» V8s: New Nissan Altima hits the track

The Nissan Altima that the Kelly Racing stable will use in next year’s V8 Supercars Championship has made its track debut this weekend with team owner/driver Todd Kelly – still recovering from recent shoulder surgery – getting behind the wheel to give the car its maiden shakedown.

The team has partnered with Nissan for next year’s championship, with the Japanese carmaker joining Mercedes as one of two new manufacturers to join the series under its new ‘Car of the Future’ regulations.

After the Altima’s initial shakedown, the team concentrated on some basic aerodynamic evaluation work.

“The car ran absolutely faultlessly. We didn’t have to touch the car at all, which is amazing for it’s first run,” an admittedly emotional Kelly said afterwards.

“The car is in aero test trim, so there are no brake ducts and a lot of the specification that we would race with is not actually what is in the car. The suspension (for aerodynamic testing) is different as well. So I didn’t really tip it into a corner to feel what the car would do.”