By building the GT-R50, Nissan and Italdesign have cemented their first-ever collaboration, centered around a prototype that could very well lead to a run of 50 hand-built limited edition production supercars.
The prototype also celebrates two anniversaries – 50 years of the GT-R in 2019 and 50 years of Italdesign, as of 2018. As for what makes the GT-R50 prototype special, let’s just say that it’s a great number of things, from the craftsmanship to the NISMO-beating performance.
“Underneath its design, it hides something unique and very special,” stated the head of special vehicles at Italdesign, Federico Ferrero. “It’s the knowledge and the hands of skilled men, who’ve been building cars for decades, that brought the concept and its challenging and unique design to reality.”
Visually, the GT-R50 boasts gold detailing front and rear, a new hood with a beefier power bulge, thin LED headlights, a lower roofline, floating taillights, custom 21-inch wheels and a Liquid Kinetic Gray paint job. Inside, the infotainment screen was removed in favor of a cleaner look, while the center console, instrument panel and door linings feature carbon finishes. As for the seats, they feature black leather and Alcantara.
The 3.8-liter twin turbo V6 NISMO engine, which is mated to a six-speed dual-clutch automatic, was upgraded with larger GT3 competition-spec turbos, larger intercoolers, heavy-duty crankshaft, pistons, connecting rods and bearings, high-flow piston oil jets, revised camshaft profiles, higher-flow fuel injectors and an optimized intake and exhaust.
Add it all together and you get 720 PS (710 HP) and 780 Nm (575 lb-ft) of torque. That’s McLaren 720S territory.