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Group C. The most beautiful racing machines ever. Thanks for the ride Ben!

The wastegates "jammed shut". Such an unanticipated malfunction. So fortunate it only happened during qualifying. No idea how that happened. So mysterious.

The engine from the R90CK is the basis for all modern McLaren engines. They purchased the blueprints from Nissan.

Even by today's standards, that top speed of the Nissan is still crazy 😲😲

McLaren's current V8 dates back to the V8 used in the R90. Every modern McLaren, from the 2011 MP4-12C to the P1 to the 720S is powered by a single family of twin turbo V8s. This engine didn’t come out of nowhere; it started life in a largely-forgotten supercar from Nissan. This is the Nissan VRH35L. It’s a twin-turbo 3.5 liter aluminum V8 used for endurance racing at Le Mans, the final line of development of Nissan’s VRH35 architecture that debuted in ‘89. Nissan and Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) put the VRH35L together for their entry into the madcap GT1 category back in 1997 in the R390 GT1. Early on in the development of the old MP4-12C, McLaren picked out the VRH35 for the basis of its engine program and bought the rights to it from TWR, as Car and Driver reported at the time. McLaren and their engine builder Ricardo did a great deal of work to the design and basically made the thing their own, renaming it the M838T. Edited for more context. Source: Jalopnik

Protect Ben Collins at all costs, this man is beyond a national treasure. Definitely more worthy of knightship than 90% of the "Sirs"

That's not a blow off valve Ben. That's compressor surge. Also it sounds incredible.

That flutter sound is actually compressor surge. Most of the earlier race cars didnt use blow-off valves to keep the boost pressure in between shifts. Im sure they went through many turbos throughout their race season.

Great to see someone with the years of experience and multitude of cars driven, still getting the buzz from driving these cars and taking us along for the ride. Brilliant

"bloody hell" sums up perfectly i guess

YESSS! This Nissan R89/R90/R91 is - in my view - the pinnacle of Group C racecars and probably one of the most beautiful and brutal cars ever made! The shape is just perfect, not an unsightly line or curve in sight, evoking exactly the emotions that a super-fast Group C car should. In terms of sheer looks and sound this stands head and shoulders above all modern (year 2000 onwards) Le Mans Prototypes. I hope it fetches the good high price it deserves at the auction, and most importantly to a new owner who will give it the right love and care and will keep sharing it with the world, at Goodwood Festival Of Speed for example. Mega-car! Was looking forward to this video Ben, thank you so much for sharing with us!

Hearing Ben cackle at the beginning knowing he was the stig for a while is just awesome. Cool vid as always thanks for it Ben and company

I want to go back in time and tell myself from the mid 2000s that one day, the Stig will be hosting his own show, just to see my own reaction.

3:01 that's not the "pop-off valve" it's reversion through the turbo compressor .. 3:07 and that's not what a wastegate does .. that's the pop-off valve 😄

I heard someone once say that "..they couldn't let the Stig speak because of they had, he'd have run away with the show.." I'm sure it was the commentors personal jokey opinion, but I couldn't agree more. Each video from this channel is a treat and Ben is obviously a natural.

Ben the amount of Top Quality videos you have been putting lately is nothing short of Impressive , But this video and especially that insane car tops them all ( personal opinion ) . Keep up the great work Ben .

Ben, you got the best job in the world! I've been driving the R92CP in Gran Turismo 7 on my PS VR2 in my simpit and it's the closest I'll ever get to these Group C monsters! I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thank you! 🙏🏾

Awesome as always.Thanks for sharing and taking us along

I've seen this car in pictures and grainy video but to see it like this it looks amazing and more modern than i could imagine.

Been searching of a video like this of the R90CK for years… Thank you !

After years of watching you drive and having no idea who you were (TG) the way in which you drive is very nostalgic to me. Pure control, I almost feel as if they missed a trick not having you commentate while driving. Utter joy to watch Ben. From someone who may never get the chance to drive on track, thank you.

