italdesign

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ItalDesign begins delivering exclusive 710-hp Nissan GT-R50

Italian design house ItalDesign has reached a major milestone. It has finished building the first five examples of the GT-R50, a limited-edition supercar based on the GT-R and developed jointly with Nissan, and it has sent the initial batch of cars to customers around the world.

Unveiled as a concept in June 2018, and introduced as a production model in December of that year, the GT-R50 was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of both ItalDesign and the GT-R. It’s clearly an evolution of Godzilla, but it wears a specific design that gives it a more futuristic look than the regular-production car. Each coupe is tailor-made by hand in Turin, Italy, and the firm notes that it won’t build two identical units. Customers are invited to configure their car by selecting the exterior paint and the interior materials, among other details.

One of the first cars draws inspiration from the GT-R show car presented in 1972; ItalDesign developed a paint color called Verde Kenmeri specifically for it. Two of the others look a lot like the concept presented to the public at the 2018 edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Production is limited to 50 units globally; it will be interesting to see how the rest of the series is configured. And, while we’re not expecting to see a GT-R50 with 200,000 miles cross the auction block in 2030, it’s a model that meets the same standards as the regular GT-R. Nismo notably participated in the development process to ensure the GT-R50 delivers performance and reliability on par with the GT-R. This was easier said than done: about 12% of the parts that make up the 710-horsepower engine are new, including the turbochargers, the pistons, the connecting rods, and the crankshaft. Lessons learned from years of racing in the GT3 category helped shape many of the changes.

ItalDesign hasn’t revealed if there are build slots left. If you’re interested, keep in mind the GT-R50 carries a base price of $1,126,799.

November 4, 2021 / Comments Off

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Italdesign Reveals the DaVinci Concept in Geneva

Dedicated to Leonardo DaVinci

The DaVinci concept is a unique GT car from the Italian coachbuilder Italdesign. The vehicle is a homage to the true genius of Leonardo DaVinci. The car has a unique and super sleek design and a modern fully electric powertrain. The innovative design is special because it can be modified to house an internal combustion engine if needed or wanted.

The DaVinci as it’s shown at the Geneva Motor Show has an all-electric powertrain with two electric motors. If you were to put an internal combustion in the vehicle, Italdesign has a 4.0-liter V8 that will fit in there. Fitting that engine in there doesn’t change the car’s design at all, which is a good thing because it’s so attractive.

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The Italdesign DaVinci is a pretty big car. It’s about the same size as a BMW 8-Series Coupe. It’s long, elegant, and sporty with some fantastic-looking gullwing doors. The interior is a technophile’s delight with three well-placed screens and a generally futuristic feel.

The DaVinci is just a concept. Italdesign made a point to say that it could be put into production with minimal changes to the design. Italdesign also says the design can fit many platforms that automakers already have, which should make it even more production viable. Overall it sounds like a super smart feat of engineering and design. We’d love to see a production version of the vehicle and its flexible design sounds exactly like what many automakers are looking for these days.

March 6, 2019 / Comments Off

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Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign production version shown, will cost over $1 million

The final design for a production Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign is done, and Nissan has officially opened the order books for the limited-run vehicle. Thankfully, the production version is just as stunning as the prototype because Nissan didn’t change much of anything.

This blue/gold color combination shown here is but an example of what a customer could special order for the 50th anniversary GT-R — you can have whatever you want. Interior colors and packages will be completely customizable as well. The base price for the GT-R50 is $1,126,799 converted from Euros — and that’s before you add any options. That number is over $100,000 more than the first estimate Nissan gave us back in July of this year. We don’t imagine that price increase will bother any of the über-rich who plan to buy one of these anyway.

Nissan didn’t specify any change in performance from what it revealed to us at its debut. The car is essentially a GT-R Nismo with all the bodywork done by Italdesign. The 3.8-liter V6 gets the larger turbos from Nissan’s GT3-class race car, beefier internals, more aggressive cams and larger intercoolers. All this allows it to make an extra 110 horsepower and 94 pound-feet of torque over your run-of-the-mill GT-R Nismo.

Stronger differentials and axles are fitted to better handle hard launches. Bigger six-piston Brembo brake calipers up front and four-piston clampers in the rear bring it all to a stop, while active Bilstein dampers soak up the bumps.

If you want to get your hands on one of these, it’s not going to be easy. There are only 50 set for world production, and we can be sure that a fair amount will end up in Asia and Europe. Now’s your chance to buy a Nissan for over $1 million.

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December 7, 2018 / Comments Off

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Nissan GT-R50 By Italdesign

On its own, Nissan already does a fine job with its automotive designs. However, in order to celebrate its 50^th anniversary, the Japanese carmaker decided to go a little overboard—but in a good way. Meanwhile, Italdesign, a design and engineering company based in Moncalieri, Italy, is likewise in its 50^th year in existence. The two agreed to combine their respective prowess to give us the GT-R50.

We are always pumped to see bold new designs presented by automakers, but these often end up as a concept or one-off models only. Hence, we were delighted to know that Nissan and Italdesign will push this beauty into production. What makes it even more exciting is the fact that no one was expecting another version to follow the recently unveiled 2018 GT-R NISMO variant.

