Even though the next-generation GT-R sounds like it’s still a ways away, one Nissan exec is already talking up the R36’s supposed capabilities.
Speaking to Autocar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Nissan’s Senior Vice President of Global Design, Alfonso Albaisa, says the company’s upcoming Godzilla replacement will be nothing short of a game-changer, going as far as saying it must be “the fastest super sports car in the world.” Big claims for a car that hasn’t even found a powertrain style, apparently.
Albaisa says the next GT-R will undoubtedly be tech-filled but not necessarily electric and that such decisions have yet to be made. “Whether we go to a lot of electrification or none at all, we can achieve a lot power-wise,” he told Autocar. “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.”
We expect the next-generation Nissan GT-R to drop sometime in the early 2020s. Considering the current car makes 565 horsepower (or 600 in Nismo guise) and Albaisa’s grand claims, 700 horsepower sounds like a good minimum output for the R36.
The design boss continues, “The challenge is on the engineer, to be honest. We will do our jobs when the time comes to make the car is something really special. But we’re not even close to that yet.” Speaking of design, Albaisa says the new car won’t take inspiration from the $1 million GT-R50 the company brought to Goodwood this week but instead will be “its own special car.” He says the design will retain the GT-R’s beast-like, heavyset demeanor, comparing it to “the world’s fastest brick.”
“It’s an animal; it has to be imposing and excessive,” says Albaisa. “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.'”
Anywho, here’s the Italdesign-built GT-R50 making its way up Lord March’s driveway.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=A4yMJPZdlDI%3Frel%3D0
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