The Nissan Z and
Skyline GT-R went into production in 1969 and the company is preparing to
celebrate their 50th anniversary at the New York Auto Show. Nissan is keeping
details under wraps, but they will use the event to introduce the “ultimate
dream garage.” The company didn’t say much else about their plans, but noted
the garage was “50 years in the making.”
While Nissan is
staying tight-lipped, the teaser image shows eight different vehicles on and
under lifts. The automaker didn’t name the models, but we can see classic and
modern Z cars as well as GT-Rs and Skyline GT-Rs.
One of the most
easily identifiable models is the GT-R50 by Italdesign. Nissan has already
confirmed plans to build 50 units of the highly customized GT-R Nismo and
pricing will start at € 990,000. The first deliveries
are slated to begin this year and will continue into 2020.
When Nissan
announced plans to build a production version of the GT-R50 prototype, the company’s
global sports car director said “The reaction from Nissan fans around the world
– and potential customers of the GT-R50 – has greatly exceeded our
expectations.” The company didn’t mention US availability or pricing, so it’s
possible the automaker could reveal that information in New York.
That remains
unclear and so does the possibility of seeing 50th anniversary editions of the
370Z and GT-R. It’s getting pretty late in the year to introduce new 2019
models as the 2019 370Z went on sale last May with minor updates. The 2019 GT-R
is a tad ‘newer’ as it arrived in December.
While the timing
seems a bit off, the New York Auto Show press conference schedule says Nissan’s
event will include “Anniversary Editions.” Little is known about them, but they
could have special badging and unique styling details. Of course, we won’t know
for sure until April 17th.
