These days, passenger cars in general, and sports cars in particular feel like an endangered species. And it is all ‘thanks’ to the assault of crossovers, SUVs, and trucks, plus the EV revolution. But, sometimes, legends like the Mustang and GT-R could not care less about all that.
The Japanese automaker, for example, recently announced the 2024 model year refresh for the iconic R35 GT-R grand tourer with lots of goodies and the same amount of power. However, since deliveries have not started yet, it did not have anything to do with the carmaker’s solid Q1 results in the United States, where its deliveries soared by no less than 17.3%. Instead, it was all on the back of five crossover and SUV highlights.
The Blue Oval company, meanwhile, has no reasons to complain, either. Well, other than the fact that its EV division is projected to lose $3 billion during the current year. Their sales might compensate, as the namesake Ford brand has become America’s best-selling marque after the first three months of 2023. Hey, and it was not all due to CUVs, SUVs, and trucks (like the F-Series and Maverick). Instead, even the legendary Mustang retook its crown that was lost in 2022 to Dodge’s Challenger.
So, at least for now, it seems these two representatives of traditional sectors of passenger cars are pretty safe from the outside world. But how about from each other? Well, in the real world, there are slim chances for a real Mustang to get all jiggly with an R35 Nissan GT-R. However, when it comes to Shelby GT500 and Nismo brawls, things might start to change – especially if you are at the local quarter-mile dragstrip venue.
As for the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, anything is possible, frankly. Including seeing a thoroughly modified Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 calmly standing in CGI by the side of a hypothetical R36 Nissan GT-R Nismo, which is also highly tuned, customized, and personalized. Well, it is all fake and has arrived from a digital parallel universe courtesy of Evrim Ozgun, a Turkish virtual automotive designer, who has recently decided to compare two cars that are like apples and oranges but might one day duke it out, nevertheless.
In the past, the pixel master has toyed with the idea of creating an all-new R36 iteration for the beloved Nissan GT-R Nismo on several occasions – and even placed it in the company of the iconic R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R for good CGI measure. The tuned Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, on the other hand, was also a recurring creation for the digital expert, and it also had its own encounters of the third degree – including with a superbly modded Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. Now, though, this certainly feels like the ultimate supercar versus muscle car gathering, all slammed and wide-bodied!
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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