GT-R50 concept has been developed to celebrate 50 years of the iconic sports car and the famous Italian design house.
Is Nissan running out of ideas?
For the first time ever, Nissan has teamed up with Italdesign in developing a concept car called GT-R50, which will premiere in Europe next month.
The show car has been created to celebrate 50 years of the iconic sports car and the famous Italian design house.
Nissan points out that the joint development has been carried out to showcase the engineering prowess of both firms over the past five decades.
The GT-R50 is based on the showroom-ready GT-R Nismo but boasts new bodywork that makes it 54mm lower and nearly 100mm longer and wider.
Note the gold accents around the car such as on the front grille, bonnet vents, side-view mirrors, side gills and rear deck. The GT-R’s classic circular rear lamps have been given a “floating” appearance.
The cabin has also been retailored for an even sportier feel thanks to the extensive use of suede leather, carbonfibre trim, bucket seats and minimalist door handles.
Has the power been ramped up?
The GT-R50 is not only a design exercise but also a technical venture. By using technologies from the racing track, the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 produces 720hp and 780Nm, up from the Nismo’s 600hp and 650Nm ratings.
This has been made possible via bigger turbochargers, intercoolers and other engine parts engineered for heavy-duty use. The six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and all-wheel drive hardware have also been strengthened.
To cope with the increased performance, the GT-R50 gets Bilstein dampers, Brembo brakes and Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres rimming 21-inch wheels.
No performance figures have been revealed.
Can this point to the next GT-R?
Nissan stresses that the GT-R50 isn’t a preview of the next-generation GT-R and, as said earlier, is merely an experimentation between Japanese design and Italian coachbuilding.
The modified drivetrain could show the GT-R’s potential before an all-new model appears by 2020.
Although today’s GT-R is a decade old in its current generation, it has set the bar so high in performance terms that so many other supercars still find its sub-3.0sec 0-100kph acceleration time hard to beat.
At the moment, only multi-million baht, limitedly produced hypercars are capable of offering such scintillating acceleration. In standard form, the GT-R currently costs 13.5 million baht in Thailand.
