There’s no contesting the appeal of the Nissan GT-R, one of the most coveted high-performance cars still in existence. Add to a stock GT-R the NISMO treatment, and what you get is one of the greatest cars in history.
Next year, Nissan is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the model, produced from 1969 as a version of the Skyline coupe. At the same time, Italian-design house Italdesign is celebrating half a century of existence as well.
As a means to celebrate both the anniversaries, the two companies partnered for the first time to create a unique model they would call Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign.
The basis of the prototype is a NISMO version of the GT-R equipped with the 3.8-liter VR38DETT engine developing 720 PS. Of course, no modifications were made by the Italians to the powertrain, but Nissan did tweak it to get the increase in power.
A revised suspension has been developed for the model, and Brembo six-piston front and four-piston rear brakes have been added as well.
The visual changes are extensive, and yes, the car now features golden cues. The most important modification is the roofline that is now 54 millimeters lower than the original and features a lower center section and raised outer portions to “give the roof profile a muscular look.“
Changes in design have been made to the cooling outlets behind the front wheels, shoulder line tapers, and the rear window line.
Nissan says the model presented on Thursday is not a preview of a future GT-R model. There’s also no information on whether the prototype will get produced, even in limited numbers. Italdesign does manufacture ultra-limited series cars created for selected collectors.
"Although this is not the next-generation GT-R, it is an exciting celebration of two anniversaries in a provocative and creative way – wrapping one of Nissan's best engineering platforms and Japanese design with Italian coachbuilding," said in a statement Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan’s senior vice president for global design.
Full details of the Nissan GT-R by Italdesign Prototype are included in the document attached below.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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