Outside of drag racing if there was one motorsport that spun my crank as a kid it was IMSA road racing. I loved the various cars and classes that were featured but I was legitimately obsessed with the GTP cars. Why? To a 10 year old they looked like space ships, they were insanely fast, they got into some spectacular wrecks, and their drivers hailed from all over the world. Multiple manufacturers were involved back then but I do remember the Nissans being a very strong contingent in the category. This 800hp Nissan GTP still runs like a top.
Fast forward to this year at The Mitty and we have racer Theo Bean driving the car that I fawned over above. It has survived all these years and runs as good (probably better) than it did when new. It is amazing to me just how good those cars were 30 years ago and the illustration is watching Bean drive this thing hard. It is not skating all over the place or making him work too hard. The car is planted and rock ship fast coming out of the corners.
It is not a smooth ride per se as Bean is jostled and hammered around the cockpit a bunch during the time we ride with him. These were not cars for the faint of heart as the speed they can gather is truly stunning. It could be argued that these cars were on the level of F1 cars of the era for the amount of exotica that was happening with them. From materials being used, engines being created, and ideas being experimented with, there was nothing like GTP racing and there probably won’t be again. Yes, people race “prototypes” but these cars were in a class by themselves.
