You can now buy a $1.6 million Nissan

Monday, 10 December 2018

If you have ever considered buying a Nissan GT-R but thought to yourself 'It's just not ridiculously expensive enough', then you are in luck, because Nissan has just announced a version of the GT-R that is just that.

The Japanese company has confirmed production of the Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign - a concept it revealed at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed - and has opened the official order books for a very limited 50 vehicle run.

And it will cost a rather hefty 990,000 Euros - that's $1.65 million New Zealand dollars, in case you are interested.

The GT-R50 is essentially a concept car for the road, as the exterior is virtually unchanged from the prototype first shown in July at Goodwood, and is based on the latest 441kW/652Nm Nissan GT-R Nismo that you can buy in New Zealand for the comparatively bargain-basement price of just $308,000.

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Thankfully you can choose your own colour combinations for the GT-R50, so all that gold isn't necessary.

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The GT-R50 isn't just a new look - you also get a serious power boost for your $1.65 million.

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But it's not just a visually angried-up version of the Nismo GT-R you will get for your money; Nissan have made the performance angrier too by squeezing even more power and torque out of the twin-turbo V6. 530kW and 780Nm to be precise.

Created to celebrate the 50th anniversaries of the GT-R in 2019 and Italian design and engineering company Italdesign in 2018, the original concept vehicle was finished in a special gray with gold accents, but customers will be able to select their own colour combinations for the production version. They also will be able to choose interior colours and packages.

In addition to Goodwood, the GT-R50 concept has appeared at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion in the U.S. and Nissan Crossing in Tokyo's Ginza district.

It is currently on display at the Nissan Gallery in Yokohama.

'The reaction from Nissan fans around the world - and potential customers of the GT-R50 - has greatly exceeded our expectations,' said Bob Laishley, global sports car program director at Nissan.

'These 50 cars, which celebrate 50 years of the GT-R as well as 50 years of Italdesign, will be rolling tributes to Nissan's engineering leadership and rich sports car heritage for a long time to come.'

The company says that should you wish to purchase a 1.65 million dollar Nissan, you should visit www.GT-R50.nissan and contact Italdesign to create your own bespoke car, with deliveries beginning in 2019 and continuing through 2020.