“Gran Turismo” the movie is set to premiere on Aug. 11, and shortly after one of the cars used during filming will go up for auction.
Silverstone Auctions will oversee the sale on Aug. 25 of on an R35 Nissan GT-R GT3 race car that appeared in the movie. The movie is based on the real-life story of Jann Mardenborough, who earned a race seat playing the “Gran Turismo” video games through the Nissan GT Academy program.
The car has connections to both the movie and the real-life GT Academy program, according to the auction listing. Mardenborough was a stunt driver in the Gran Turismo movie, driving the GT-R several times, but he also drove it in actual races in Europe.
The car’s racing history includes a ninth-place finish at the 2015 24 Hours of Nürburgring. It wore a black livery in that race in remembrance of a spectator killed at a previous race at the ‘Ring in a crash involving Mardenborough and another GT-R.
Nissan GT-R GT3 from Gran Turismo
This GT-R was also owned by Darren Cox, founder of GT Academy, the auction listing states.
Cox and Mardenborough’s hopes for a long-term future with Nissan rested on the GT-R LM Nismo, an LMP1 prototype that competed in the top class at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. The unorthodox car, which featured a front-engine layout (and front-wheel drive) to accommodate downforce-generating ducts, proved slow and unreliable in its only race appearance. Nissan’s international factory racing efforts were scaled back after that humiliation.
A GT-R LM Nismo isn’t likely to come up for auction anytime soon, but this GT-R is a genuine movie car expected to sell for between 225,000 and 275,000 British pounds, equivalent to $289,000 to $354,000 at current exchange rates. Maybe it will be less if Gran Turismo turns out to be a bad movie, and either way the auctioneer claims it’s in ready-to-drive condition, so it can still be a usable track car.
