Added on September 24, 2014  The News Wheel   , , , , ,
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Report: Next-Gen GT-R Could Go Hybrid, Look Like 2020 Vision

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Next-Gen GT-R

Reports state that the next-gen GT-R could look an awful lot like the lovely CONCEPT 2020 Vision GT

The GT-R is long overdue for an overhaul, which is why so many started jumping up and pointing (figuratively in most cases, though literal in some) when Nissan rolled out a real-world example of the CONCEPT 2020 Vision Gran Turismo for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Ostensibly, the 2020 Vision GT has all of the hallmarks of the next GT-R, though there’s often enough that’s lost in the translation from design study to production vehicle that folks were reasonably expecting the ultimate result would look nothing like the 2020 in the end.

According to Motoring, Nissan has every intention to make sure the next-gen GT-R gets the looks that kill, with one source saying that it will indeed be a slightly muted version of the audacious 2020 Vision. Motor Trend offers up a render of what they think the final product could look like, and it still looks like an otherworldly Batmobile that could make Bugatti look tame by comparison.

Gallery: Next-Gen GT-R Could Borrow Heavily From 2020 Vision GT

One of Nissan’s goals with the next-gen GT-R is to make sure that it sells. Nissan currently only sells around 100 GT-Rs a month on average in America, and that number is considerably lower in international markets. Nissan intends to incorporate elements of the R35 in order to keep costs low. The 2015 GT-R starts at $101,770.

Apart from giving the GT-R a more dynamic look, Nissan seems geared toward making the next GT-R a hybrid in its efforts to make it more palatable to a wider audience. With preparations underway for the GT-R LM NISMO to take Le Mans by storm, it’s expected that Nissan will take the lessons it learns there and incorporate them into a hybrid-electric powertrain for the production GT-R that could result in as much as 784 horsepower between the 3.8-liter V6 and an electric motor.

Sources say that adding the electric motor will give torque a necessary boost, and that it would also require Nissan to roll with an eight-speed transmission. With all of the extra power, the unique shape of the new GT-R would be geared toward improving cooling and aerodynamics.

It’s noted, however, that the new GT-R may have been put on the back burner with the departure of Andy Palmer, who was heading up the project. No replacement has been named, but it’s only a matter of time before someone steps in to raise Godzilla from the depths. Let’s just hope they have the same vision of going with a GT-R influenced by the Vision.