It was an enormous deal when, in 2008, Nissan introduced that the then-new R35 GT-R set a sub-7:30 on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was a time that beat the almighty Porsche 911, and it prompted one thing of a disaster in Stuttgart. The subsequent GT-R, each time it comes, and in no matter type it takes, goes to must do the identical factor.
In an interview with Motor1 on the New York Worldwide Auto Present, Ponz Pandikuthira, Nissan USA’s chief product planner, tells us what he needs from a brand new GT-R. “Primary, it must be a really genuine automobile,” he says. “Think about should you did a front-wheel drive electrical automobile and referred to as it a GT-R. Good luck, proper? It must be genuine to its roots, and it must have a Nürburgring efficiency document.”
“That is what established the automobile’s cred,” he continues, “that it beat a Porsche 911 on its house turf. That should maintain good.”
Photograph by: Robin Trajano | Motor1
That is fairly a tall ask, given the speed at which the 911 has improved within the intervening years. Proper now, Porsche’s quickest inventory 911 is the GT3 RS, which set a 6:49.328 again in 2023. And observe that for the reason that GT-R’s lap in 2008, the Nürburgring put in place an official lap-time coverage for the Nordschleife, stipulating that the lap have to be measured over the complete 12.94-mile circuit. Beforehand, lap occasions sometimes omitted a the quick pit straight for a 12.8-mile lap. On a extra instantly comparable lap to the GT-R’s unique document, the GT3 RS did a 6:44.848.
So, the brand new GT-R must be absurdly quick, to beat that…. not to mention regardless of the coming turbocharged GT2 RS may handle.
Pandikuthira additionally provides the following GT-R must be electrified in some capability. “These massive horsepower automobiles are merely not going to fulfill emissions requirements,” he says. “So it is a matter of the place the tech catches up with us. Battery tech, motor tech, and it might take us a couple of years, however GT-R might be again, definitely.”
The wait might be lengthy, since Nissan would not have a brand new GT-R in growth at present, and sometimes, it takes about 4 years to go from concept to actuality. However, Nissan’s new CEO Ivan Espionsa, a self-described “automobile man” has mentioned he needs the GT-R again, so it may merely be a matter of time.
Time during which the 911 goes to maintain getting faster and faster, so Nissan’s going to must dig deep.
