RUMOUR HAS IT
Godzilla may not last long — it’s being overtaken by Nissan’s GT-R hybrid
Meanwhile, Kia and Hyundai plan to go solar-powered while VW speeds up its EV programme
The current Nissan GT-R may not gallop for long. According to industry rumours, the exceptionally fast Japanese sports car (nicknamed Godzilla) is nearing retirement, and its replacement may feature some sort of electrification in its power unit. There’s been speculation that the next GT-R could be inspired by the Italdesign GT-R50 concept car which was unveiled in June to celebrate the 50th anniversaries of both the GT-R and the Italian design house, but Nissan insiders have denied this. The gold-and-black colour scheme of the GT-R50 commemorates the 1972 2000 GT-R, and it’s believed the prototype could become the blueprint for an extremely limited run of hand-built production vehicles, but doesn’t necessarily forecast the looks of the next-generation GT-R. On power-train potential, it’s very likely that the next GT-R will be a hybrid featuring a front-mounted turbocharged V6 engine assisted by electric power. The current GT-R is moved along by a 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V6 petrol eng...
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