Every car maker has that one vehicle that is spoken of in awe. Ford has the Mustang. Audi has the R8. Toyota has the Supra. Datsun has the 240Z. Nissan has the GT-R, a ride that has featured in more than a few movies and games that involve massive speakers and neon lights.
The last on this list is heading back to markets with a little something extra — hybrid capabilities. That’s according to Nissan North America’s planning head, Ponz Pandikuthira, speaking to The Drive. The R36 GT-R wasn’t completely unknown, but Pandikuthira shared details about the expected timeline and some performance data.
On to GT-R things
Development is hoped to be complete around 2030, giving the Japanese company four more years to get its act together, though Nissan has yet to decide on a powertrain for the R36 GT-R’s hybrid functions. Pandikuthira has some ideas about what that might look like, and it isn’t pretty if you’re looking for long-term electric performance driving.
Current electric engine prototypes for a hybrid GT-R “would complete one lap at the Nürburgring, and then you have to recharge the car”, a process that would take time. Sure, there’s still an aspirated GT-R powerplant inside, but it does mean that Nissan’s sports car would have to stick to cruising on battery power rather than high-speed shenanigans. And nobody’s interested in that.
Instead, the still-theoretical car could field a Nissan V6 twin turbo engine — like the one found in the Nissan Armada SUV — while offering 110km or so of electrical range at less exciting speeds. How the range would be achieved isn’t explained, but it appears to hinge on Nissan’s solid-state battery development. It also hinges on what Nissan eventually decides to stick inside the revamped GT-R.
There’s also one more factor in play. Pandikuthira hints that it could share a development platform with Honda’s upcoming Acura NSX. The two companies partnered up last year, and while the relationship could lead to more innovation, it could also slow development on a plug-in hybrid GT-R.
As for an all-electric version? “Even if it’s all solid state [battery], you’re not going to deliver the kind of performance expected out of a GT-R,” Pandikuthira said. And Nissan won’t launch one until it nails that performance goal.
