Nissan GT-R To Die Soon, But A Replacement Is In The Works

Khodrocar - Nissan isn’t just considering a new Xterra as the company also has plans for a new GT-R and Z. However, it sounds like they could be a ways off.

This isn’t too surprising in the case of the Z as the sports car was redesigned for 2023, despite borrowing heavily from its predecessor. As for the GT-R, it’s a dinosaur that originally arrived stateside for the 2009 model year.

The asteroid is reportedly coming for the latter as Ponz Pandikuthira, Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer for Nissan Americas, confirmed the GT-R will go out of production soon. The recently introduced T-Spec Takumi and Skyline Editions will serve as a last hurrah and the company previously noted they "pay homage to the performance vehicle that has been an iconic nameplate of the Nissan lineup for decades.”

The model will eventually return and Pandikuthira told Motor Authority it’ll need to be an "authentic GT-R.” He went on to suggest this rules out a fully electric variant as it would require too many compromises with current technology.

Nissan has yet to determine the power source for the next GT-R. However, it is anticipated to leverage insights from its participation in Formula E, considered a "test bed” for the next-generation of the popular series.

As for what it will look like, Nissan’s Senior Vice President for Global Design, Alfonso Albaisa, said it’ll be an "ugly car, menacing car.” While the design reportedly hasn’t been locked in yet, it will apparently incorporate some classic styling cues including quad taillights.

That’s vague and so is the outlook for the next-generation Z. Some early sketches have reportedly been penned, but Albaisa suggested the next-generation sports car needs to be more progressive or a complete reimagining of the 240Z.

The car is likely a long ways off as Pandikuthira suggested the current model’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 shouldn’t have any problem meeting emission requirements in its lifecycle. This suggests the next Z might go electric, but only time will tell.