Nissan celebrates the GT-R's 50th birthday with a tech-packed special edition

[sincity]

The Nissan GT-R is 50 years old, and Nissan is celebrating in style with a fresh, tech-packed special edition that takes its inspiration from the racetrack.

The 2020 Nissan GT-R 50th Anniversary Edition keeps the car's classic look, but is packed with new tech, including the NissanConnect infotainment system that impressed us in the revamped Micra and Qashqai.

NissanConnect not only covers audio, navigation and communication, it also connects to a smartphone app that allows you to remotely lock and unlock the car's doors, activate the alarm, contact the emergency services, and track down its whereabouts.

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When you're behind the wheel, NissanConnect is controlled using an eight-inch touchscreen, which is set into a dashboard wrapped in a single, seamless piece of soft leather.

Indeed, the interior is leather and Alcantara fabric as far as the eye can see, in a tasteful shade of gray that Nissan rather poetically likens to "the atmosphere of the night sky after the twilight hour".

Road or track

The 50th Anniversary Edition GT-R is also sportier, with upgrades including a refined 'R' mode designed for exiting corners more quickly on the road or on track days, plus gear shift paddles so you can keep your hands on the wheel.

If you're planning on hitting the track, you'll also appreciate the adaptive shift control, which interprets the way you steer and accelerate and changes gear shifting modes automatically to suit your driving style without any extra input from you.

If that's not enough, Nissan is also releasing a specially 2020 Track Edition optimized for racing and decked out in carbon fiber. 

"With the 2020 GT-R, we kept to the car's concept – pursuing ultimate driving pleasure," said Hiroshi Tamura, chief product specialist for the GT-R. "Once you take hold of the steering wheel, you will immediately know that no other car in the world delivers as much satisfaction to the driver, both physically and spiritually."

Nissan has yet to reveal details of prices and availability.

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