Nissan’s next-generation GT-R is expected to launch by the end of the decade, and it’s not going to be a pure EV. The new R36 GT-R that will succeed the aging R35 will have a plug-in hybrid powertrain and launch in three to five years, according to Nissan’s chief planning officer, Ponz Pandikuthira, speaking to The Drive.
Although it sounds like Nissan is already developing the GT-R in-house, Pandikuthira also hints to The Drive that the company may work with Honda to share a platform with a new Acura NSX. Pandikuthira has dropped a lot of theoreticals about the GT-R. He teases that it could house the 2025 Nissan Armada’s twin-turbo V6 engine, but also drive 70 miles or so on battery only for around-town errands.
Pandikuthira also told The Drive that Nissan had built GT-R EV prototypes but believes an electric version “would complete one lap at the Nürburgring” before needing a recharge, echoing the same concern he had in a 2024 interview with Motor Authority. At the time, Pandikuthira said they had not yet decided what powertrain they would use. Other EVs like the Tesla Model S Plaid have run at least three laps on the Nürburgring on a single charge.
Additionally, Pandikuthira mentioned that Nissan’s in-development solid-state battery technology probably wouldn’t work for the R36 GT-R. “It might be alright for other electric cars that you could do that are the cruising around need to be seen at a country club, but the ultimate raw performance GT-R as an electric car, that’s really quite a ways away,” Pandikuthira told The Drive.
As noted by Jalopnik, it would be tough to hit a deadline for the GT-R by 2030, considering a possible collaboration with Honda could take a while. It raises questions whether Pandikuthira’s comments on the GT-R are aspirational, or if there’s something much further along that has yet to be shared.
