BOLD RIDE
Nissan performance fans wait with bated breath. The hallowed Nissan GT-R is expected to receive its long-awaited replacement as early as 2018, brining with it a purported hybrid drivetrain and new looks to boot. A radical change, considering the current model has been on sale since 2008.
In a media presentation at the recent 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans race, in which the company competed its new GT-R LM Nismo Le Mans prototype, Nissan chief creative officer Shiro Nakamura noted the current GT-R road car has “more potential to be better.”
“Performance is already very good – [zero to 62 mph] in 2.7 seconds – it’s fastest. So it might be impossible to get higher, speed-wise, but maybe more better handling and that kind of thing.”
Incredible off-the-line speed has been a calling card of the twin-turbo V6 R35 GT-R since its debut, but with the ceiling apparently met for the current car, weight savings and suspension performance look to be the next logical areas of improvement. The current car tips the scales at around 3,900 pounds, and in its highly tuned 2016 Nismo variant, it muscles up a colossal 600 horsepower.
Nakamura noted of the upcoming model years, “I think it’s an improvement. Even design wise, we have some minor changes coming very soon. You will see very shortly.”
The design of the next-gen GT-R still remains very much in question, with some pointing to Nissan’s Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo for inspiration. Rather, Nakamura hints that the firm’s Le Mans entry provides some helpful clues.
“Nissan GT-R LM Nismo is not a production car, but it is inspired by GT-R and also to give us inspiration for future GT-R.” He added, “I think we’re better to continue to make an evolution of today’s car rather than switching to something completely different.”
While the next iteration of Nissan GT-R is widely rumored to adopt a hybrid powertrain, Nakamura would not confirm or deny the possible arrangement, but noted hybrid power as an aspect still in experimentation.
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