I remember building this car in the Lola factory at 19 years of age, we built about 9 of them if I recall, mostly for the Nissan Factory Group C team, some for Nismo Japan, and a few for NPT Automotive in the USA. To this day I have a blocked tear duct in my left eye from spending about 6 hours laying upside down with my head in the footwell, grinding carbon fibre away to fit the steering rack! I looked like a coal miner by the time I finished! 😂 I used to sit in the car sometimes in the workshop, as a Formula Ford 1600 racer, wondering if I'd ever get to drive it. Sadly not, but this is one of the best features I've ever seen of the car, well done you lucky git! 😂

Another great video! I love the sound of that Nissan. Thanks Ben!

Love the video Ben! Thanks for sharing!!!

Dear Mr. Collins, I have to say „Thank you“ for making the last two episodes of „Ben Collins Drives“, cause they literally melted my petrolhead heart 😍😍😍 This Nissan R90CK was my all time favorite of that era, and I hade quite a few posters of it in my room, and always was dreaming about one day having a go in it… For sure, this day will never come, but I‘m okay with that cause my most favorite racing driver or „test driver“ of my most favorite TV show named „Top Gear“ (maybe you‘ve heard about that show 🤪) had a blast in it and so you made me smile from one ear to another 😁 Back in the days of Stig, I had to download every episode of Top Gear because the show sadly never aired in Germany at that time, so every time the show was broadcasted in the UK I waited till the first download was available and then I sat in front of my TV with my mouth wide open and always thought „Man, this Stig is really good“… 🥴😉 Fun fact, I worked at that time for a German TV show called „Abenteuer Auto“, we always tried to do stuff like you did on TG, but we didn’t have the budget and most importantly no Stig, but anyhow we had over 12 years a lot of fun. And at that time I worked with a guy who filmed the episodes where you competed against another German TV Show, driving against Sabine Schmitz in double-decker cars, if I remember correctly. I am a true petrolhead, and I always admired the enormous talent you had driving cars very fast and always on the edge, but watching you driving always made me smile, till now! 🙏 So again, a big THANK YOU for all the things you did to enjoy people like me, and I wish you all the best! 👍 Best regards from Germany 🇩🇪, Philipp 👋

Amazing video! Love it, keep them coming!

Such a pleasure to watch you Ben. Could watch you talk about cars all day. You could of been a presenter on top gear i reckon. Keep up the great content mate.

Love your commentary Ben; you tell a lot more than pretty much any other driver. And what a beast that Nissan is- still after all these years! Many thanks for the vid!

These are awesome Ben, keep the videos coming man!

Beautiful car, such a great review love your passion and excitement!!

gorgeous video and production, top gear quality presentation. seeing you bang through the gears is such a pleasure!! cheers!!

These machines were absolute beasts, and I can't imagine the heroes driving these. Having Mr. Collins drive this seems like a perfect match to review it. Talking about how he would set it up is such a wonderful dialogue that suits the setting of the car, track and driver in combination with the vintage footage and music.

The car is an absolute monster and incredibly impressive, the turbo also sounds amazing, it must've been fun to drive such a masterpiece

I really enjoy your commentation and the way you talk about the car - very insightful ;) not to mention the car being driven like it should be - great stuff!

Loving the recent uploads, hope theres many more to come 👍🏻

Another great video Ben!! Loving these old Le Mans car videos 👌🏻

Just incredible! 😮😮😮 Could've watched that for an hour 🤘😀

Just one word, Wow !

So glad I found your channel!

What a beast along with the sauber c9 my favourite car ever

Ahhhh! That looks so fun!

Fantastic video Ben, great driving as ever. Thank you for sharing

Epic! One of the best car videos, Ben, amazing car, amazing commentary and driving.

Thank you Sir, Time machine content.

Agreed its a savage car. What an epic video

The audio balancing on this was fantastic. Engine and commentary beautifully combined, and cool music only between scene/mode switching.❤❤

Thanks Mr. Collins for this video ❤

Crazy machine, and that glorious sound!

Nice but still waiting for Mazda 787B 😅🤣

What a badass car.

Awesome car. Fantastic driving. Great stuff!

Another brilliant video, with yet another beast. Love it!

Just playin with it, awesome machine

Glad to see u more active on the channel

great mamories maqnific🔥😍😍🔥

They were mental!!!

savage indeed but a challenge of driving skill another great vid ben keep em coming

It’s a good looking beast.

