Nissan are rolling off the last GT-R, but is the story over?
Nissan GT-R production is coming to an end, but a resurrection is definitely on long-term plans, says the top management of the brand. However, at present, it might not be the most financially beneficial for the company at present.
New Delhi: The Nissan GT-R’s demise was inevitable, and after 18 years in production, the R35 has run its course. Since it first rolled off from the Tochigi plant line in 2007, close to 48,000 units have been built. The final specimen is a Premium edition T-Spec in Midnight Purple, made for a customer from Japan.
However, the farewell is only temporary, said Nissan CEO and President Ivan Espinosa, who has reassured car enthusiasts, noting that the company’s ultimate goal is to ensure that it returns someday. However, he has pointed out that the arrival of the R36 isn't going to be anytime soon, and the brand doesn’t have a set plan at the moment.
Espinosa joins a list of senior Nissan officials who have said that the car will make a comeback. USA’s chief product planner, Pons Pandikuthira, had told Motor1 that the GT-R was surely in the plan to come back. There have even been confirmation from Arnaud Charpentier, VP of Product Marketing Strategy told Auto Express that there were some people dedicatedly to working on the next generation of the GT-R.
There have been many hints as to how the R36 might take, including a Hyper Force concept unveiled at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo that could make 1,341 bhp and would have a top speed of 321 kph with a solid-state battery. It isn’t yet known whether the GT-R will be completely electric or if it will get to retain an internal combustion engine for yet another generation.
Can the GT-R be a sensible investment from Nissan?
At present, Nissan has to recover from the dire state of their financial situation. Even Nissan knows that a supercar will go a long way for their image, but a low-volume selling product cannot help their state of capital. The company is, in fact, racing parts complexity by 70 per cent and reducing platforms from 13 to merely seven.
All of this makes the GT-R’s return much harder to happen in the near future, despite being a part of their long-term schemes. The GT-R R35 remains the oldest Japanese car still, though there is the Land Cruiser 70 series, which is nothing with Toyota building it since 1984.