Just as engineers across decades have improved the design and performance of this car, children build, ‘unbuild’ and rebuild during play — stimulating and developing crucial skills, such as creativity, resilience, problem-solving and critical thinking.

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Since the introduction of the LEGO® wheel in 1962, cars have played a central role in thousands of LEGO sets and in the hearts, minds and play of millions of children across the world. Today, the LEGO Group and Nissan have revealed a model that pays tribute to one of the most iconic Japanese supercars, the Nissan GT-R NISMO.

This is the first-ever partnership between LEGO and a Japanese automaker. The LEGO model was revealed by LEGO Group CEO Niels B. Christiansen and Asako Hoshino, executive vice president at Nissan, at the automaker’s global headquarters in Yokohama.

“In addition to offering a wonderful and fun building and play experience, we hope the model will also inspire children to learn more about engineering and how to create things in real life,” Christiansen said.

“Just as engineers across decades have improved the design and performance of this car, children build, ‘unbuild’ and rebuild during play — stimulating and developing crucial skills, such as creativity, resilience, problem-solving and critical thinking. Inspiring them to become the builders of tomorrow is our mission,” he added.

Hoshino, for his part, stated: “The Nissan GT-R and the LEGO brand are both renowned and loved by fans of all ages throughout the world, and we are honored to be the first-ever Japanese car manufacturer to partner with the LEGO Group. Many of our Nissan customers can trace their automotive passion back to when they built LEGO cars as children.”

“With this partnership, everyone can be a `takumi’ — the specialized craftsmen that build the GT-R. And, it’s the GT-R’s 50th anniversary this year, so what better way to celebrate than to share the GT-R with Nissan and LEGO fans around the world!”

The LEGO Speed Champions Nissan GT-R NISMO will be available globally in January 2020. It is one of the first in the 2020 Speed Champions themed sets, which will be 25 percent bigger than in previous years.

The GT-R NISMO model, made from 298 LEGO elements, captures the authentic and intricate details of the life-size race car in a relatively small LEGO model.