Nissan Confirms a Hybrid GT-R, but No Mid-Engine

Nissan Concept 2020 (Credit: © Nissan)

The GT-R continues to amaze the world of gearheads with its combination of speed, agility and relatively low price, but oddly enough, Nissan never seems happy with it. This is evident by the constant tweaking we’ve seen each and every year that the model has been out. Sure, visually, it may be nearly identical to the car we first saw in 2009, but under the skin it has changed slightly every model year. Apparently the yearly tweaking will soon end, as according to an interview TopGear had with Shiro Nakamura, Nissan’s chief creative officer, the next-generation GT-R will see huge changes, including a hybrid drivetrain.

You read that right, no more cute plays on words like the last time Nissan teased the next-gen GT-R. Nakamura came straight out and said to TopGear “it will be a hybrid,” but he also clarified some other recent speculation by squashing rumors that it may move its power plant to behind the seats.

This confirmation adds a lot of validity to the rumors that the next-generation GT-R could approach the 800-horsepower mark. The 2015 GT-R’s 3.8-liter, twin-turbo V-6 pumps out a whopping 545 horses, and if Nissan straps the rumored 134-horsepower hybrid system to its back, it’s immediately pushing nearly 700 horses. Rumors also pointed toward the fact that Nissan will milk the 3.8-liter V-6 for a whopping 650 ponies by time the hybrid GT-R hits the streets, which would put the total output at 784 horses. While this all seems outlandish by today’s GT-R standards, Nakamura was clear in saying that the next-gen GT-R will not arrive until 2018 at the earliest, giving the team plenty of time to iron out the details.

TopGear also took the time to discuss the design of the next-gen GT-R, and Nakamura said that none of the renderings he’s seen are close to the real deal. He did, however, confirm that we may see some basic cues from the 2020 Vision Gran Turismo Concept.

For now, this is all the news we have on the next GT-R, but it’s exciting to know that it came from a reliable source. 2018 can’t come fast enough now.