An Electric Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 Is in Development
This Godzilla is going EV, and that could be bad for Plaids.
Nissan is preparing an electric prototype of one of its most iconic performance cars ever: The R32 Skyline GT-R.
The project was revealed on Nissan's Japanese website, alongside a teaser video and a brief explanation of the project. The way Nissan tells it, the R32 EV is happening because the automaker hired an engineer who always admired the R32 GT-R, and now wants to electrify it.
"I want to build a more exciting car by adding the latest electrification technology that I am involved with to my favorite car," the Nissan engineer was quoted saying.
Curiously, the teaser video features the exhaust note of the Skyline GT-R's famous 2.6-liter, twin-turbo inline-six, the RB26DETT. The car in the video retains its exhaust tip, so Nissan is presumably converting a pre-existing GT-R into an EV. It might be possible that Nissan plans a full EV emulation complete with an exhaust note, but that's just speculation. So is the notion that this could be Nissan's way of laying the groundwork for R32 continuation chassis; a beautiful arrangement of words if there ever was one.
How Nissan might execute the R32 EV might also be previewed in its new electric crossover, the 2023 Nissan Ariya E-4orce. Nissan claims its all-wheel-drive system is programmed in the same fashion as ATTESA ET-S in the GT-R, which would make it perfect for the R32.
It might also be possible that Nissan uses this project for the development of another generation of GT-R. While rumors from Japan indicated the R36 would be a refreshed R35, a la new Z to 370Z, the 2024 GT-R's facelift would seem to preclude this. For now, though, it's all unknown, and all we can hope for is Nissan to do the R32 justice when it turns it into an EV.
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