GT-R NISMO

Make
Nissan
Segment
Coupe

In 2018, a one-off concept called the Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign was unveiled in celebration of half a century of existence for both the Skyline and the Italian design house. But following its debut at that year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, there appeared to be enough demand for the unique take on the Nissan GT-R to be produced in limited numbers. Just 50 were set to be built by hand at a price of €900,000, which at the time worked out to a little over $1.1 million. Thanks to the global pandemic, production took even longer than expected, with order books closing in July of this year. Now, one of those examples has come up for sale.

It's on offer at Legendary Motor Car in Canada and features optional Liquid Silver Metallic paint with Nismo Red accents. According to the company's listing, this was a €25,000 option, which is around the same in today's dollars. Whoever commissioned this example clearly was not short on funds and spent an additional €35,000 (almost $35,000) on the optional hydraulic rear wing. It seems that the owner added these options simply to add value, as the listing states that "this GT-R50 is still brand new, having never been driven with only delivery mileage." What a crying shame. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't drive it. Or should you?

On the one hand, the GT-R50 by Italdesign is sure to be exciting to drive. The 3.8-liter VR38DETT twin-turbo V6 engine was upgraded to 710 horsepower, which puts even the GT-R Nismo to shame - that car was capped at just 600 ponies. The engine of the GT-R50 features bigger turbos, larger intercoolers, higher-flow injectors, and much more, while the differentials were strengthened, and the suspension was enhanced with Bilstein DampTronic I continuously adjustable dampers. It's surely a riot to drive, but there's a problem. Not only is this one of just 50 ever meant to be produced, but the listing also claims that this example is number 11 of just 19 produced. How is that possible?

It seems that Nissan failed to secure enough orders for the coachbuilt supercar. Or perhaps those supply issues caused by the pandemic were just too much for some buyers to deal with, and some orders may have been canceled. After all, deliveries of the car only began in November of last year, and at the time, Italdesign only showed us six customer cars plus one test vehicle. If it's true that just 19 were produced, then the car is rarer than anticipated, and that will likely mean a generous payday for the seller. As for how generous that payday could be, we have no idea - the listing doesn't include a price, but we're sure the seller is looking for seven figures.