According to Nissan’s senior vice-president of global product planning Ivan Espinosa, there will be a new GT-R coming to Nissan's lineup!
Espinosa confirmed the news to members of the Australian media. It's unclear of if it will be electrified at all or if it will remain an ICE vehicle.
But whether the next Godzilla is hybrid or all-electric is yet to be decided
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Now, speaking after the reveal of the Nissan Z Proto last week, Nissan’s chief product planner confirmed there will indeed be an R36 GT-R but he wouldn’t reveal when it will be released or what kind of electrification it will bring.
“I cannot tell you too much on the GT-R,” said Espinosa.
“We are thinking what we should do with the GT-R. We’re always thinking.
“This car together with the Z and Patrol are perhaps the three most iconic and brand representative nameplates that we have as a company, that have a deep history.
“These are nameplates that we are consistently looking at how, when, what we should do with them.”
Asked whether the next Nissan GT-R would be based on a development of the current GT-R platform and if it will be electrified, Espinosa said everything was on the table but whatever the mechanical make-up, it will remain competitive.
“At this moment it’s very open. Many things can happen,” he said.
“We are exploring different things and we will come back to you guys when we are ready to tell you what we have chosen to be for the next GT-R.
“Now, what will be the role of the next GT-R is to again be a very credible performance machine – the way the current GT-R is.
“Even after some years in the market it is still very credible – still super-fast, super-great car to drive – and we will remain true to that expectation.”
Some reports suggest Nissan is exploring a petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain for the new GT-R, incorporating a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) like that seen on some of the car-maker’s Le Mans race cars.
Espinosa wouldn’t rule out hybrid or battery-electric powertrains for the new GT-R, but suggested the latter technology was not ‘mature’ enough, likely in terms of battery weight and range.
“Everything is up there,” he said. “Everything is open. It’s all about understanding what do you want to deliver to the customer. And there are solutions you can choose because there are plenty of options.
“The maturity of the technology is the other one [variable to consider]. So we need to cope with the pace of the maturity of technology, customer expectation and the experience we want to give.”
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