Exclusive Nissan GT-R50 By Italdesign Set For World Debut At Goodwood

July 12, 2018 by Nissan

Collaboration between Nissan and Italdesign reimagines Nissan's GT-R as a custom-bodied, €900,000 (est.) ultralimited supercar

YOKOHAMA, Japan and TURIN, Italy (July 12, 2018) – The Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign will make its world debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Chichester, England, on July 12.

The first-ever collaboration between Nissan and Italdesign, the GT-R50 prototype shown at Goodwood could become the blueprint for an extremely limited run of hand-built production vehicles. The vehicle commemorates the 50th anniversaries of both the GT-R, in 2019, and Italdesign, in 2018.

'The Goodwood Festival of Speed is the ideal setting to showcase the Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign, which combines power and artistry to celebrate 50 years of inspiring the dreams of our customers,' said Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan's senior vice president of global design. 'Just like the prototype itself, Goodwood is a celebration of design, performance, a little indulgence and a lot of love of historic and future automotive creativity. It's the perfect setting to showcase a unique vehicle that will stir the imagination of people to dream even bigger.'

Pending the GT-R50 by Italdesign's reception at Goodwood and other global appearances in the coming months, a customer version inspired by the prototype may be created. No more than 50 units would be produced by Italdesign – with each car tailored for each customer – with a price estimated to start at about €900,000.

Precision + craftsmanship + brute force

The Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign starts with Nissan's latest GT-R NISMO and re-interprets it with a European-style sensibility – combining brute force with Italian craftsmanship and tailoring. With a special power plant that boasts up to 120PS over the stock engine, as well as chassis and driveline upgrades, performance backs up the new look.

Italdesign developed, engineered and built the car. The distinctive, crisp exterior and interior designs originated from Nissan Design Europe and Nissan Design America. Key design features include a pronounced power bulge on the hood, stretched LED headlights, a lowered roofline, and prominent 'samurai blade' cooling outlets behind the front wheels. A large, adjustable rear wing, mounted with two uprights, completes the overall look. The exterior is finished in a Liquid Kinetic Gray color, with distinctive Energetic Sigma Gold anniversary accents.

Inside, the Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign reflects its modern, high-performance pedigree. Two different carbon fiber finishes are extensively used across the center console, instrument panel and door linings. The seats feature black Alcantara® and fine black Italian leather. Gold accents echo the exterior treatment throughout the cockpit.

Underneath its new shape, the Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign is all business. Drawing on Nissan's extensive GT3 racing experience, the NISMO organization enhanced the hand-assembled 3.8-liter V6 VR38DETT engine to produce an estimated 720PS and 780 Nm of torque. A revised Bilstein suspension damping system and upgraded Brembo braking system help handle the extra power.

'At Italdesign, we have a long history of making our customers' dreams come true. By joining forces now with our partners at Nissan, we brought a true GT-R fantasy to life,' said Joerg Astalosch, CEO of Italdesign-Giugiaro S.p.A. 'Together, we have the target that soon this 'monster' of a vehicle will change the lives of 50 very select enthusiasts. Their wait will soon be over.'

ABOUT NISSAN IN THE UK

•Nissan Sunderland Plant produces the Nissan Qashqai, Juke, Infiniti Q30 and the 100% electric Nissan LEAF

•Production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles began in 2012

•Total plant volume since 1986 stands at more than 9 million units with 80 per cent of production exported to over 100 markets worldwide

•Total investment made and announced since then is over £4.0 billion

•507,436 units were produced at Sunderland plant in 2016

•Employment in Nissan's UK design studio (Paddington, London), technical centre (Cranfield Bedfordshire), manufacturing plant (Sunderland, Tyne and Wear) and sales and marketing operations (Maple Cross, Hertfordshire) now totals more than 8,000.

•A further 28,000 jobs in Nissan's UK supply chain and 4,000 in its UK dealer network takes the total British jobs supported by Nissan to more than 40,000

ABOUT NISSAN IN EUROPE

Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 17,000 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 640,000 vehicles including award-winning crossovers, commercial vehicles and the Nissan LEAF, the world's most popular electric vehicle. Nissan's Intelligent Mobility vision is designed to guide Nissan's product and technology pipeline and this 360 degree approach to the future of mobility will anchor critical company decisions around how cars are powered, how cars are driven, and how cars integrate into society. Nissan is positioned to become the most desirable Asian brand in Europe. http://www.newsroom.nissan-europe.com

About Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2017, the company sold 5.77 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 11.9 trillion yen. On April 1, 2017, the company embarked on Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, a six-year plan targeting a 30% increase in annualized revenues to 16.5 trillion yen by the end of fiscal 2022, along with cumulative free cash flow of 2.5 trillion yen. As part of Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, the company plans to extend its leadership in electric vehicles, symbolized by the world's best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: Asia & Oceania; Africa, the Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America; and North America. Nissan has a global workforce of 247,500 and has been partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999. In 2016, Nissan acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is today the world's largest automotive partnership, with combined sales of more than 10.6 million vehicles in calendar year 2017.

For more information about our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit nissan-global.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram,Twitter and LinkedIn and see all our latest videos on YouTube.

About Italdesign

2018 marks Italdesign's 50th anniversary since its foundation, on February 13, 1968.

Italdesign is one of the world's leading companies in the provision of development services for the automotive industry. A HQs covering over 50.000 sq. m., 1000 workforce in Italy and abroad, since its inception, the mission of the company has been providing a wide range of services dedicated to the development of new vehicles. With its fifty-year experience, Italdesign works closely with car makers starting from the first product definition to the start of production and companies in the sector can benefit from the company's consultancy services for turnkey projects, covering all the phases through the development of styling, concept and vehicle architecture, series engineering, simulation, prototyping, testing and final production tuning. In addition, Italdesign can provide services for shorter projects covering only a part of the overall vehicle development cycle. Italdesign has been a part of the Volkswagen Group since 2010.

In 2017 Italdesign launches 'Italdesign Automobili Speciali', the new brand distinguishing all the cars produced in ultra-limited series by the company only for selected collectors

In 2016, 2017 and 2018 Italdesign awarded Top Employer in Italy. Further information is available at www.italdesign.it

Photo credit: Nissan
posted on conceptcarz.com