Nissan has filed a trademark application for the ‘R-Hybrid’ badge, and it could be used for the next-gen Nissan GT-R, says Car and Driver. The US publication noticed that the standalone letter ‘R’ is in exactly the same typeface as that used on the legendary rear-wheel drive sports car’s boot lid badge.
C&D adds that the SE-R badge, seen on hot versions of the Sentra and Altima in the US, uses a different font for its ‘R,’ ruling out a new Sentra SE-R or Altima SE-R as possible recipients of this new emblem. Indeed, we can’t think of any other Nissan model that uses the same typeface as the ‘R’ in ‘GT-R.’
Therefore, unless Nissan is planning a new hybrid model (a wheeled reply to the recently-revealed Toyota Yaris Hybrid-R concept, or a future production version of that concept, perhaps?), this suggests that the next-gen Nissan GT-R – due in 2016 – could be a hybrid, which is neither shocking, impossible nor unlikely.
After all, reports have speculated that the future successor to the Toyota Supra – the Nissan GT-R’s old adversary – is set to be a hybrid. So if a new Supra concept is slated to appear at this year’s Tokyo motor show, will we see the ‘R-Hybrid’ badge on a new Nissan GT-R concept there?
Sigh, if only we had Holmes’ powers of deduction.
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Hmm, a Gran Turismo
Racer Hybrid. The enviromental tree huggers surely would love to hear that :D
like the 918, super awesome..
And the McLaren P1 and LaFerrari.
The current GT-R is already a heavy-ass car. If they put hybrid system onboard, chances are the car is gonna end-up heavier (which is not good for a sports car) or much more expensive (due to usage of lightweight composite materials). Let’s just wait and see how it’s going to stack up against 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S later. It’s gonna be a ‘healthy’ competition.
Toyota have hybrid-R
and now nissan want R-hybrid??