2018 Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign — Original Prototype

The original GT-R50 by Italdesign was a running anniversary prototype, publicly demonstrated at Goodwood in July 2018. It combined Nissan performance engineering with a distinctive Italdesign body interpretation, celebrating anniversaries occurring in two different years. This profile follows that original development identity. The later customer-series limit is not attached to the prototype as though fifty examples of the show car had already been completed.

Two anniversaries behind one project

Nissan's Goodwood account identifies Italdesign's fiftieth anniversary in 2018 and the GT-R's fiftieth in 2019. The prototype linked those milestones rather than celebrating fifty years of the R35 generation. Keeping the anniversary subjects precise gives the design its historical setting. The number fifty in the name is not itself proof of completed production or a serial number for the original exhibit.

Nissan: documented Goodwood runs and prototype/customer boundary

A public running demonstration

Nissan documented Lucas Ordóñez and Alex Buncombe driving the prototype on the Goodwood hill. That is stronger evidence of a functional demonstrator than a static photograph alone. It still does not establish the present operating state of a later displayed object or a complete individual custody history. A dated running event and a modern condition assessment answer different questions and should retain their own sources.

The 720 PS reference

The manufacturer described the Goodwood vehicle as a 720 PS prototype. That unit and context are retained here rather than converted into an identical horsepower label or assigned to every ordinary GT-R NISMO. The original programme's mechanical development should be distinguished from later customer specifications and subsequent tuning. A database entry gains accuracy by keeping a documented reference rather than adding an unsupported engine-build detail.

Nissan: documented Goodwood runs and prototype/customer boundary

The body as a collaboration

The low roof, distinctive front treatment and strong rear forms made the GT-R50 visibly different from the ordinary R35. Those observations explain why the physical prototype deserves its own archive identity. They do not mean the project started with an entirely unrelated production chassis. The collaboration is best described through manufacturer and designer records rather than treated as a new Nissan generation or an independent Italdesign model family without qualification.

Nissan: documented Goodwood runs and prototype/customer boundary

Prototype and customer series

At Goodwood, Nissan described the possibility of a limited hand-built customer run. That future prospect was not an audit of completed cars. The later customer programme remains a separate inventory subject, with its own announced cap and delivery history to verify. A photograph of the original silver-and-gold design at a later show illustrates the prototype programme without proving the number of customer vehicles built or delivered.

Specifications and identity reference

Rarity and production scope

Verified physical running original GT-R50 prototype programme. The later customer-series allocation is not applied to this Archive identity, and no customer delivery count is inferred from the anniversary name or show appearances.

This is an Archive record. Concepts, restored heritage vehicles, works cars and competition programmes are not added to customer road-production totals. A programme profile does not establish how many physical chassis were made, and repeated exhibition appearances do not create additional vehicles.

What the photograph represents

Original GT-R50 by Italdesign concept photographed at the 2019 New York show. Later display of the 2018 prototype design, not a customer-series allocation record.

Related Nissan heritage profiles

• 2014 Nissan GT-R NISMO — Original Road Model
• 2014 Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo — Physical Show Car

Frequently asked questions

Does GT-R50 mean fifty prototypes were built?

No. The name celebrates anniversaries; the customer-series programme needs separate accounting.

Was the original prototype only a static design model?

Nissan documented it being driven at Goodwood in July 2018.

What is the production-count boundary for this profile?

Verified physical running original GT-R50 prototype programme. The later customer-series allocation is not applied to this Archive identity, and no customer delivery count is inferred from the anniversary name or show appearances.

Sources and further reading

1. Nissan: documented Goodwood runs and prototype/customer boundary

Research checked 16 October 2026. Manufacturer records support identity and the specifically attributed historical figures. Photographic descriptions identify the illustrated subject. Design analysis and suggested authentication steps are editorial interpretation.