Automakers have long known that having a specialist model maker produce your vehicle in, say, 1:43 or 1:18 scale, is a nice homage – the promotional value is immeasurable and probably why BMW and Audi have handed out small facsimiles of their new cars at press launches for years and automakers themselves sometimes stock models – including toddler-size ride-ons at dealerships and in marketing departments. Want to sell a new truck? Help the Decision Maker remember the brand with a nice scale model for his desk or dashtop.
Which leads us to Nissan's first deal with the maker of small bricks that click together to make, well, anything you like, Lego, which has just launched a model of the GT-R Nismo.
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The new model was launched much like the real thing: in this case during a ceremony at the automaker's Yokohama HQ with Lego group CEO Niels Christiansen hosted by Nissan EVP Asako Hoshino.
Christiansen said: "We hope the model will also inspire children to learn more about engineering and how to create things in real life. Inspiring them to become the builders of tomorrow is our mission."
Hoshino added: "Many of our customers can trace their automotive passion back to when they built Lego cars as children. With this partnership, everyone can be a takumi – the specialised craftsmen that build the GT-R."
The Lego GT-R NISMO will be available worldwide from January 2020 and is one of the first in the 2020 Speed Champions themed sets which will be 25% bigger than in previous years. The Nissan car is made from 298 parts and is said to have captured authentic and intricate details of the life-size race car in a relatively small model.
Lego design head Chris Stamp said: "Authenticity is always our main concern, and we spent a lot of time exploring different building techniques to correctly recreate the taillights, as they are one of the most recognisable details on the car."
