Nissan marks GT-R’s 50th with Italdesign one-off
Nissan’s GT-R turns 50 this year, as does Italdesign, the styling firm founded by the legendary Giorgetto Giugiaro (and now owned by Audi). To celebrate, the two companies collaborated on a one-off Nismo-based sports car, the GTR50, with a tuned 720-horsepower engine under the hood.
The radically styled super-sports car was penned in-house by Nissan European and North American design teams, with Italdesign handling development, engineering and production.
A million minor tweaks are overshadowed by a few large ones: the gold-coloured highlights, lowered roof, and larger hood bulge for a start, as well as the unique headlight and tail-light treatments and large adjustable wing.
Alcantara, gold, and carbon fibre surround the driver, as does a futuristic dashboard. The power bump of the 3.8-litre V-6 comes from two GT3-spec turbochargers, refreshed internals and cams, and higher-flow intake and exhausts.
Variable shock absorbers see the suspension improved, and Michelin wrapped the rubber around the custom 21-inch wheels.
There aren’t any plans to put the GT-R50 into production.