Nissan’s halo supercar is going to see a new generation, and it will once again sit separately from the next-generation Skyline.
CEO Ivan Espinosa told media in Japan this week that, while the business focuses on right-sizing its model range and reducing complexity, he cannot see a future where Nissan doesn’t have a hero GT-R product as part of it.
“GT-R? Is it a priority? Yes, and yes! It’s one of the strongest, I would say, brands in our portfolio,” Mr Espinosa said.
“It’s not only a car, it’s a symbol. It’s a symbol of many things inside the company and outside the company.
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“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,” he said, though he wouldn’t be drawn to comment any further on the important stuff that you’re probably wondering about – like will it be hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, or something else.
Speculation has abounded for several years now as to what will power the next GT-R, with Nissan itself fuelling theories it would be electric powered by revealing the Hyper Force EV concept in 2023.
What the next GT-R definitely won’t be is a version of the next-generation Skyline, which was teased at the global unveiling event this week.
That car is destined to be a reimagined version of the sporty sedan that has worn the nameplate in the Japanese market for some time now, which in other markets like the US wore the Infiniti Q50 nameplate.
While the Q50 has been discontinued – though is set to return as a version of the next Skyline – the spicy Skyline 400R currently headlines Nissan’s Japanese-market model range.
It packs a 298kW twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine, rear-wheel drive, and a seven-speed automatic transmission. Sounds enticing, right?
What’s clear from the teasers is that the company is trying to realign the Skyline brand with a sports sedan intent, with the iconic italicised text badge on the rear quarter, not far from the hotplate-style tail-lights that we all remember from versions of the R31, R32, R33 and R34 Skyline models – be they GT-R, or just the regular variants.
Nissan spun the GT-R off from the Skyline line with the R35, which entered production in 2007. This generation was produced until 2025, though model year 2022 was its last in Australia.
While Nissan has confirmed it will shrink its overall model portfolio by 11 vehicles to 45 models, it has confirmed not only a new Skyline but also a revived Xterra off-road SUV.
Nissan also showed off the new Juke EV for Europe, and the new-generation X-Trail/Rogue mid-size SUV, which is expected to hit Australian shores at the end of 2027.