NISSAN announced the next generation GT-R will be a hybrid. Besides using electricity to reduce emissions, but also to boost performance.
Andy Palmer, Nissan's sales, engineering and marketing boss, believes that environmentally friendly cars needn't be boring.
Andy Palmer, Nissan's sales, engineering and marketing boss, believes that environmentally friendly cars needn't be boring.
Palmer said: “There is an inevitability about electrification of all cars in the future, and there is the very real prospect of enhancements coming from it on a sports car like the Nissan GT-R.
“The electric systems can fill in the gaps in the torque curve and offer genuine performance gains, as well as lowering emissions. It’s a win-win, and I’d expect to see some form of hybridisation on the next generation of car.”
The current GT-R has been around for while now as it arrived in late 2007. Still, it's a seriously fast car and has already set a high benchmark. A four-wheel-drive performance car; powered by a twin-turbo 3.8 litre V6, that pumps out 545bhp with 463lb ft of torque. That gets the GT-R to 60mph in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it 2.9 seconds. That's quick by anyone's standards.
Nissan are no stranger to making electrically powered cars as seen with the boring Leaf. But the next generation GT-R is aiming to be a car that's fast, fun, exciting and kinder to the planet. The current GT-R is due to be replaced in 2015.
