With heavy-hitters new to the stage, such as the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and McLaren 650S, it’s frankly amazing that the Nissan GT-R has stayed so competitive. According to a new report the GT-R’s successor has been delayed until 2020, so we’ll see just how much more staying power the all-wheel-drive track monster has up its sleeve.
Our intel has indicated we could see the next Nissan GT-R as early as 2018, but Australia’s Motoring suggests that date has been pushed back. Unnamed insiders are citing delays as a result of a production halt between now and 2016, as a result of halted production to adjust to more stringent U.S. safety regulations.
Nissan Australia managing director Richard Emery told Motoring that the next GT-R was something Nissan “is not even talking about. We are close to the life cycle in terms of cars now and in the future. In terms of direct conversation around GT-R, it’s not on the horizon.”
“It’s certainly not 2018, and I can’t see it even in 2019. It’s not on the product plan list for that period,” said Emery.
We don’t know a ton about the next Nissan GT-R, but we’ve at least confirmed from design director Shiro Nakamura that it will remain a 2+2 front-engine coupe with all-wheel drive. And while many are looking to the virtual Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo car as a key influencer in the next GT-R’s look, Nakamura has also said not to get our hopes up about it. You can see our rendering of what the car might look like above.
On a mechanical level, race-car designer Ben Bowlby has confirmed that the next Nissan GT-R will use some version of the hybrid-powered 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engine used in the GT-R LM NISMO race car that flopped at Le Mans this year. Output should easily surpass the 545 hp currently found in the GT-R, and possibly eclipse the 600-hp GT-R Nismo.
Given the Nissan GT-R’s history of cutting edge technology, we wouldn’t be shocked to see some teething issues right out of the gate, even if the new car doesn’t arrive until 2020. But Nissan has been praised for addressing all of the GT-R’s flaws with extensive improvements since the car first launched in 2009, some of which take place right on the production line without any announcement or fanfare.
Check back for more on the next Nissan GT-R as we learn more in the coming months.
