The R89C was the result of Nissan's effort to compete in the 1989 World Sportscar Championship season in the Group C category. The race car progressed from Nissan’s previous generation into a new Lola chassis and twin-turbo VRH35 engine, 3.5L V8 DOHC. Unfortunately, race tuning, reliability and track set-up was slowly being optimized and results suffered. The R89C, as a whole, was an unsuccessful race car for Nissan reaching its most prestigious position of 3rd place in both Donington Park and Spa Francorchaps. They never finished the 1989 24 hours of Le Mans due to engine failures and crashes, eventually finishing 5th in the 1989 championship. All wasn't for nothing and the lessons learned from the R89C were put to good use in the very successful future.