Nissan Opens Orders for $1.1 Million, 710-HP GT-R50 Italdesign
Is it Nissan’s farewell to the R35 GT-R, or is it a glimpse of the R36? Doesn’t matter—it’s both gorgeous and knock-your-socks-off fast.
Nissan announced Friday that orders for its exotic GT-R50 by Italdesign, limited to 50 units, are now open.
The Japanese automaker revealed the car at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed in July to celebrate the 50th anniversary (hence the name and production number) of the GT-R nameplate, first appearing on the original Skyline GT-R as revealed at the 1968 Tokyo Motor Show.
Nissan based the GT-R50 on a 2018 model year GT-R Nismo, but crammed a multitude of parts developed by its GT3 program into the engine. Thus, the GT-R50 can slam down 710 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque—145 more horsepower and 108 pound-feet more than a base GT-R.
"The reaction from Nissan fans around the world—and potential customers of the GT-R50—has greatly exceeded our expectations," stated sports car program director Bob Laishley. "These 50 cars, which celebrate 50 years of the GT-R as well as 50 years of Italdesign, will be rolling tributes to Nissan's engineering leadership and rich sports car heritage for a long time to come."
Nissan will sell just 50 of the supercars to the first of those who place a reservation either with Italdesign or through the model's standalone website. Buying one requires €990,000 EUR, or almost $1.13 million USD, which is enough to buy 11 base model 2019 GT-Rs. The GT-R50 will certainly attract at least 11 times as many stares as a GT-R does, though, so the money spent there may be worthwhile.
