VIDEO: Nissan R381 “Monster Bird” at Fuji Speedway

Nissan built the R381 race car, affectionately known as the Monster Bird, specifically to prevent the equally monstrous Toyota 7 from winning the Japan Grand Prix. At last year’s NISMO Festival Nissan took the car out for a spin around Fuji Speedway, mixing it up with modern SuperGT R35s and even a tour bus filled with lucky fans. It was all captured with on-board cameras in a video Nissan released today. 

If the engine sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a 450-horsepower small block Chevy V8, built at Mooneyes Japan. Nissan’s own in-house engine wouldn’t be ready until the following year when the R382 debuted with a 600-horsepower V12, but the project was a success, in that they managed to hold off a Toyota win with the help of Hakosuka works driver Moto Kitano at the wheel.

Fuji Speedway is different these days — and in fact cars like the R381 ran counter-clockwise back in the day for safety — and Nissan no longer runs the R381 at full tilt, but it’s still a thrill to be strapped into a wing on wheels with little to no safety equipment.

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2 Responses to VIDEO: Nissan R381 “Monster Bird” at Fuji Speedway

  1. BlitzPig says:

    Parade laps,

    So sad,

  2. GT R380 says:

    “GIVE IT THE BERRIES SON!!”
    Built at Moon Eyes Japan…… really? Didn’t Sakurai san source the finished 327’s from Dean Moon in SoCal? Was Mooneyes Japan even established in 1968?

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