Enthusiasts can go to bed tonight knowing that Nissan’s iconic sports cars will live to see another generation.
At the 2024 New York auto show, Nissan North America senior vice president and chief planning officer Ponz Pandikuthira told Motor Authority that the GT-R and Z nameplates will not die, although they may take some time to be reinvented.
Nissan Senior Vice President Alfonso Albaisa went further in presenting a vision to Motor Authority of what the next GT-R and Z would look like.
Nissan Hyper Force Concept
GT-R looks to Formula E, keeps four seats
After 16 years, the R35 GT-R is reaching the end of its life cycle with a pair of special editions. Pandikuthira confirmed that he will wrap up production soon.
“The next generation GT-R has to be an authentic GT-R,” said Pandikuthira. For this reason, the GT-R was born, created and tested on the tracks, according to the executive. If the GT-R were fully electric, it wouldn’t be able to do just one lap of the Nürburgring and then have to stop, charge and cool down. Performance in near-race conditions will not be compromised in a GT-R, according to Pandikuthira.
Nissan’s engineering team is waiting for technology to advance. Pandikuthira noted that a powertrain for the next-generation GT-R has not yet been defined or defined, but confirmed that Formula E is a test bed for the development of the next-generation GT-R. The executive acknowledged that current electric vehicle batteries are heavy. Weight is the enemy of a sports car. Pandikuthira highlighted Nissan’s success in Formula E racing, noting that the McLaren team had just won in São Paulo. That race car was built and designed by Nissan, Pandikuthira noted with a wink.
The Z and GT-R nameplates have had their ups and downs, just like Nissan, Pandikuthira said. Although the two cars sometimes take a short hiatus, they always come back. It’s part of Nissan’s DNA to have these two cars.
In 2021 Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida confirmed the Next generation GT-R will walk on a new platform
Nissan Hyper Force Concept
Albania noted the Concept of Hyper Strength which debuted at the 2023 Tokyo Motor Show did not bear the GT-R badge. But in the same breadth he observed that the Concept 2020 Gran Turismo Vision 2014 uses a design language from an earlier timeline.
The GT-R nameplate markings will remain alive. Like previous models, the next GT-R will be able to be driven on the track, on the track, and used as a daily driver with seating for four people. Godzilla needs to be an “ugly and menacing car”, according to Albasia. Words like these aren’t normally used to describe Japanese DNA, but they’re appropriate for the GT-R and will continue to be.
Nissan Hyper Force Concept
Nissan’s design studio currently has competing shapes for the R36 GT-R on the drawing board. The design has not yet been locked. Albania indicated that the R36 will likely retain its unique quad taillight design, but noted that this need not be done in the traditional sense. The Hyper Force concept had four taillights that were not actually round, but appeared round due to the definition of the clear slits cut into the lighting elements and bodywork.
1990 Nissan 300ZX and 2023 Nissan ZI Photography by Allex Bellus Photography
The Next Z Could Break the Mold, Again
O last Z, which debuted in 2021, has just two model years left in its current lifespan. It has a long runway, according to Pandikuthira. The powertrain will pass emissions regulations during the life of the latest model, Pandikuthira said. Then Nissan will tackle a new Z, Pandikuthira said. The current OZ shouldn’t even exist. Was a skunkworks project.
Still early in the design phase, with random sketches floating around, Albaisa noted that the 350Z, released for the 2003 model year, broke with the past and featured a progressive design that the 370Z, which arrived in 2009, evolved from. Today’s Z looks to the past with retro-style details from the 240Z and Z32 300ZX.
Albaisa said a new Z would have to be an all-new iteration of the 240Z or once again break completely with tradition and feature a progressive design. There will be no middle ground.
