Quote:
Originally Posted by Zaggeron
You are right that there were exceptiions, but in general the manufacturers kept to their agreement. They had higher horsepower models built for their racing series. Also, there were some special "one-off" versions of some of the cars that exceeded this limit and sometimes the advertised horse power was at that limit, but the actual HP was greater
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it wasn't even a gentlemans agreement, that's more of a rumor, then truth. It was more about JGTC rulings with the GT300 class racing..
The JGTC or All-Japan Grand Touring Championship (I hate to say it, but if you've ever played Gran Turismo 2 or 3 then you'll recognize the name VERY quickly) is a prestigious race series in Japan, similar to our NASCAR in popularity. It was created in 1994 and it's governing body the GT-A has VERY strict rules/regulations. The JGTC is seperated into 2 classes the GT 500 & GT 300; the numbers designate the ROUGH hp limits for cars competing in those classes. Motor swaps are restricted to the same manufacturer and the car's body MUST be mostly stock and functional. Aero mods and suspension tweaks are the very limit of what is allowed, so in essence it is mostly stock VS stock, especially in the GT 300 class; are you beginning to see the picture?
While anything from Vipers to Ferraris to Lambos compete in the GT 500, the 300 is more homegrown. The cars that traditionally competed in the GT 300 class were the cream-of-the-crop of all of the Japanese auto manufacturers, and it's line-up consisted of cars like the Mazda FD-3S RX-7, the Mitsu 3000 GT (GTO) and after wards the EVO, the Nissan 300ZX & Skyline, the Honda NSX, the Toyota Supra, and a few others. Ok, now are you seeing a logical trend here?!?
The JDM manufacturers wanted each of their flagship cars to be able to compete against one another without engine modification within the limits of the GT 300 Class horsepower limitations, so they all "claimed" that none of their cars made over 280 hp at the crank (but most of them underrated their vehicle's capabilities, in essense they all cheated). What better way to advertise your flagship car and prove that yours is better than your competitors than by having your mostly stock sportscar kick theirs' *** in the most prestigious, most watched racing circuit in all of Japan?!? It also made it easier for a potential team/owner to field a GT 300 Class car instead of a 500 because it was much cheaper since no engine mods would be needed. That made the GT 300 more popular than the GT 500, although the "big brother" Class attracted fans of the exotics.