Electric Nissan GT-R slated for 2030 – report
Nissan's flagship supercar is on course to swap its twin-turbo V6 for an array of electric motors in 2030 according to Japan's Best Car.
The Nissan GT-R supercar will make its switch to electric power at the end of the decade, according to overseas reports.
Japanese publication Best Car claims an electric version of Nissan's fan-favourite GT-R supercar is "targeted" for launch in 2030 – just a few years before markets including the UK and Europe plan to introduce legislation outlawing the sale of petrol-powered vehicles, including hybrids.
No further details of the model are given – unsurprisingly, given the GT-R EV (electric vehicle) nearly a decade from its launch – though it's safe to expect the current GT-R's all-wheel-drive traction, sub-three-second 0-100km/h capability, and advanced driver electronic systems to carry through into its electric future.
The targeted 2030 launch date for the electric GT-R (set to be codenamed R37) comes seven years after the rumoured launch of the 'R36' Nissan GT-R in 2023, as reported by Drive, and nearly two and a half decades since the arrival of the current R35-generation model, which spun the GT-R nameplate into its own model, from the 1999 Skyline GT-R of Fast and Furious fame.
Whereas the R36 GT-R (imagined top by Jon Leu) is slated to be little more than a re-skin of the R35 model – with a new body and interior, but a carry-over engine and platform – the R37 car will likely necessitate a ground-up redesign, with an all-new architecture capable of supporting a large battery pack.
Nissan executives have long acknowledged a switch to electric power for the GT-R (and the smaller, cheaper Z sports car) is inevitable, as emissions regulations and global legislation loom over the brand's halo sports car.
When asked at the 2019 Tokyo motor show if the Z and GT-R would, in time, go electric, Nissan product planning boss Ivan Espinosa told media: “The answers is yes, it’s one of the alternatives.
"Have we decided? No. Are we working on it? Absolutely.”