Nissan set to excite Goodwood crowds in the United Kingdom

• Global debut of NISSAN CONCEPT 2020 Vision Gran Turismo®
• Olympians Sir Chris Hoy and Jenny Jones and Paralympian Richard Whitehead MBE will greet fans on the stand over the weekend
• GT-R NISMO GT3 takes on Goodwood track

WEST SUSSEX, England – Fantasy will become reality this weekend when the NISSAN CONCEPT 2020 Vision Grand Turismo® makes its global debut as part of the brand's thrilling and action-packed Goodwood Festival of Speed program.

The covers come off the NISSAN CONCEPT 2020 Vision Gran Turismo® on June 26 on the Nissan stand, giving visitors the first chance to see the car up close.

As part of the festivities, Nissan's Chief Planning Officer Andy Palmer – along with the brand's Chief Creative Officer, Design and Brand Management, Shiro Nakamura – will also be at Goodwood over the course of the weekend to meet members of the media and public.

Conceived by the team from Nissan's European design studio in London for the latest installment of the legendary PlayStation driving franchise, Gran Turismo®, the concept points to how a Nissan supercar of the future could look.

Its much-anticipated first appearance will be one of the highlights of a scintillating 2014 festival presence that will showcase like never before the spirit of innovation and excitement embedded in Nissan's DNA.

Olympic hero Sir Chris Hoy, now a Nissan driver and brand ambassador, will appear on the Nissan stand three times – between 11:00-11:30 and 14:30-15:00 local time on Friday and 14:30-15:00 on Sunday – for a Q&A session with fans.

Fellow brand ambassadors Richard Whitehead MBE (a Gold Medalist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games) and Jenny Jones (a Bronze Medalist at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics) will be visiting the Nissan stand as well as part of the brand's inspirational #UniteAndExcite partnership with Team GB and ParalympicsGB on the Road to Rio.

Visitors will be able to experience motorsport thrills for themselves in high-tech Gran Turismo® 6 gaming pods. To complete the digital experience visitors can virtually design their own IDx concept with the Oculus Rift 3D virtual reality gaming headset that delivers mind-blowing realism.

There will be a strong Nissan presence on the Goodwood track too, with two versions of its all-conquering GT-R supercar – the GT-R NISMO and the record-breaking GT-R Time Attack – appearing on the famous circuit throughout the weekend. The GT-R NISMO GT3 will be driven by a rising star, GT Academy winner and current Le Mans JS P2 driver Jann Mardenborough.

For live updates follow Nissan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NissanUK) or on Twitter (@NissanUK) throughout festival weekend.

Goodwood Festival of Speed
Held in the grounds of Goodwood House, an elegant and historic country residence nestling amid England’s picturesque South Downs, the Goodwood Festival provides the startling sight of racing cars charging through its bucolic grounds – the house’s driveway turned into a dramatic, challenging and rather beautiful hillclimb venue.

Racing cars and Goodwood have been synonymous for decades, the first motorsport event occurring in 1936 when the ninth Duke of Richmond organized a hill climb through the house’s grounds. World War II brought this pursuit to a close, but also saw the construction of a nearby airfield whose perimeter road would eventually be turned into the famous Goodwood circuit.

The first race was held in 1948 and the last in 1966. When Charles Gordon-Lennox, the current Earl of March and a major car enthusiast, was prevented from reviving races at the circuit, he decided to stage his own Festival of speed in the grounds of Goodwood House.

The first event attracted 30,000 visitors, and it now draws 180,000, many considering it the finest motoring event in Britain.

Besides the hill climb, there is also a concours d’elegance, a pavilion of concept cars, a technical exhibits of the future, an air display, events for younger visitors, and much more. A highlight of the event remains the paddock where fans can stand mere inches from some of the most famous racing cars in history and, better still, meet their drivers.

The 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place from June 26 to June 29.

About Nissan in the UK

• Nissan Sunderland Plant produces the Nissan Qashqai, Note and Juke and the 100% electric Nissan LEAF
• Production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles began in 2012
• Total plant volume since 1986 stands at more than seven million units with 80 percent of production exported to 97 markets worldwide
• Total investment made and announced since then is over £3.5 billion
• 501,756 units were produced at Sunderland plant in 2013
• In 2013, one in three cars built in the UK was a Nissan
• Sunderland Plant currently employs more than 7,000 people
• Nissan's European Design Centre is located in Paddington, London and employs around 65 people
• Nissan's European Technical Centre is based in Cranfield, Bedfordshire and employs around 1,000 people
• Nissan's sales and marketing headquarters in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire employs around 190 people

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.

# # #

Contacts

Ian Tonkin
Product Affairs
ian.tonkin@nissan.co.uk
01923 899934 (M: 07581 187405)

Kayleigh Edwards
Product Affairs
Kayleigh.Lawrence@nissan.co.uk
01923 899937 (M: 07814 141097)

David Jackson
Public affairs
david.jackson@nissan.co.uk
01923 899933 (M: 07966 878 665)