Beast

That would be a wild ride. What a beast! Lovely sound

Great video - really conveys the raw intensity of this machine. Worth looking at Ben's Porsche 962 video by comparison.

That is class

Always admired this machine!

Very underrated channel! A true Motorsports fan dream.

An amazing car and more so since 1990 was my first trip to Le Mans! I therefore saw this in action along with the Silk Cut Jags. Happy days!!

Such a gorgeous machine! And seeing it going round the track in this video was awe inspiring, not sure what it is but it has such a presence on the tarmac. Unfortunately I was slightly too young to have witnessed this Era, The golden age of Le Mans (In my opinion) but I'm so glad that you are able to show off these works of art before they go up for Auction.

Oh wow RM perfect appointment great PR … most excellent 🎉

You've all become world class at not showing surges of acceleration .

Stunning looking car

Very cool car. Classic jouro turbo faux pas. The noise is most likely compressor stall from the throttle being closed. Wastegates, if open on throttle/load to control boost will usually close with a closing throttle as the control signal to the wastegate reduces with the manifold pressure, which has been reduced by the closed throttle. “Pop off valve” / blow off valve / dump valve can’t be heard in video. If efficient enough you will lose the compressor stall noise and may hear a venting noise on closing throttle depending on how it’s plumbed. Apologies, got caught in a moment of Sunday boredom 😂

The old footage out the windscreen when he's hooning down the straight ... holy moly ... I don't think I've seen something that scary before. Balls of streel to drive that thing in anger. Great that you are getting to drive these big beasts ! Good things happen to good people, right !

The fact that Ben can wrestle this car under control and not get overwhelmed by it shows his racing experience.

some say he has the best channel on yt

Beautiful sound

Total awesomeness ✌️

That “bloody hell” when the turbo spools up is so genuine 😂

Just Wow

THIS is peak Nissan for me in my youth! It's these race cars in this era that made me fall in love with the brand. We didn't get the GT-R in the states, but it's cars like the R90CK that made me want a 300ZX and 240SX in the early 90s.

Hot damn he has his own channel! Instant subscriber, thanks for the content

Such an incredible car! I’d love to see a full lap from the head camera.

Love the look of the Group C cars

Wowsers Amazing Car 👀

Iconic

Auction listing.. Uhh not in my price range. Such a great drive for you. The Stig would be proud.

when the stig says bloody hell, it must be lethal

Wonderful video. I love the Group C Nissan. I have all the 1:18 die-cast Exoto replicas (R89C, R90V, R91CV, R91CK) and I remember Mark Blundell's crazy qualifying pole position. I wish I had the opportunity to drive that kind of beast. Or rather... I wish I had the skills to drive that kind of beast. No, I mean... I wish I had the skills to drive that kind of beast.

What a machine! Lovely car also ;)

lol i love hearing the excitement in your voice

Damn that thing is FAST 😮

One of my favourite Group c monsters. Have done 1000s of km in its sibling the r92cp on gt7. Lovely machine and great video keep it up

Dude thats my fav race car, after the 917.

Hey Ben, wasn't Julian Bailey (test driver at the time) the one who did the Stig's F1 lap around the Top Gear track? I've heard people claim it was Nico Hulkenberg but my understanding was always JB? Awesome video and review!

Great car, but that jacket Ben is pure coolness. Wow 👌

The 90s was the best era for Nissan imo

The R90CK was designed to do two things. First, to be the predominant endurance racer of its era. Second, to make so few concessions to the physical comfort and psychological wellbeing of the driver that getting as far as the end of your driveway risks multiple organ failure, an irrecoverable nervous breakdown, and absolutely no regrets whatsoever.

Ive seen some onboard videos of this car and its sucessors the R91 and R92 and those cars were insanely fast. They go like stink. Absolute missiles. A real handle to drive too.

Beautiful piece of engineering and a privilege to drive Blundells car.

Holy mother of god. I cannot believe top gear didn’t let this man speak. Amazing footage and presentation. Just awesome.

Everything was better in the 90s What a car Thanks for the vid