The newest addition to Red-Lined Motorsport‘s REVO line will make its début when the 2024 South African Rally-Raid Championship begins at this weekend’s Nkomazi 400 as Chris Visser and Dave Klaassen pilot the REVO+ GT-R.
As the name suggests, it is a T1+ car that uses an engine pulled from the Nissan R35 GT-R. Nicknamed “Godzilla”, the GT-R is Nissan’s flagship sports car and has seen extensive action in GT and endurance racing.
The GT-R’s 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V6 VR38DETT engine produces 421 kW of power (565 horsepower) with 632 Nm of torque. Ironically, the standard engine is too powerful for FIA cross-country rally rules, which have a 264-kW limit, meaning it had to be de-tuned to remain legal. Testing took place in December. Such an engine is also being used in the Dacia Sandrider, Renault’s factory rally raid programme that will compete in the 2025 Dakar Rally and World Rally-Raid Championship.
The newest REVO comes on the heels of Red-Lined’s REVO T1+, the company’s first foray into the T1+ subcategory. Created in 2023, it is currently used in the SARRC as well as the W2RC, the latter on a full-time basis by Aliyyah Koloc and Buggyra ZM Racing. Both the REVO T1+ and GT-R comply with T1+ regulations like using 37-inch tyres and having 350 mm of suspension travel.
Red-Lined often bases their rally raiders on Nissans. Their VK50 and VK56 cars are based on the Nissan Navara; both are T1.1 models, which have smaller wheels at 32 inches and 280 mm in suspension travel.
“Our Red-Lined rally-raid race cars have developed consistently since we first started out with the previous generation T1 Nissan Navara VQ40s over fourteen years ago,” said Red-Lined boss Terence Marsh. “Our trusty Red-Lined VK50 and VK56 models essentially evolved out of the old Navaras and over time even resembled the later generation D23 road-going Navara. Never mind the fact that we had always ran the normally aspirated Nissan V8 engines to date, that tradition then continued into our own all-new Nissan V8-powered Red-Lined REVO T1 and REVO T1+ models.
“The top FIA T1+ rally raid class then however evolved to allow turbocharged V6 engines, and as such the technology game has moved on considerably. But hey, why break with a great tradition? Nissan builds one of the best turbocharged V6 engines in the world today in its incredible ‘Godzilla’ R35 GT-R, which just happens to be a perfect fit for our latest rally raid weapon.”
Red-Lined will bring four cars to the Nkomazi 400 on 19/20 April. Dave’s son Pim Klaassen, who raced the W2RC’s BP Ultimate Rally-Raid in Portugal in a VK50, will enter his maiden T1+ race in a REVO+ V8 while Philip Botha races a VK56.