Excitement for Everyone brand statement.

The stand features four zones, with interactive features in every one.

The NISMO Experience will encourage visitors to learn all about NISMO and its heritage, while aspiring GT Academy racers can gain access to a special NISMO Lab by playing a host of specially developed touchscreen games designed to assess their driving skill and see if they have what it takes to be a NISMO Athlete. Once inside the NISMO Lab, they will take part in Academy-style trials including driving a full race simulator and Batak wall reaction test. If they perform well in these tests they will be entered into a competition to win tickets to the NISMO Festival in Japan later in 2013. Visitors will also be able to learn all about the Juke NISMO and 370Z NISMO as well. 

Nissan technology of a different kind will be showcased at the Note Safety Shield Experience. Visitors will be able to take part in an interactive demonstration of the B-sector challenger's innovative new system that uses a single rear-facing camera to give Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Warning and Moving Object Detection. It then uses three separate cameras for its Around View Monitor, which gives a bird's eye view when parking.

Visitors will enter a darkened space where 160 LED strings will be arranged to create a maze. The groups of strings will react when visitors step on connected motion sensors, illuminating and guiding the visitor safely through the maze to where the new Note is displayed. The experience is designed to show how the Note can anticipate potential hazards and guide people to safety.

The stand will also feature a GT-R Experience where visitors can 'race' a GT-R on a special 25-metre running track. Inspired by Nissan's sponsorship of the British Olympic Association in the run-up to Rio 2016, Nissan will be challenging runners to complete the 25-metre dash in less time than it takes for a GT-R to digitally lap the entire stand. Former Olympic gold medalist Darren Campbell will give coaching advice via a video screen to those who think they can outrun Nissan's legendary supercar.

Finally, an EV Experience will allow visitors to get up close to the new ZEOD (Zero Emission On Demand) RC - Nissan's Garage 56 entry for the 2014 Le Mans 24hr race. Taking pride of place on the upper tier of the stand, it will trial electric drivetrain technologies as part of Nissan's plan to return to LMP1 competition to challenge for overall victory at the world's most prestigious endurance race. The ZEOD shares battery technology with the new LEAF, which will also be on stand. The British-built version of the world's best-selling electric car has received over 100 improvements following customer feedback.

Of course, no Goodwood Festival of Speed would be complete without the sights and sounds of exotic machinery fighting it out on the 1.16-mile hillclimb. For 2013, Nissan will be showcasing its new 370Z NISMO, along with a pair of GT-Rs. In addition to the new MY13 GT-R road car, spectators will also be able to enjoy Nissan's fire-breathing FIA GT3 GT-R, which will be racing up the hill throughout the event. Driving duties will be taken care of by NISMO Athletes Alex Buncombe, Lucas Ordonez and Wolfgang Reip.

About Nissan in Europe
Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 14,500 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 695,000 vehicles including mini-MPVs, award-winning crossovers, SUVs and commercial vehicles. Nissan now offers 24 diverse and innovative products for sale in Europe today, and is positioned to become the number one Asian brand in Europe.

 

 

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Issued by Nissan