Nissan has officially ended speculation of the next generation GT-R by confirming that a replacement is being developed with a combustion engine.
No EV
Despite reports of the GT-R going wholly electric ever since the previous generation’s 17-year production run ended in 2024, Nissan’s Global Product Strategy Head, Richard Candler, said the lack of EV sports car popularity has all but ended thoughts of an electric GT-R.
Since going out of production, GT-R has been motivated by a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre VR38DETT V6 that initially produced 357 kW before reaching 441 kW in the Nismo variant.
“I think they’ll come as better battery technology takes its next leap, but the current lithium chemistries are not capable of producing a GT-R-type product. We’re not going to go with batteries in the next generation. No way,” Candler told motor1.com.
He, however, alluded to the GT-R possibly becoming a hybrid of sports as a means of adhering to ongoing stringent emissions regulations.
“[GT-R] will have to be electrified because of emissions regulations at some level, of course. It’s just common sense that you would have a sense of electrification, but the battery’s a limiting factor.
“The battery chemistry is not strong enough yet to be able to deliver the requirements of the GT-R.”
‘We are working [on it]’
Confirming the GT-R at Nissan’s “Mobility Intelligence for Everyday Life” product outlook strategy in Yokohama this past week, CEO Ivan Espinosa told motor1.com, “We are actually working on the GT-R.”
“Not many details I can share today, but the GT-R will come, and it will come with the credibility and credentials it has always had, because it’s an icon of a company but more so an icon of the industry.”
In a secondary interview with Australia’s carexpert.com, Espinosa said, “GT-R? Is it a priority? Yes, and yes. It’s one of the strongest, I would say, brands in our portfolio. It’s not only a car; it’s a symbol. It’s a symbol of many things inside the company and outside the company.”
“So it definitely needs to be … a new GT-R will come. What it will be? I will talk later about that one. But we are definitely going to work on this car.”
Stay tuned
Neither executive provided a timeline of the GT-R’s arrival, which past reports have claimed could happen before the end of the decade.
This, though, is unconfirmed and for the moment, purely speculative.
