IMSA: Inside the Nissan DPi project

Recent news of a third Daytona Prototype international manufacturer coming to IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2017 has energized the Prototype class. Along with the pending confirmation of DPi programs from Cadillac and Mazda, Nissan's alliance with Tequila Patron ESM and chassis supplier Onroak (Ligier) will add the Japanese brand's name to IMSA's top-tier category when it launches at the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 26, 2017.

The union is unique, according to Nissan's global motorsport director, who says the company is not embarking on a DPi program as a full factory initiative. Nissan, through its NISMO competition arm, will act as a service provider to those with an interest in using its products.

"It is not Nissan coming back to dominate DPi as a factory effort," Michael Carcamo told RACER. "A more accurate description is that it is a partnership based on technical skills between Onroak, ESM, and ourselves. It's an extension of what we think we are very good at, and that is engines."

Nissan has been the most popular and successful LMP2 engine supplier in the FIA World Endurance Championship for many years, but with a formula change set for 2017 where WEC cars will use spec Gibson V8s, Nissan's place atop the class will come to an end.

Through IMSA's DPi formula, which takes the base 2017 LMP2 cars and adds custom engines and bodywork, Carcamo and Nissan found a new outlet for the manufacturer to explore.

"It's engine development, and not necessarily having to put a whole team together," he added. "[It] was a unique opportunity together with ESM and Onroak, as a group. It was one team (Nissan) wanting to come back to the sport, another team having a car (ESM), and us having what we think is a competitive powertrain. And with obviously now losing LMP2, we want to continue working in that that space."

The move from Nissan's proven naturally-aspirated LMP2 V8 engine to using its twin-turbo V6 GT-R powerplant will be a first for the brand in 2017, and with the switch under way, NISMO is finalizing the location where its DPi engine program will be serviced.

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"I don't think we have decided 100 percent," Carcamo said. "We are looking for the best solution for turnaround, for shipping, logistics, and all the necessary aspect of the program. But regardless of some of the operational work, the actual team support will be from Japanese NISMO staff who will be attending the events.

"And we are looking at the best event option in terms of rebuild and things like that because we have options in Europe and we obviously race in GT3 there as well. So that is an option for us."

Nissan has been working directly with Onroak (which recently changed its name to Everspeed) to fit the engine, its ancillaries, and to fashion a custom DPi body to envelop the 3.8-liter mill.

"It has been a collaboration; we rely on Onroak because we want to focus on what we're good at," Carcamo said. "We have asked for specific elements related to cooling and performance from the engine side, and we expect them to provide us feedback as to the best package, to be honest with you. We want an optimized solution."

In terms of visuals, Carcamo does not expect the Nissan DPi to stray that far from the base Ligier JS P217 bodywork.

"The car, regardless of any styling, it's not going to directly represent a road-going car," he said. "My image is that people recognize the engine as the heart of this piece which, if you put a GT3 car (left) next to it and you put a GT-R next to that, you have a clear lineage. You can see the road car, you can see the racecar, and you can see the concept car. But what is important is at the heart, is the engine. And so the styling component is really, it is collaboration, but it is driven by the best performance solution possible."

Compared to the Dallara-Cadillacs and Riley-Mazdas that will only be made available to factory-blessed teams, access to Nissan's DPi package could be less restricted. As Carcamo explains, the full-factory route holds little interest to Nissan, which could be good news for competitive privateers with an interest in joining the DPi ranks.

"The [factory-restricted approach] is the original reason why we weren't so interested," he said. "I think what we're doing with this is moving in the right direction. The focus shouldn't be just having a manufacturer name just to have a manufacturer name, but really to have great racing with great teams.

"What we would really love to see is a 'Big DPi 3' with lots of Nissan engines and customers. That is a long term plan for prototype racing in the US. We would love to see it grow and we support that."