Nissan GT-R Teams Rocket to Top of Leaderboard in 2012 Tire Rack One Lap of America

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - As this year's Tire Rack One Lap of America heads into its final weekend, four Nissan GT-R teams currently round out the top five spots on the event leaderboard. This positions a Nissan GT-R team well to claim victory in the competition for a third consecutive year.

One Lap of America challenges participants to endure long transit drives of over 400 miles each day and compete on 10 of America's most challenging racetracks in eight days including Road America and South Bend Motor Speedway. This year's event boasts a field of 75 participating teams.

"We see the GT-R as a car you can drive everyday in comfort, yet it's full performance capabilities are made for the racetrack," said Carl Phillips, chief marketing manager, NISMO and Nissan sports car marketing - Nissan North America. "It's great to see that our customers are showcasing the Nissan GT-R at its best in the One Lap of America competition and we wish all of them good luck and safe travels."

The teams driving Nissan GT-Rs ranking in the overall top five for all events through Thursday, May 10 include:

• 2010 TopSpeed MotorSports GT-R driven by Douglas Wilks, Leh Keen and Lawrence Richard in first place with 5955 points;
• 2009 Nissan GT-R driven by Todd Treffert and Tyson Timperley in second place with 5625 points;
• 2012 Chariots of Palm Beach GT-R driven by Hugh Bate and Craig Kahle in third place with 5605 points; and

2013 Nissan GT-R (stock) driven by Michael Lattos and Eric VanCleef in fifth place with 5385 points. The Lattos/VanCleef team also holds the top spot on the stock class leaderboard.

Overall there are seven teams driving the Nissan GT-R in this year's competition. The other Nissan GT-R teams participating are the 2010 Nissan GT-R driven by Bob Knoerzer and Derek Heim (10th place); 2010 Nissan GT-R driven by Catesby Jones and Sharif Abdelbaset (17th place); and 2011 Nissan GT-R driven by Peter Cassini and Todd Ford (22nd place). Each team is made up of private GT-R owners, and is not Nissan sponsored.

For a complete list of the rankings, One Lap of America events and participating teams, visit http://www.onelapofamerica.com.

About the 2013 Nissan GT-R
Following a major revision just last year, the 2013 Nissan GT-R is offered in two models - GT-R Premium and the GT-R Black Edition with special lightweight black aluminum forged RAYS® wheels, unique read and black interior, Recaro® leather-appointed seats and new dry carbon fiber rear spoiler. The 2013 Nissan GT-R is once again anchored by an advanced 3.8-liter twin turbo V6 engine matched with a high-performance 6-speed dual-clutch transmission. Engine efficiency has been improved for the new model year, which helps raise horsepower to 545 hp (versus the previous 530 horsepower) and torque to 463 lb-ft (versus the previous 448 lb-ft). The engine is hand-assembled in a special clean room.

GT-R is built on an exclusive Premium Midship platform, which enables the use of the world's first independent rear transaxle ATTESA E-TS all-wheel drive system. This system places the transmission, transfer case and final drive at the rear of the vehicle, optimizing weight distribution and maximizing handling capability.

Total vehicle adjustability is provided by a "set-up switch" located in the center of the instrument panel, enabling the driver to adjust transmission shifts, shock absorbers and the Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC-R) among three settings - Normal, Special or "R," for ultimate handling.

The Nissan GT-R suspension has been retuned for 2013. The vehicle again utilizes a special Bilstein DampTronic system, and the braking system consists of Brembo full-floating drilled rotors, low steel high stiffness brake pads and Brembo monoblock six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers.

The 2013 Nissan GT-R's lightweight 10-spoke forged aluminum 20-inch RAYS® wheels feature a premium dark (near black) finish, which provides a high quality, high-performance look. They are mounted with Dunlop Sports Max GT 600 DSST CTT tires - P255/40ZRF20 in front and P285/35ZRF20 in the rear. The Black Edition features special metallic black six-spoke RAYS® lightweight wheels with Dunlop Sports Max GT 600 DSST CTT tires - P255/40ZRF20 in front and P285/35ZRF20 in the rear.

Nissan GT-R's aerodynamics were improved last year with increased downforce and the coefficient of drag reduced to 0.26 (from 0.27). A new front fascia with aggressive double rectifier fins and integrated high intensity LED running lights was also added, enhancing the car's strong visual presence. Other exterior features include high-mounted LED stoplights, bright LED rear combination taillights, "super wide beam" headlights, heated door mirrors and flat-blade windshield wipers. Six exterior colors are available for 2013: Deep Blue Pearl, Jet Black, Solid Red, Gun Metallic, Pearl White and a 4-stage metallic Super Silver.

Inside, Nissan GT-R's four-passenger cabin again balances functionality with a sense of ease and comfort. It features sculpted performance bucket seats for an optimal driving position, a cockpit-style instrument panel with a large center-mounted tachometer and multi-function display - which includes mechanical and driving information, as well as an on-board driving recorder, and carbon fiber trim. The Black Edition adds custom red and black Recaro® leather-appointed seats, red and black interior trim and a dark headliner.

A specially designed 11-speaker Bose® sound system with speakers mounted in rigid aluminum die cast panels, which provides sound quality suitable for a supercar, is standard.

Additional standard equipment for 2013 includes a RearView Monitor, Nissan Navigation System with XM NavTraffic® with Real-Time Traffic Information and NavWeather™ capabilities (XM® subscription required, sold separately), and Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System.

Safety equipment includes a Nissan Advanced Air Bag System for driver and front passenger, front seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags for driver and front-passenger and standard roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags for front seat occupant head protection - along with front seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters and tension reducers, and three-point ELR/ALR rear seat belts.

The 2013 Nissan GT-R is sold and serviced through nearly 700 Nissan dealers that have attained "GT-R Certification" status by meeting a number of strict sales, service and facilities commitments - including dedicating a master technician to GT-R service, special training for service managers and technicians, and designating dealer principals, executive managers and general managers as the primary communicators and negotiators in sales transactions. The names and locations of local GT-R Certified Nissan dealers are available on www.NissanUSA.com.

About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year in 2010, 2011, and 2012 by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com.

About the Tire Rack One Lap of America
The Tire Rack One Lap of America presented by Grassroots Motorsports Magazine is the modern day version of the Cannonball Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash of 1970. Created by Brock Yates and popularized by the movie Cannonball Run, today's One Lap of America challenges it's participants to endure long transit drives of over 400 miles daily and to compete on 10 of America's most challenging racetracks in 8 days. This year's One Lap begins on May 5, 2012, and runs through May 12, 2012. The event is headed by Brock Yates, Jr. and 2012 will be the 29th running of the event.

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Contact:

Steve Yaeger
615-725-4443
Steve.Yaeger@nmm.nissan-usa.com