THE NISSAN GT-R 50 BY ITALDESIGN FINALLY THRASHED ON TRACK AT THE HANDS OF KEIICHI TSUCHIYA.
The GT-R R35 is an old dog in the automotive game right now. It was first seen way back in 2006 and was released in 2007. There was a lot that made the then all-new GT-R special, mostly that it was a mass-produced saloon that was relatively affordable considering the performance and handling it offered up. Having an easily tunable twin-turbocharged V6 mated to a brilliant all-wheel drive system saw the car become an instant hit with tuners around the world. It wasn’t long before owners could buy upgrade kits from a handful of tuners that were available in power increments of 600 hp, 800 hp and even 1,000 hp and more - the only restriction was the size of your wallet. Here in SA, there are loads of ridiculously fast and powerful ones running around, Nasen Padayachee from Nascar Performance was even seen daily driving an R35 that could run low 8s on the quarter mile. The thing with the GT-R R35 is that while you can still buy a 2023 model (not in SA, Nissan here only offers SUVs and bakkies now, sadly), visually there aren’t many things to differentiate the first models from the new ones. Of course, under the skin, there have been massive changes. That brings us to one version that was a little more special than the rest of them on offer directly from Nissan - the Nissan GT-R 50 by Italdesign. To celebrate the nameplate’s 50th anniversary in 2020, the famed Italian design house was commissioned to produce a limited number production run of an R35 with an updated exterior design. When images of this car were first seen online, fans thought it was a proper Nissan update and that it would be the shape of things to come.
It wasn’t. The plan was to create just 50 of these cars under the name of the Nissan GT-R 50 by Italdesign. Checking that date, 2020, puts this planned project directly in the path of the worldwide pandemic that had an effect on, well, everything. Budgets were cut, components were hard to get and supply chains for just about every industry on the planet were interrupted. As a result, that planned production run of 50 units dropped to just 18. This meant that the created ones instantly became more desirable and their value increased by quite a margin. These cars were up for grabs with a €990,000 price tag or roughly R19,800,000. All 18 models were finished in Liquid Silver Metallic paint which did well to highlight the extreme changes to the bodywork. The roofline was lowered by 54 millimetres, there was an enlarged power bulge on the bonnet, and the headlights were thinner. The rear still features those iconic afterburner taillights, but the new design made them look like they were suspended in mid-air. The interior featured a full retrim with some added badges and logos to identify the special edition. Under the hood, there were a few tweaks that took the twin-turbocharged V6’s power output to 710 hp. The Nissan GT-R 50 was a car you either loved or hated, some thought the design went too far, and others welcomed the change to the long-running production version of the GT-R R35. Until now, these special edition cars have only been seen on display in various collections, but fans wanted to know if they had the bite to match the bark. Jumping to the 2023 instalment of the Rs Meeting at Fuji Speedway, we get to see famed Japanese race driver Keiichi Tsuchiya take one on track to give the car a proper test. Is it better than a regular R35? You tell us.
Take a look at the YouTube video that may be short, but it proves that the 1 of 18 Nissan GT-R 50 by Italdesign can actually be thrashed around a track like the regular production model. To make sure the car returned in one piece, it was given to a legendary Japanese race driver who knows how to track a car better than most - Keiichi Tsuchiya. Check it out: GT-R50 By Italdesign ドリキン土屋圭市 富士スピードウェイ 世界初走行！| GT-RYUKI SPORTS GT-R PRO SHOP
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News On Track Keiichi Tsuchiya Fuji Speedway SXdrv Italdesign GT-R 50 Nissan GT-R 50 Nissan GT-R 50 by Italdesign