2024 Nissan GT-R successor Nismo flagship bound for UK
GT-R successor coming to UK. New Nissan performance flagship due this decade with hybrid power; EVs to follow.
Nissan’s performance car division, Nismo, is readying a new flagship model, expected to be a stand-alone sports car. Speaking to DrivesToday, Nismo CEO Takao Katagiri confirmed the as yet unnamed car will be sold in the UK as well as mainland Europe and the US, following its release in its home country of Japan. He hinted that it will arrive this decade.
“There’s a very, very important vision [in Europe] for Nissan. It’s around the heart of this [new car],” said Katagiri, adding that the Sunderland factory also makes the UK an “essential” market for the firm.
“This region is very, very special for us, especially for performance cars,” he said. “So one thing I can say is ‘please wait’. We’re going to introduce a very exciting model to the UK market under the Nismo brand.”
The new car is likely to arrive as an indirect successor to the Nissan GT-R, which was retired in early 2022 after 13 years. Tight European emissions rules have also kept Nismo’s other model, the V6-engined Z coupé, off the continent.
This new flagship is likely to feature a hybrid powertrain. Elsewhere in the Nismo lineup, Katagiri confirmed that a combination of hybrid and electric models will be offered.
Nissan executives have previously told DrivesToday that any performance EVs will need to be powered by solid-state batteries, which the industry estimates to be 10 years away from making it into mainstream production cars.
Yet the car maker believes it could have solid-state batteries ready for its production models by the end of the decade, with research in a relatively advanced phase. Nissan says a pilot factory is due to become operational as early as 2024 with testing to begin soon after. This may be too late for Nismo’s next venture but opens the door for performance electric models to follow from the start of the next decade.
New Nismo could be seventh generation of giant-slaying coupé.
Last year’s Max-Out concept hinted at an electric roadster.