Nissan is reportedly planning the next generation R36 GT-R, with a potential launch before 2030. The new model is expected to utilize a hybrid powertrain, possibly retaining a modified version of the VR38 engine from the R35. Official announcements are anticipated around 2028.
Nissan says a new R36 GT-R could arrive before the end of the decade. The VR38 engine block may survive, modified heavily for a hybrid system. Concrete announcements about the R36 are expected by around 2028.
The wait for the R36-generation GT-R has dragged on long enough to test even the most patient enthusiasts. As Nissan stretched the life of the R35 to its absolute limit, finally ending production in 2025 after an 18-year run, the idea of a successor started to feel less like a plan and more like a rumor that refused to die. Behind the scenes, Nissan hasn’t exactly made things clearer. Executives have spent years circling the question of what the next GT-R should be, weighing a fully electric future against a hybrid approach. The latest signals suggest the company is now leaning toward hybrid power, with the long-awaited successor penciled in for arrival before 2030. Read: Nissan May Be Steering The Next GT-R In A Completely Different Direction The senior vice president and chief planning officer for Nissan North America, Ponz Pandikuthira, has revealed the R36 will use a new chassis and is “going to be an all-new car,” but may retain the same basic engine as the R35, albeit now with the addition of hybridization. “If there was a hybrid powertrain, the block of that VR38 engine is so great,” he told The Drive at the New York Auto Show. “Why would you throw that away? But maybe the way combustions matter needs to be very different. Maybe the heads are very different. Maybe the pistons are very different. So maybe we have to change top end.” Hybrid Godzilla Nissan Hyperforce Concept Like the RB26 that defined the Skyline GT-R before the R35 arrived, the previous-generation model’s 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged VR38 V6 has garnered a cult following, largely thanks to its receptiveness to modifications. Pandikhuthira noted that as it stands, the engine won’t meet certain regional emissions standards, and to ensure it can be sold globally, it “will need some level of electrification.” This is the way that most car manufacturers are going with their high-performance models, and depending on what battery pack and electric motor Nissan decides to use, it’s easy to imagine the R36 GT-R delivering well over 800 hp. Equally as exciting as the R36 retaining a V6 engine is the fact that it’s not too far away. Pandikuthira expects “solid concrete announcements” to be made about the car by 2028 and that it should be released before the end of the decade.
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