Nissans The halo supercar will see a new generation and will once again stand apart from the next-generation skyline.
CEO Ivan Espinosa told media in Japan this week that while the company is focused on right-sizing its model lineup and reducing complexity, he can’t imagine a future in which Nissan doesn’t have a hero GT R product as part of it.
“GT-R? Is it a priority? Yes, and yes! It is, I would say, one of the strongest brands in our portfolio,” Mr. Espinosa said.
“It’s not just a car, it’s a symbol. It’s a symbol of many things inside and outside the company.
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“So it definitely has to be like this… a new GT-R will come. What will it be? I’ll talk about it later.”
“But we’ll definitely be working on this car,” he said, although he wasn’t tempted to comment further on the important things you’re probably wondering about – whether it’ll be a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric or something else.
There has been a lot of speculation about what will power the next GT-R for several years, with Nissan itself fueling theories of an electric drivetrain with the unveiling of the Hyper Force EV concept in 2023.
What the next GT-R definitely won’t be is a next-generation version of the Skyline announced at this week’s global reveal event.
This car is said to be a redesigned version of the sporty sedan that has carried the Infiniti Q50 nameplate in the Japanese market for some time and carried the Infiniti Q50 nameplate in other markets such as the United States.
While production of the Q50 has ended – although it is set to return as a version of the next Skyline – the sharp Skyline 400R currently sits at the top of Nissan’s model range in the Japanese market.
It has a 298kW 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine, rear-wheel drive and a seven-speed automatic transmission. Sounds tempting, right?
It’s clear from the teasers that the company is trying to refocus the Skyline brand with the intent of a sports sedan, with the iconic cursive text badge on the rear side, not far from the hotplate-style taillights we all know from versions of the R31, R32, R33 and R34 Skyline models – be they GT-R or just the regular variants.
With the R35, which went into production in 2007, Nissan created the GT-R from the Skyline range. This generation was produced until 2025, although the 2022 model year was the last in Australia.
While Nissan has confirmed that it will be reducing its entire model portfolio by 11 vehicles to 45 models, it has not only confirmed a new Skyline but also a revived Xterra SUV.
Nissan also unveiled the new Juke EV for Europe and the new-generation X-Trail/Rogue midsize SUV, which is expected to hit Australian shores in late 2027.
MORE: Explore the Nissan GT-R showroom
