Next Nissan GT-R to be fastest supercar in the world?

Believe it or not, the R35 Nissan GT-R is 11 years old. It has enjoyed considerable success along the way, but after a decade, perhaps it’s time to up the ante. Nissan has already started working on designing and engineering an all-new platform for the next-generation GT-R. However, the carmaker has yet to decide how much electrification the car’s powertrain will get.

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Nissan design boss Alfonso Albaisa told Autocar that the R36 won’t take cues from the limited-run GT-R50, but “has to be its own special car,” adding that it has to be “the fastest super sports car in the world” and retain a visual identity that’s unique among cars of its kind.

While Albaisa constantly reviews sketches for the supercar, he said his team cannot begin ‘serious work’ until decisions about the powertrain and the new platform is finalised. “The challenge is on the engineer, to be honest. We will do our jobs when the time comes to make the car something really special. But we’re not even close to that yet,” he explained.

Albaisa said that while Nissan was undecided on the powertrain, he admitted that electrification is a possibility, albeit not confirmed. “Whether we go to a lot of electrification or none at all, we can achieve a lot, power-wise. But we are definitely making a new ‘platform’ and our goal is clear: GT-R has to be the quickest car of its kind. It has to ‘own’ the track. And it has to play the advanced technology game; but that doesn’t mean it has to be electric,” he explained.

In standard guise, the R35 GT-R makes 555 PS and 632 Nm from a hand-assembled VR38DETT 3.8 litre twin-turbo V6, and goes up to 600 PS and 652 Nm in the GT-R Nismo. Power is routed to all four wheels through a GR6 six-speed dual-clutch automatic.

For design, Albaisa said the next car would have a muscular character like the R35 so as to retain the GT-R visage of a “beast.” “It’s an animal; it has to be imposing and excessive. Not in terms of its wings, but rather its visual mass, its presence and its audacity. It doesn’t care what every other supercar in the world is doing. It simply says: ‘I’m a GT-R, I’m a brick, catch me.’ It’s the world’s fastest brick, really. And when I review sketches for the new car, I say that a lot: “Less wing, more brick.”

It’s unclear what powertrain the new model will get, but a production version of Nissan’s 3.0 litre twin-turbo V6 hybrid, which was supposed to debut with the hybrid LMP1 GT-R racing car, could be under consideration. The hybrid race car’s total system output was rumoured to be between 1,250 to 1,500 horsepower, so if Nissan truly wants the GT-R to be the fastest supercar in the world, expect the powertrain – electrified or not – to produce a healthy number of ponies.

“We simply have to reflect people’s dreams; and I think people dream that the next GT-R will be the hottest super sports car in the world,” said Albaisa. Do you dream the same dream? Let us know what you think of this, below.

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