Kelly to run stunning Perkins tribute at Bathurst

The lead factory Nissan will run its second Perkins-inspired Castrol livery in as many race weekends, backing up the retro round effort with an impressive throwback to 1993.

The livery, complete with switch to Perkins' famous #11, pay tribute to the 25th anniversary of the Aussie Touring Car great's Bathurst win alongside Gregg Hansford in a Perkins Engineering VP Commodore.

The 'sawtooth' design didn't just triumph in '93 either, Perkins having carried a similar look for his Mount Panorama wins alongside Russell Ingall in '95 and '97 as well.

Perkins and the Nissan Motorsport outfit aren't just linked through a mutual sponsor, the Kelly Brothers-run team having taken over much of the old Perkins Engineering team back in 2009.

According to Kelly, having Perkins personally give the livery the thumbs up was a special moment.

"Larry is a real legend of our sport and a lot of his most famous moments were at Bathurst,” said Kelly.

“To win three times in fives years is a remarkable performance.

"This livery is a definitely a fan favourite and something I am honoured to be racing in. I hope 2018 will be the fourth victory for this design.

“It was a special moment to have Larry walk in to his old workshop to see the car. I grew up watching Larry race and this is without doubt one of the key highlights of my career sharing this moment with him.”