- "This uniquely-shaped race car has a Cd of only 0.24, which is remarkably low for an open-cockpit racer."
- ―In-game catch text for the car, from GT6's Dealership
The DeltaWing sponsored by Nissan at LeMans 2012 (commonly referred to as simply the DeltaWing 2012 LeMans) is a race car produced by DeltaWing. It only appears in Gran Turismo 6.
The car appears to be the #0 Highcroft Racing variant, driven by Marino Franchitti, Michael Krumm, and Satoshi Motoyama, who participated in the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car failed to finish the race after a collision with a Toyota TS030.
In-game description[]
The DeltaWing is a prototype racer developed by DeltaWing Racing Cars, based in the U.S. Initially, the project was aimed at Indy racing, but it ended up competing in the new Garage 56 class set up by ACO for the world famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. Garage 56 was a category that promoted new technology. In the spring of 2012, Nissan Motor Company joined the project, providing the engine and sponsoring the team.
The race car's most notable characteristic is obviously the triangular shape of the car, with its extremely narrow front tread width. This design reduces air resistance, making it an open-bodied car that actually maintains a low Cd (Coefficient of drag) of 0.24, despite the fact that open cars usually tend to generate more air resistance. The large downforce required by the car is produced by the Venturi tunnel underneath the body, but it has no aerodynamic devices, like wings, other than the vertical fin that enables straight line stability. Power comes from an engine based on the direct-injected turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-4 of the Nissan Juke, tuned here to approximately 295 BHP.
Its race debut was the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans race. But unfortunately, the DeltaWing was hit by another car, forcing a crash - it could not finish the race. The car returned to race in autumn of that year at the final round of the ALMS series at Road Atlanta, with the first GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordónez, and Gunnar Jeannette driving. Despite starting last on the grid, as an unclassified entry, they jumped to 5th place overall by the end of the race, finally proving the car's high potential on the track.
Acquisition[]
| Game | Purchase location | Credits | Other methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Turismo 6 | DeltaWing Dealership | 2,000,000 | --- |
Trivia[]
The 2012 DeltaWing as it appears in the Start Your Engines trailer. Note the use of DeltaWing-branded driver suit and helmet, instead of Nissan branded ones.
The 2013 DeltaWing as it appears in the same scene in the game's opening movie in version 1.01 onwards.
- This variant was planned to appear in Version 1.00 as the Nissan DeltaWing '12, branded as a Nissan model, but legal issues between Nissan and Panoz (backers of the DeltaWing project) caused the car to be initially removed from release, before being re-added with the 1.01 update along with the 2013 model.
- In the Start Your Engines trailer, if closely seen, the driver wears a DeltaWing driver suit instead of Nissan-branded ones. In Version 1.01's intro video, the DeltaWing in the same scene was replaced with the 2013 model.
- Despite the reinstatement, the car was not reinstated in GT6's featured new cars page on the Gran Turismo website.