Nissan GT-R Brings Huge, Unrivalled Provenance On and Off Track - Nissan GT-R GT3 – Estimate £225,000 - £275,000
Silverstone Auctions have secured a hugely rare opportunity for customers to bid for a piece of Hollywood and Nürburgring history. This outstanding Nissan GT-R race car is not only one of the star cars of the motion picture ‘Gran Turismo’ (released in cinemas on August 11th) but is the most successful GT-R R35 GT3 still in private hands. The estimate for the sale of this special Nissan at the Silverstone Festival on August 25th is £225,000 - £275,000.
‘Gran Turismo’ the film is based on the global GT Academy franchise and focuses on the story of Jann Mardenborough. This car is not only central to the film and can be seen in all of the promotional material but also is an important part of the real GT Academy story. The film tells the evocative and true story of a bedroom gamer to real time GT racer and Le Mans 24HRS driver Jann Mardenborough who wins the competition to climb the ‘stairway to heaven’ with Nissans Academy programme, ending the hopes of his contemporary gamer hopefuls.
Traditionally cars showcased in big budget movies do not become available for sale as the film company retain them for sequels or PR duties. However when they do come to market they are highly sought after and recent sales of Fast and the Furious cars have proven the point with a recent Paul Walker GT-R reaching $1.3M at auction.
This car has recently been owned by the creator of GT Academy, Darren Cox (played by Orlando Bloom in the Gran Turismo film) and therefore has increased provenance and links to the film.
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With an alleged combined production and promotion budget of $180M the motion picture ‘Gran Turismo’ will have been seen and loved by millions by the time of the auction, so the new owner will possess a car that many race fans and gamers have fantasised about.
As well as being prominent in all of the pre promotion material the car features heavily in the film as central to Jann’s journey. To add to the interest Jann was the stunt driver in the film and drove the GT3 several times as he did in real life when the car was active as a Nissan Europe works car.
Significantly the car finished 9th in the Nürburgring 24 hours in 2015. Nissans best result in recent history. The unusual and unique black livery was run in remembrance of a spectator who passed away in an earlier VLN round accident involving Mardenbourgh and another GT-R GT3.
So this example of the already iconic GT-R really has both on track and on screen history that cannot ever be rivalled.
Lionel Abbott, Car Specialist at Silverstone Auctions, who secured the car for sale, said: “As announced by Orlando Bloom at the British Grand Prix, Columbia Pictures big screen production, ‘Gran Turismo’, will premier globally on August 11th and we are proud to be auctioning one of the films Nissan GT-R’s at our Silverstone Festival Sale on Friday 25th August.”
Featuring an all-star cast the film brilliantly captures the sometimes painful twists and turns of a racer’s story that will captivate everyone with even the slightest interest in motorsport.
The Nissan GT-R, or by its proper stage name of NISSAN SKYLINE R35 GT-R -8AO1, has itself got an impressive racing pedigree finishing 9th at the 2015 Nürburgring 24HRS and the car that Jann Mardenborough drove in various races. Offered in race ready condition and on the button for its next owner to compete in the GT Cup, Masters and various GT events globally or, quite possibly, join a collection of famous film cars.
The Nissan GT-R has gained cult status over the last decade and this Skyline is an authentic racer with hard links to the phenomenon that is Gran Turismo and what will inevitably be a blockbuster on its first big screen debut ... roll out the red carpet for our cameo Nissan GT-R.
By a happy coincidence Silverstone Auctions recently sold a TVR Cerbera Speed 12 as used in the Gran Turismo Computer Game for £601,500. This unique 2000 TVR Cerbera Speed 12 was the only TVR-built road car of its kind and it shot to fame when it was used as a model for game.
The Competition Car Sale, in which this car will feature, takes place on Friday 25th August, with a Collector’s Sale of road and classic cars on Saturday 26th. Viewing of the cars will be available at the venue before the auction commences.
More information about this stunning car and all the other vehicles coming up in Silverstone Auctions Classic Sale at Silverstone Festival on August 25th & 26th can be found onwww.silverstoneauctions.com. The Competition Car Sale, in which this car will feature, takes place on Friday 25th August, with a Collector’s Sale of road and classic cars on Saturday 26th. Viewing of the cars will be available at the venue before the auction commences.
