Last month, we reported a rumor concerning the discontinuation of Nissan's halo GT-R after the R35 life-cycle ends. At the time, a source within Nissan told Inside Line that a next-generation GT-R had yet to be approved for production. What's more, GT-R chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno's retirement announcement all but confirmed the end of an era.
Finally, a new report was released earlier today to debunk the rumor. During a recent trip to Nissan's R&D Center in Atsugi Japan, Edmund's Inside Line received a new report confirming that the next-generation Nissan GT-R remains in the works. However, Inside Line reports that an all-new 'R36' GT-R will not debut until as late as 2018. Based on the information, this will translate to a 10-year life-cycle for the R35.
Usually, a decade-long product life places the vehicle at risk of becoming obsolete -- this will not be the case for the R35. Earlier this year, a near Nissan backed a standard factory GT-R effort to participate in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. After the grueling endurance race, Mizuno claimed that racing the current GT-R will allow the halo to continue its evolution over the next five years. Through the participation in one of the toughest endurance races in the world, the GT-R will be tested on the durability and reliability of its platform to ensure it will be capable of handling whatever upgrades Nissan has in store in the future.
Unlike 2008, when the sports car realm was less crowded, Nissan must now keep its eyes on other upcoming sports cars like the recenly revived upcoming Acura NSX hybrid, which Honda promises will lap the Nürburgring-Nordschleife ever quicker than the R35. Combined with Mizuno's departure, Nissan will certainly be taking its time to get the R36 right.
Nissan has yet to confirm whether the next-generation GT-R will offer a hybrid drivetrain but judging from Infiniti's Emerg-e and Essence performance hybrid concepts, it certainly isn't out of the cards. By massaging the Infiniti G37's 3.7-liter V6 with a pair of turbochargers, Nissan bumped the VQ engine's performance to approximately 440-hp. Then, by mating a hybrid system with an electric motor producing 160-hp, the complete hybrid drivetrain in the Infiniti Essence concept attains a combined power output of an awesome 600-hp. Should the R36 go hybrid, we still expect the next-generation GT-R to continue applying the powerful 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 VR38DETT powerplant.
The only problem with an all-wheel-drive hybrid drivetrain will be the inherent weight penalty. Of course, Nissan still has until 2018 to figure it all out.
[Source: Inside Line]
