Official: Nissan GT-R will return and a new Skyline, too

Bringing back Nissan’s GT-R supercar is a no-brainer, along with the Skyline performance sedan that sired it for generations, Nissan’s CEO has declared.

The new Nissan Vision strategy lists ‘heartbeat models’ as one of its core vehicle types. So Auto Express asked Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa if the GT-R would return to make hearts beat as fast as the iconic R35 supercoupe, which in outgoing 562bhp T-Spec guise demolishes 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds.

He described making a new GT-R as an “easy” decision. “Is it a priority?” he continued. “Of course, it’s one of the strongest brands in our portfolio. It’s not only a car, it’s a symbol of many things inside and outside the company. There definitely needs to be a new GT-R: it will come.”

Nissan gave us a glimpse of the new GT-R way back in 2023 with the Hyper Force concept - an all-electric supercar with 1,000kW – 1,341bhp – going to all four wheels, a nod to the R35. However, with the push to electric faltering in some markets and high-performance icons like the BMW M5 going hybrid, it seems less likely now that the GT-R will go fully electric, instead opting for a hybridised combustion engine. “What will it be? I will talk later about that one,” Espinosa said enigmatically, “But we are definitely going to work on this car,” he added.

Espinosa didn’t give much more away about the new Skyline either – although the company did issue two teaser shots. One shows the rear flank, suggesting the Skyline will again be a four-door sedan, with the famous twin, blood red rear lamps absolutely present and correct. The other image is a close-up of the nose, showing hooded headlamps and a sharky, angular bonnet line in keeping with the Z coupe’s.   

During the Nissan Vision presentation, the Skyline teasers were revealed with Espinosa saying the car’s name “represents the origin and soul of Nissan” and that the Skyline would be “a reimagined icon of Japanese engineering and driving passion with performance and precision”.

Nissan’s heartbeat cars

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He also listed it as one of the brand’s “heartbeat models. These are the vehicles that represent the essence of Nissan, carrying emotion and heritage while advancing innovation.” He namechecked the Leaf, the first mainstream electric car, the Fairlady Z coupe and Patrol SUV as other heartbeat cars.

A big clue to the Skyline may well have been mentioned when Espinosa promised to reboot the Infiniti luxury brand with a mid-size hybrid SUV, two body-on-frame, large hybrid SUVs and… ”a performance-oriented V6 sedan”. 

Recent Skyline generations have been paired with Infinitis, sharing the same FM platform with the V6 pushed back behind the front axle to aid turn-in. Given Nissan’s renewed focus on shared vehicle architectures to improve efficiencies, chances are lightning will strike twice. 

But will the R36 GT-R be bracketed with them? The R35 was sheared off from the Skyline lineage and given supercar technology and performance, when Carlos Ghosn began his mission to revive Nissan in the late ‘90s. Will Ivan Espinosa – who’s embarked on a replica mission – do the same? Unfortunately only he – and a strict few allies within Nissan know – and he’s not yet ready to spill the beans…

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