Next-gen Nissan GT-R will no longer target Porsche 911, sets sights on Taycan electric car: Report

Nissan is tipped to turn its famed GT-R into a performance electric car to rival the Porsche Taycan, according to overseas reports, but don’t expect to see it anytime soon.

BestCarWeb has the scoop, and details the next chapter in the long-running GT-R book, but also indicates that we won’t see such the next-generation, full-electric model until around 2028.

The current GT-R has been on the market for 13 years, but no solid evidence has emerged that Nissan is ready to build a new-generation model, though numerous executives have gone on record indicating there is a plan and a desire to do so.

In that time, the entire Game of Thrones phenomena came and went, but still Nissan persists with the same – albeit regularly updated – version of the car it rolled out to take on the likes of the Porsche 911 Turbo.

It seems that Nissan executives have found a new Porsche rival in the Taycan to set its sights on for the GT-R, and it won’t be the only Japanese brand developing an all-electric sports car.

Lexus has already shown off its Electrified Sport concept, which could seemingly be a successor to its LFA, while Honda has also revealed that two tailpipe emissions-free performance models are in the works.

What could differentiate the next-gen GT-R however, is the use of solid-state batteries, which Nissan is currently developing and will launch a pilot production program for in 2024 before mass producing the technology in 2028.

However, Godzilla fans might not have to wait up to six years for a new GT-R, as it appears there are plans to update the existing car in the near future to keep things fresh.

The Japanese publication says a heavily revised GT-R is expected to break cover in early 2023 after production of the current car winds down later this year, which will serve as a stopgap to the all-electric model.

Underneath, the 2023 GT-R will feature the same mechanicals as the current car, and the 3.8-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 powertrain is also expected to carryover with some minor tweaks.

For reference, the now-discontinued-in-Australia GT-R made as much as 441kW/652Nm in Nismo trim, and could accelerate from zero to 100km/h in just 2.7 seconds.

The bodywork however, is expected to be all new, modernising the styling of the Nissan flagship to keep things fresh.

And if this strategy sounds familiar, it’s because it is the same trick Nissan has pulled off with the 2022 Z sports car, which utilises the same platform and underpinnings as the outgoing (and ageing) 370Z, and recycled 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 as first seen in the Infiniti Q50 and Q60 Red Sport models.