The R390 GT1 was jointly developed by Nissan and UK's TWR (President: Tom Walkinshaw). Renown race car designer Tony Southgate participated in designing the car. He formerly designed the Silk Cut Jaguar which went on to beat Nissan's R90 CP, the winner in the 1990 Le Mans race. Last year, he touched up the aerodynamics of the Ferrari 333SP. He remains in constantly close contact with the Le Mans race.

Aerodynamics is the most important part of the design concept of the R390 GT1. Joest Porsche, the winner in last year's Le Mans race, employed a concept to generate strong downward force. This year's MacLaren model borrows from Porsche by greatly extending the front and rear overhang. The R390 GT1, meanwhile, features nearly the same dimensions as these cars with a shorter overhang to reduce the amount of downward force.

Mr. Hagiwara, manager of the Sports Vehicle Development Center, said, "Each team has its own way of thinking about the balance of downward force and drag. In the Le Mans race, downward force will go against you if you increase it too much. If it is too strong, it is sure to create problems with increasing straight speed."
Hagiwara added, "With the R390 GT1, we want to create low drag, so we will proportionally decrease the downward force slightly. The low downward force will surely not be good for the cornering speed. So we will compensate by proportionally increasing the mechanical grip through geometrical optimization of the suspension."

The R390 GT1, at 1,000 kg, is relatively light compared to its competitors. A lighter car means better maneuvering through turns. "A low drag on the straight-away doesn't necessarily mean the car will be overwhelmingly fast. Because we're obligated to use an air restrictor with a smaller aperture that matches the car weight, it won't prove to be an overwhelming advantage even when compared with the more powerful competitors. But we can recover that with the in-field section, so we've been able to improve our total lap time."

Hagiwara explained about the speed of the R390 GT1. Finally, he had this to say. "The R390 GT1 has a simple construction for high performance. The brakes must be changed because they are well-used during the race. The exchange time is quick for this type of car. And the suspension can be easily repaired and adjusted as long as the body panel is removed."

Speed alone won't win this 24-hour long race. Shortening the pit time has also been important for the R390 GT1.