GT-R 50, of Which Only 19 Exist, Up for Auction

One of the rare sports cars produced by Nissan in just 19 units, the GT-R 50, has been put up for auction. The estimated winning bid is surprisingly close to 1.5 billion KRW. That’s enough to buy 10 Nismo GT-Rs.

2018 was a somewhat special year for the Nissan GT-R. It marked the 50th anniversary of the relationship with Italdesign, founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro. So the two companies decided to commemorate their long partnership by creating a special GT-R. That car is the GT-R 50.

This car was not merely a cosmetic upgrade with a touch of Italdesign’s styling. The roofline was lowered, the proportions were changed, and nearly every panel enveloping the body was newly designed. Even the panels were made of carbon fiber in a vivid blue finish. Along with a massive rear wing, the rear end, including the taillights, underwent extensive modifications.

The GT-R’s inherent identity remained intact, but the expression was far more refined and sophisticated. The front end’s character was also altered. Clearly, this car was unmistakably a GT-R to anyone, yet no single part of it was ordinary. It even featured 21-inch carbon wheels, reflecting upgrades not only in style but also in dynamic performance.

Moreover, as mentioned earlier, this car did not stop at a simple cosmetic upgrade. Nismo engineers extracted more power from the 3.8-liter turbocharged engine, adding turbochargers and intercoolers used in GT3 race cars. After upgrading the entire powertrain, they produced an impressive 720 horsepower. Not only that, but the transmission was reinforced, and Bilstein suspension was applied to elevate dynamic performance as well.

One of these commemorative models, which underwent extensive performance upgrades inside and out, has recently been listed at auction. However, the estimated winning bid is somewhat surprising. It reaches as high as 1.5 billion KRW (150 million yen). Strictly speaking, it’s not unreasonable to view this car as being worth about the same as a Nismo complete car.

Of course, Nismo complete cars also hold considerable collectible value due to their rarity, but even so, they don’t approach 1.5 billion KRW. If you had bought a Ferrari at a similar price, you could expect the value to rise 1.5 to 2 times or more after about 10 years, but unfortunately, the reality is that a GT-R cannot be that kind of asset.

Nevertheless, there are clear reasons for this valuation. First, if things had gone according to the original plan, around 50 units of this car should have been produced. But when this car made its full debut in the world, it was unfortunately during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, that era was rife with revenge spending, so finding 50 owners might not have been too difficult. However, Nissan and Italdesign, failing to anticipate such consumer behavior, regrettably ended the project after producing far fewer than originally planned—just 19 units.

Here’s another reason that justifies this car’s price. This car has never been owned by anyone since leaving the factory. In other words, it has never been registered. Naturally, its mileage is only 221 km. That’s just the distance covered during factory delivery plus mileage for performance verification testing. So if you acquire and register this car now, you would become its first owner.

Of course, there will certainly be people who question whether this car is truly worth this much despite all that. With 1.5 billion KRW, quite a variety of options would come to mind, and it’s entirely reasonable to doubt whether anyone would choose this car among them.