Coverage: Nissan Motorsports Exhibition 2008

Nissan Japan knows a thing or two about celebrating its motorsport heritage. In addition to the annual NISMO Festival held every December at Fuji Speedway, the company also hosts the "Nissan Motorsports Exhibition" which is held at the historic red brick warehouse area on the Yokohama waterfront .

Although it is not as big as the Nismo Festival, the motorsports exhibition is held in a tourist-friendly urban area and has no entrance fee , making it a popular destination for car fans of all ages. Naturally, with the recent revival of the GT-R this year's event would highlight all things GT-R.

With the weather conditions looking great, we headed out to Yokohama to have a look at the festivities.

The most popular part of the event were the demo runs by a various historic Nissan racing machines. As you can seem, the crowd of spectators was quite large for these demo runs. Personally I was a little underwhelmed as the runs were held on a very short stretch of straight road and were very short but that is to be expected considering the location. Still, it was a great chance for the public to see and more importantly hear these cars in action.

The most popular car had to be the new Super GT MOTUL GT500 R35. While most of the Super GT cars were in Suzuka for testing this weekend, Nissan still managed to have some on display for the public.

The other main attraction at this year's event was the "GT-R Spirits Area" display. At the center of this display was a street model R35 in which the public could sit in and see up close. Fans lined up for a chance to get behind of the wheel of the R35. Judging from the fan response, Nissan has truly built something special.

The rest of the GT-R Spirits area was filled with historic GT-R race cars and street cars pulled from Nissan's vast collection.

This car needs no introduction. The machine that this started this whole "GT-R" thing, an all original KPGC10 Skyline 2000 GT-R in flawless condition.

The Hakosuka is held with the highest regard among Japanese car enthusiasts. I even saw a boy who couldn't have been older than 8 or 9 years old grab his friend and say "Are! Hakosuka da! mite mite!" ("Hey, check out the Hakosuka!").

Next to the street version of the Hakosuka GT-R was Nissan's replica of the car from the 1971 Japanese Grand Prix. As you can see, like many of Nissan's historic racing cars this thing is no show-only piece. It is regularly raced at circuit events.

An all original KPGC110 Kenmeri GT-R. The original steel wheels look so underwhelming on these cars but I don't think too many GT-R owners kept the stock wheels and tires on for very long.

This racing version of the KPGC110 GT-R was shown at the 1972 Tokyo Motor Show but unfortunately the car never made it into competition for a number of reasons.

The JTC Group A STP/Taisan R32 GT-R driven by Keiichi Tsuchiya and Kunimitsu Takahashi in 1993.

Nismo R33 GT-R LM from the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The GT500 XANAVI NISMO R34 GT-R from JGTC circa 2002. Nissan also brought out showroom original versions of the R32, R33, and R34 GT-R street cars as part of the Spirits Area.

Can't afford a new GT-R? How about a new Nissan March or Note? Nissan also had its entire 2008 car line up on display.

A crowd gathers around to get an up close look under the hood and inside the NISMO Fairlady Z 380RS.

It's not all about the GT-R. Besides the GT-R display, Nissan also brought out a number of other historic racing models from its collection as part of the other "Spirits" areas.

Nissan Primera GT from the 1999 British Touring Car Championship.

The legendary 1992 R92CP race car.

Where do you think the Bosozoku got their inspiration from? The 1980 S12 Silvia Super Silhouette race car.

Battle damaged 240Z from the 1971 African Safari Rally.

1958 Mobil Gas Trial Datsun.

R390GT1 from the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans.

1982 Super Silhouette DR30 Tomica Skyline. I cannot get over how awesome this car looks. It was one of my favorite cars at the event. Pure 80's wildness. Actually ,when I was walking to the event I saw an R34 Skyline drive by painted in the Skyline RS-Turbo paint scheme. I didn't have my camera with me at the time though.

GT300 XANAVI S14 Silvia replica from the 1998 JGTC season.

1978 Nissan Violet 1600 SSS from the Southern Cross Rally.

V12-powered R382 from the 1969 Japan Grand Prix.

PL510 Bluebird 1600 SSS from the 1969 Safari Rally.

Before there was the GT-R there was the S54 Prince Skyline 2000 GT. This example is from the 1964 Japanese Grand Prix.

Throughout the day there were pit work demonstrations on this XANAVI Super GT Z.

Nissan really tried to make this event family-friendly. There were several activities for kids including these ridable miniature Z's and GT-R's.

From older people reminiscing about days gone past to a whole new generation being introduced the to the racing world, the Nissan Motorsports Exhibition shows just how the public connects with motorsports. Kudos to Nissan for preserving its past and promoting its future for all generations.

Check out the full gallery of event photos right here .

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