The relatives of Godzilla seem to be in danger now that the R35 Nissan GT-R is almost done being useful. No more questions need to be asked because Nissan has stated that it is working hard on both the R36 GT-R and the next Z. This tells us what to expect from each car. In an interview with Motor Authority, Ponz Pandikuthira, Senior Vice President of Nissan North America, said that the R35 would no longer be made. The company’s global senior vice president of design, Alfonso Albaisa, said that different possible designs are being looked at right now as part of the style process for its replacement. Albaisa has hinted that the GT-R’s unique four-circle headlights might be coming, but how it comes needs to be clarified. He also made it sound like the aggressive, mean-looking design of the GT-R would not change, and the R36 would still be an “ugly car, a menacing car.” Albaisa and Pandikuthira said the R36 was like a modern car because it had four seats and could be watched and driven regularly. When Pandikuthira said that Nissan’s Formula E effort was like a test track for the GT-R, it seemed like the company likes electric cars. But he said that the drivetrain has yet to be chosen because the GT-R won’t run out of gas after a short track practice. Nissan is waiting for a big step forward in battery technology before committing to a GT-R EV. This could happen with the solid-state packs that the company plans to ship later this decade. A hybrid engine, on the other hand, could be used as a backup, according to some ideas. Sources say that Pandikuthira said, “The next generation of the GT-R has to be a real GT-R.” In 2018, Albaisa said that the R36 would be the “fastest super sports car in the world.” This shows how much people have changed their expectations for it. That is definitely a much higher bar than it was back then, so Nissan would do better to set goals that are easier to reach. One of them might be to turn the R36 into a fast car as the GT-Rs did before it. Albaisa also showed off the Z’s replacement and said that the design of the new car is in a similar stage. Z, on the other hand, doesn’t have a short life because it wasn’t meant to happen in the first place. Albaisa also thinks that the new Z will have a different retro look than the current model when it comes out. Instead, he is said to have said that it would either do something completely different, like with the 350Z or think again about the 240Z. In either case, the Z will be a hybrid, and the RZ34 electric will come out around 2025. We will know for sure if Nissan can make any more of its popular fast cars once we see how things go.
