Grove: Williams and Nismo to collaborate in development of high-performance vehicles

Williams Advanced Engineering has announced a new collaboration with Nismo, the performance-orientated brand of Nissan, to partner in the development of high-performance road cars. 

Williams Advanced Engineering will join the engineering development team from Nismo currently working on developing future Nismo products for launch worldwide from 2014 and beyond.

This new collaboration will help accelerate the growth of the Nismo brand across the globe and enhance Nissan’s reputation for innovation by incorporating cutting-edge Formula One-based technologies and processes into Nissan’s high-performance road cars.

Williams Advanced Engineering is the division of the Williams Group that commercialises Formula One-based technologies and know-how. It has a track record of bringing high-performance road and race cars to market with short lead times and was chosen by Nissan because of its expertise in areas such as aerodynamics, simulation and material science.

Sir Frank Williams, founder and team principal, said: “Williams Advanced Engineering has a history of developing world-class, high-performance products and this agreement is particularly exciting because of the ambition and potential of the Nismo brand. Both parties share a passion for racing and cutting-edge technology and this collaboration will see us work closely together to develop cars that will be at the forefront of automotive technology.”

Commenting on the announcement, Shoichi Miyatani, president of Nismo, said: “Nismo is a brand built from over 30 years of racing experience and so it is fitting that we chose to work with a like-minded company such as Williams to develop the higher-performance versions of our products. Williams has a proven history of making racing technology benefit road cars, and we look forward to starting this relationship during a period of intensive product development for Nismo.”