If you were looking for conclusive proof that there is a new order in the automotive world, here it is. It started with Korean car makers stealing the game from the Americans and the Europeans. But when Nissan announces the production of a limited-run super exotica, you know things have moved on. Who do Nissan think they are? Ferrari?!
Apparently so. The GT-R50 by Italdesign is Nissan’s ticket into the world of bespoke, highly-customized supercars. It’s like we are having a new era of coachbuilding in the car industry, only it is now available to a wider range of people. Make no mistake, though. This custom GT-R will be produced in strictly limited numbers of just 50 copies. And yes, the price will be so high, you will have to do some serious online betting to afford it.Yep, it’ll cost an eye-watering 990,000 euros before taxes and options!
But if you are a GT-R fan, that’ll probably be worth it. I mean, yes, the car is still very much a Nissan. And yes, it is based on a nearly 12-year old car. But the Italian touch means the GT-R50 by Italdesign is every bit as fabulous to look at as any high-end Euro exotic.You know what it’s like? The Italdesign GT-R is like a mixed race baby if the father was a Scandinavian honk and the mother the prettiest Geisha girl you ever saw.
What Italdesign has done here is more than a mere facelift. They have basically come up with a new body for the car.That is probably why Nissan has the nerve to ask for near as makes no difference a million euros for this thing. Well, that, and the fact that they have also done some serious mechanical work on it. This car features a NISMO-tuned 720 PS engine, so when we say it’s a super car, we mean it. Pair that power with the GT-R’s innate performance characteristic, and you realize this bad boy is a proper speed monster.
Despite all of that, we personally feel that a million euros is too much for something with a Nissan badge. What’s more, if you really fancy this car you can probably get a second-hand GT-R for about 20 or 30 grand and spend another 10 on a custom aftermarket kit that looks just like the one on this car. Basically, what you are paying for here is that brand, Italdesign. Now, if would have been alright if everybody recognized it at first glance. But you have to explain it. You have to tell people no, it really is an Italian design. And yes, it really has cost a million euros. And how uncool is that?