Whoever came up with the idea to throw the Japanese supercar into the skillful hands of some of Europe’s finest automotive designers deserves our praise. They managed to give the GT-R50 a refined appearance that still manages to retain its trademark aggressiveness. It’s coated in black with a splash of gold accents and masterfully given a mix of glossy and matte finishes.

Modifications did not just end with the frame and color scheme. Nissan obviously wants the GT-R50 to be in a class of its own—so Nismo worked its magic to enhance supercar’s 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 engine. The upgrade pushes it past the standard model with 710 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque. Only 50 of these will be manufactured and estimated to cost over $1 million.

Nissan GT-R50 By Italdesign

Photos courtesy of Nissan

September 26, 2018 / Comments Off

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Nissan and Italdesign will build 50 GT-R50s

We’ve got some good and bad news for Nissan GT-R fans. The good news is that stunning Nissan GT-R50 designed by Nissan and Italdesign won’t just be a fancy one-off concept. The companies are prepared to build 50 units of the sports car, provided it’s received well at its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The bad news of course is that there will only be 50 examples of this amazing car.

It’s also going to be eye-wateringly expensive. While a top-rung 2018 Nissan GT-R Nismo starts at $177,185, the GT-R50 will cost an estimated 900,000 euros. At current exchange rates, that’s about $1,060,000. For some additional perspective, that’s more than a McLaren Senna, which comes in just under the $1,000,000 mark.

But this is a seriously exclusive GT-R that marks the important 50th anniversary of the model, and that of Italdesign. It also features radically different styling from a typical GT-R, and each one will be customized to the buyer’s taste. Not only that, but the forged internals, race car turbochargers, upgraded suspension and brakes all ensure this 710-horsepower GT-R is the best performing version of the car to come from Nissan directly. Well, at least the best performing one, so far.

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July 9, 2018 / Comments Off

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Italdesign Zerouno Roadster headed for Geneva Motor Show

It’s not often that Italian design houses sell cars under their own name. Sure, the name Zagato has been tacked onto Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo and Lancia coupes, but it’s rarer for the design house to act as the manufacturer. The last Fiat X1/9s were sold as Bertones, and late, 1980s 124 Spiders were sold as the Pininfarina Spidereuropa, but Italdesign hasn’t sold any cars of their own – until the Zerouno, that is. The company wants to introduce an own-brand model every year on from 2017; the coupe version of the Huracan-related Zerouno was the first.

Italdesign has now confirmed that there will be a convertible version of the Zerouno, and that it will be seen at the Geneva Motor Show. The coupe was only made as a five-unit production run, and it’s likely that there won’t be too many topless versions built. Italdesign is 50 years old this year, and it’s up to the Zerouno roadster to be displayed as a celebratory model. Pricing hasn’t been confirmed either, but reports say the base price is likely to top $1.8 million, and it’ll easily go past two million dollars nicely equipped.

For that money you get exclusivity as well as a 5.2-liter V10 engine good for 205 miles per hour and a 3-second 0-60 blast. Zerounos are all-wheel-drive, with Audi/Lamborghini DNA baked in thanks to the company’s ties to Audi-owned Lamborghini.

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February 21, 2018 / Comments Off

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2017 Pebble Beach Concept Car Lawn: A unique chance to see concepts in one place

A Kia Stinger GT is not a concept car. Neither is the Fux Fuschia McLaren 720S or Lamborghini Huracan Performante. The Maserati Gran Turismo is certainly not – it’s almost a classic at this point. Yet, look beyond some of the questionable inclusions for the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Concept Car Lawn, and you’ll see a diverse selection of concept cars from carmakers ranging from Infiniti and Genesis to Pagani and Aston Martin. Volkswagen even made an appearance with its I.D. Buzz.

It’s always cool to see concept cars outside studio and auto show lights, and Pebble Beach is one of the few opportunities to do so. The cars featured include these notable models:

Enjoy the gallery, and stay tuned for more coverage from Monterey car week.

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August 20, 2017 / Comments Off

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Italdesign wants to start producing more limited-production cars

Italian design firm Italdesign announced today that it will launch its newest brand at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. The new brand is meant for “ultra low series production cars” and is called Italdesign Automobili Speciali. It even gets its own special badge that will appear on cars that Italdesign works on that fit the limited-production model. According to the company, the logo was inspired by the city of Turin’s emblem, which features a bull.

In Italdesign’s press release about the new brand, it brings up examples of cars from its past that are representative of the company’s limited-production work. Specifically it mentions the BMW M1, the spaceship-esque Italdesign Aztec, the BMW Nazca, and the Volkswagen W12 supercar.

The company will also unveil a new car in Geneva, probably baring the new brand’s badge. Thanks to the teaser images Italdesign has been releasing, we can see some particularly radical fender vents and a large wing at the back. Another image has text that hints the car will be one of five built, specifically for collectors. We’ll be sure to let you know all the details of the car when it’s revealed.

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February 15, 2017 / Comments Off

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