From Le Mans To F1, Here Are Some Of Japan’s Most Iconic Race Cars and Engines

A unique selection of Toyota, Nissan and Honda's Formula 1, Group C, and IndyCar race cars, exclusively displayed at Fuji Speedway for MotorFan Festa.

Whether it be rallying or Formula 1 racing, Japan is no stranger to the world of motorsports. Names instantly come to mind, with Subaru at the World Rally Championship back in the day, or more recently Honda and its engines powering the Red Bull Racing’ Formula 1 cars. For this year's MotorFan Festa held at Fuji Speedway, organizers put together a unique race car display with some of Japanese manufacturers’ most memorable race cars and most successful engines. The display included a wide selection ranging from Toyotas to Nissans and from Super GT cars to Formula 1 cars. This time, we took a closer look at four of them: the Scuderia AlphaTauri AT02 Formula 1 car, The Toyota TS010, the Nissan R390 GT1 and the Andretti Motorsports Dallara IR-12 Honda IndyCar.

The AT02 was Scuderia Alpha Tauri's second car since the team's name change from Toro Rosso to AlphaTauri in 2020, to promote the RedBull fashion brand of the same name. The AT02 succeeded the AT01 and featured the same chassis as its predecessor. Some of the most significant upgrades involved changes to its front wing, nose, floor, diffuser and rear brake ducts. The car was overall optimised to regain more aerodynamic downforce. The AT02 used Honda's 1.6L V6 RA621H engine. The same engine powered Max Verstappen to his very first World Championship win in 2021.

As for the livery, the dark blue and white colours brought a more sophisticated styling to the car, to match the clothing brand's minimalistic pieces. Yuki Tsunoda's AT02 shows the Japanese word "arigatou" ("thank you") on its rear wing.

2021 marked Yuki Tsunoda's first year in Formula 1, and the Japanese driver raced alongside his teammate Pierre Gasly. The AT02 finished in the top ten 19 times out of the 2021's 22 races and the team finished sixth in the Constructor's championship.

Related: 2022 Formula 1: Scuderia AlphaTauri Shows Off Its AT03 Challenger

Developped by Nissan Motorsport (NISMO) in the late 1990s, the Nissan R390 GT1 was a race car built to compete in the 24 Hours Of Le Mans endurance race. Tony Southgate, who designed successful race cars such as the Le Mans-winning 1988 Jaguar XJR-9, and Ian Callum, who later became the chief designer for Jaguar, were both behind the design of Nissan's race car, which could possibly explain the resemblance in design with the XJR-15. But one thing's for sure, it is the iconic Nissan "Fairlady" 300ZX that inspired the race car's square-shaped headlights.

Nissan debuted the R390 GT1 at Le Mans for the first time in 1997 and was notably driven by Martin Brundle that year. Out of the three cars that entered the endurance race, only one made it to the finish line and finished 12th overall.

The R390 GT1 exhibited at Fuji Speedway was the original 1998 model driven by Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Aguri Suzuki and Masahiko Kageyama. The car finished 3rd overall at the ‘98 24 Hours Of Le Mans race, and the other three R390 GT1 cars all finished in the top 10. The race car used Nissan's VRH35L 3.5L twin turbo V8 engine, with a power output of 650 PS at 6,800 rpm and 521 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm.

As the Le Mans GT class required at least one homologated model at the time, Nissan built a single road version model of the R390 GT1. Nissan's R390 GT1 did not attract the spotlight like other LeMans car have, but its presence in Gran Turismo and occasional appearances at prestigious events such as the 2022 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este allow the R390 GT1 to remain alive in our public consciousness.

Related: Here's What An Indycar Engine Really Looks Like From Inside

Toyota's TS010 was a Group C race car developed to compete in the 24 Hours Of Le Mans, the World Sportscar Championship (WSC) and the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship (JSPC). Introduced by the FIA in 1982, race cars in the Group C category marked some of the most glorious years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and of the WSC. In the early years, Porsche dominated the series with its 956 until more manufacturers entered the series, such as Lancia and Jaguar, as well as the top Japanese manufacturers Nissan, Mazda and Toyota.

The Toyota TS010 ran on Toyota's RV10 engine, a naturally-aspirated 3.5L V10 that could produce up to 700 bhp. As for its design, we owe it to Tony Southgate who later designed the Nissan R390 GT1 mentioned earlier. The TS010 entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1992 with three cars. Though none of the three won the race, the TS010 (displayed here at Fuji Speedway) driven by Masanori Sekiya, Pierre-Henri Raphanel and Kenny Acheson finished second. Toyota's TS010 still displayed incredible performance and set the race lap record for its two years at LeMans, in 1992 and 1993.

Related: 10 Most Iconic Cars That Won The 24 Hours Of Le Mans

Honda's involvement with IndyCar dates back to 1994. Though all Indy cars are provided by Dallara, the Japanese manufacturer has been a notable engine supplier in the series. Its engines have won multiple championships and powered drivers to victory in many of the series' most prestigious races, including the Indianapolis 500. It is also worth pointing out that Honda even served as the single engine supplier of the series from 2006 until 2011 when Toyota and Chevrolet retired, until Chevrolet stepped back in the IndyCar Series in 2012.

Part of the IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500) consists of a 200-lap (500 miles) race around the oval-shaped Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is considered as the series’ most high-profile race, making it an important race to win for all teams, manufacturers and drivers alike.

Japanese driver Takuma Sato, who has competed in IndyCar since 2010, made his mark in history by becoming the first Japanese and Asian to win the prestigious Indy 500 race in 2017. His car, the Andretti Motorsports Dallara IR-12 Honda IndyCar, ran on a Honda engine (as its name implies), making it a significant victory for both the Japanese manufacturer and driver. Sato also went on to win the 2020 Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, also on a Honda engine.

Built on a Dallara IR-12 chassis, the 2017 Andretti Motorsports IndyCar used Honda's HI17R Indy V6 engine, with a BorgWarner turbocharger and a McLaren ECU. As for its power output, the Honda engine produced up to 740 hp at 12,000 rpm.

French and Japanese automotive writer and photographer based in Tokyo, Claire has joined the HotCars team in March 2022. She is an automotive enthusiast who enjoys creating beautiful imagery to illustrate her car stories from Japan.