No, this is not the next-generation GT-R.
What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most famous design houses in the automotive industry than create the ultimate custom sports car. The vehicle you see in the video above started its life as a regular 2018 Nissan GT-R Nismo, but was transformed by Italdesign into the unique GT-R50.
Described as a “GT-R without limits,” the car is finally ready to hit the track and Nissan is showing us what it’s capable of during a session at the famed Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps ahead of the 2018 Spa 24 Hours in Belgium. In fact, this is not the first time we've seen the car in action, as it made eight demonstrative runs at the Festival of Speed in Goodwood earlier this year.
Learn more about the GT-R50:
It’s nice to see that a car which looks almost like a prototype is actually a fully operational track beast – and it’s a very capable one. That’s hardly a surprise, given the upgraded 3.8-liter V6 biturbocharged engine under the hood. It’s massaged to deliver 710 horsepower (529 kilowatts) and 575 pound-feet (780 Newton-meters) of torque, thanks to turbochargers from a GT3 race car, larger intercoolers, high-flow piston jets, revised camshaft profiles, and higher-flow fuel injectors.
But that’s not all, of course. To efficiently channel all the power to the wheels, the six-speed gearbox of the car has been reinforced and is now mated to stronger differentials and heavy-duty driveshafts. Naturally, the suspension has also been revised and now features Bilstein continuously adjustable damping system, while six-piston front and four-piston rear Brembo brakes provide stopping power.
If you’ve missed your chance to see the GT-R50 in Europe at Goodwood, don’t worry – the car is heading to the United States later this month to hit the track at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. This will happen on August 23rd.
Source: Nissan on YouTube