Nissan has teased a restomod prototype of the iconic Skyline GT-R R32 sports car with an all-electric powertrain.
The Japanese carmaker posted a short, 20-second video on Twitter of a regular, combustion-powered Skyline GT-R R32 starting up. Nissan also created a landing page on its Japanese website for the Skyline GT-R R32 EV prototype.
“I want to build a more exciting car by adding the latest electrification technology that I am involved with to my favourite car,” said an undisclosed engineer when translated from Japanese to English.
This engineer apparently joined Nissan because he admired the GT-R.
At this stage it’s unclear what electric powertrain setup this Skyline GT-R R32 uses, nor what the outputs will be.
The iconic combustion-powered model is powered by a 2.6-litre twin-turbo RB26DETT inline-six engine producing a claimed 206kW of power and 353Nm of torque, though the actual outputs were much higher.
This was mated to a five-speed manual transmission with drive sent through an all-wheel drive system.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 was launched in 1989 and was in production until 1994. A total of 100 examples came to Australia in 1991 and were priced at $110,000 each.
R32 Skyline GT-R
This car came to be known as ‘Godzilla’ due to its overwhelming success in the motorsport realm, especially in Australia where it achieved back-to-back Bathurst 1000 wins in 1991 and 1992.
Fast forward to 2023, Nissan recently revised its Ambition 2030 long-term vision with more electrified vehicles planned.
The Japanese carmaker now plans to announce 27 new electrified models – comprising 19 new electric vehicles (EVs) and eight new hybrid models – across the Nissan and Infiniti brands by fiscal year 2030.
One of these new electrified models could be a new GT-R that’s powered by a hybrid or all-electric powertrain.
GT-R Nismo Special Edition
NISMO CEO Takao Katagiri recently told Autocar the company is working on a “very exciting model” that will be sold in Japan, the US, the UK, and Europe.
The new car will likely be the next-generation GT-R, or at the very least, the GT-R’s spiritual successor.
Katagiri-san hinted the vehicle will be launched this decade, and said it will be available with a “combination” of hybrid and EV drivetrains.
MORE: Everything Nissan GT-R
