Moncalieri, Italy - Italdesign has whipped the covers off the first customer version of its long-awaited Nissan GT-R50, and the finished product remains true to the prototypes that have been captivating car enthusiasts since 2018.
The Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign is also true to its name, in the sense that just 50 of them will be produced, with the first customer deliveries expected in late 2020 or early 2021, with the Covid-19 crisis having delayed things a bit.
But this is not just a pretty face - the GT-R50 is also significantly more powerful than the stock GT-R. Its 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine has been heavily modified by Nismo to produce 530kW at 7100rpm and 780Nm from 3600rpm - which is 100kW more than the ‘regular’ Nismo GT-R. Among other performance enhancing mods, the GT-R50 has larger-diameter racing-spec turbos and bigger intercoolers as well as a heavy-duty crankshaft and special pistons with high-flow oil jets.
Power goes to all four wheels through a reinforced dual-clutch sequential six-speed gearbox and beefed-up differentials.
"This is a very special day after extremely difficult weeks for everyone,” Italdesign CEO Jörg Astalosch explained.
“After we had to cancel the world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show, and following the partial stop of our production activities due to Covid-19, we have become 100 percent operational again, and we can confirm the delivery of the first cars between the end of this year and early 2021, as planned.
“It is no coincidence that we presented the car from the Tazio Nuvolari circuit: it is where we routinely process all dynamic tests necessary for vehicles type approval for the different markets and we are about to conclude the ones for our GT-R50.”