Classic Nissan Skyline GT-R goes electric

Nissan’s iconic R32 Skyline GT-R became one of the most revered racing cars of its era, thanks in part to its screaming twin-turbo straight-six ‘RB26’ engine.

However, 35 years on from its debut, Nissan is bringing ‘Godzilla’ into the modern age by making the GT-R an electric vehicle (EV).

Set to be unveiled in full at next year’s Tokyo Auto Salon in January, the R32EV is a concept built by a team of Nissan’s volunteer engineers who began work on the electric-converted coupe in March 2023.

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Nissan is yet to reveal details about the R32EV, though it’s known that it goes without the petrol-powered 2.6-litre RB26 that powered the circa-44,000 GT-Rs made between 1989 and 1994, 100 of which were officially sold in Australia.

At the time, Nissan claimed the Skyline GT-R produced 206kW, however, the true figure is understood to be much higher due to a gentleman’s agreement between Japanese carmakers at the time, which limited official outputs to 206kW.

A five-speed manual transmission and all-wheel drive were standard, the latter of which gave the Skyline a significant advantage over its rear-wheel drive, racetrack rivals such as the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500, BMW M3 and Holden Commodore.

This led to two Bathurst 1000 wins in 1991 and 1992, before new regulations came into effect in 1993, outlawing the all-wheel drive GT-R from competition.

The concept’s unveiling comes at a pivotal time for Nissan, which has faced mounting financial woes in recent months due to slipping sales in its two biggest markets.

A report by The Financial Times last month claimed a senior official close to the carmaker said “we have 12 or 14 months to survive”.

Nissan plans to launch 27 new electrified models – comprising 19 new EVs and eight new hybrid models – across the its core Nissan and luxury Infiniti brands by fiscal year 2030.

One of these new electrified models could be a new GT-R, powered by a hybrid or all-electric powertrain.

The Nissan Hyper Force concept at last year’s Tokyo motor show previewed the potential future of the GT-R as a 1000kW electric coupe, with reports from Japan claiming the R36-generation model will feature solid-state batteries.

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