The Next Generation Nissan Z And GT-R Might Go Electric

Nissan is promising sport car enthusiast that the storied 370Z and mighty GT-R are not yet done. Their future may lie in electrification.

We need not sugar-coat anything here: the once hot Nissan 370Z and Godzilla, the Nissan R35 GT-R have both been around since before any 10-year-old car lover ever sat through and enjoyed an episode of Top Gear.

It was actually with members of the Top Gear magazine team that Philippe Klein, Nissan’s Chief Planning Officer, confirmed that sports cars are still very much part of the group’s future plans. This was not the first time that Mr. Klein addressed the Nissan 370Z’s successor and importantly, confirming that one is in the works. This time, there’s mention of the company’s supercar, the Nissan GT-R.

The difficulty with these sports cars is that they are under the gun. High-powered internal combustion engine-d sports cars are targets under strict current and future regulations. Moving towards electrification with plug-in hybrid power will fit emissions however Nissan wants to be certain that the driving experience will live up to expectations. We all know that EVs can be immensely quick and handle well thanks to their low centers of gravity.

The final question asked to Klein was whether or not Nissan would need to form an alliance with another carmaker (à la Toyota/BMW for the Supra) in order to build the next Z. Klein’s answer reads like finger pointing: “I cannot answer this – what I can say is whatever we do, we have to carry our brand very strongly, otherwise it makes no sense.”