Film star role adds £100k value to Gran Turismo Nissan GT-R

Not only did the former Nissan works driver race the GT-R in the mid 2010s, finishing ninth at the 2015 Nürburgring 24 Hours the chassis itself was used extensively in racing scenes for the $200m Sony picture starring Orlando Bloom, David Harbour and Archie Madekwe – and will be up for auction for over £225,000 to £275,000.

Another Nissan GT-R competition car, without the cinematic provenance, sold recently for £150k, meaning this one’s starring role could have added as much as £125k to its value.

Lionel Abbott, a car specialist for Iconic Auctioneers which is selling the car, tells Motor Sport that “You’ve got a chance to buy a car as it hits the cinemas local to you – the market now is so instant.”

Mardenborough’s story is one which is almost difficult to be believed, from the shy teenage bedroom gamer to an international motor sport star on the 2013 Le Mans podium in just a couple of years.

The trajectory of celebrity cars from motoring curios to auction icons is now becoming similarly meteoric, as Abbott explains.

“It goes back to cars usually from the ‘60s, when you’re looking at E-Types and Astons owned by the likes of Sellers,” he says.

“Normally it happens 20-30 years after the event, maybe someone saw the film in the ‘60s – 30 years later they’ve actually got the resource to make an ‘evocative buy’.

“The difference with this GT-R is now we’re in a world which is so current and fast. You can bid for the car as it hits the cinemas.”

What makes it further unique is that various iterations of the car have been massively popular in the video game franchise in the first place – fans will remember racing it on their Playstation, and now have a chance to own one of the ultimate competition versions.

Abbott says changes in the market reflect changes in buyers’ tastes through the media they consume.

“It’s become such a powerful tool with Gran Turismo and Fast and Furious,” he says.

“Those cars now are appealing to that ’90s generation who played all these games, perhaps they now run a tech company for example, and now they have the resource to indulge.

“I think that’s what could drive this. The market is just very intense and you’ve got probably a four or five month window before those kinds of people are satisfied and move on. 70% of our bidder are first-time buyers. Everything is just so instant.

“No one waits for any maturity. We’ve already had an inquiry from a guy who has got a museum in America.

“It’s something where he can go ‘Right, here’s a car from Gran Turismo and that’s gonna bring 20-30,000 people over the threshold of museum.’ It’s that kind of that mentality now I think.”

Abbott cites the recent example of the TVR Cerbera Speed 12 – the one-off road car monster which old for £600,000 – as another ‘fantasy’ computer game car (it was featured in several Gran Turismo and Forza releases) buyers could now drive in reality capturing people’s imaginations, but says it’s difficult to predict the added value of such cars gained by their celebrity status.

“It’s hard to work out a formula, but I think it makes them worth a fifth again, in terms of value, in some in some cases.

“[Fast and Furious star] Paul Walker’s Toyota Supra sold for a massive amount of money recently [£430,000]. And I think that was over 10 times the car’s [non-celebrity] value, but the association is a powerful thing.”