Woah, Nissan is building a one-off electrified R32 Skyline GT-R

Nissan has revealed it is working on an electrified version of its fabled R32 Skyline GT-R and hoo boy is this going to spark some debate.

From the short amount of text accompanying the teaser video below, we’re informed that the one-off prototype ‘R32 EV’ was the idea of an engineer who joined Nissan with a ‘longing for the GT-R’.

“I want to build a more exciting car by adding the latest electrification technology that I am involved with to my favourite car,” this engineer is quoted as saying.

It’s unclear at this stage whether the R32 EV project will simply add electrification to the Skyline’s combustion engine to create a hybrid, not least because the video shows the GT-R starting up its engine and idling. Perhaps it just shows the start of this particular R32’s journey.

In its standard form, the R32 featured a 2.6-litre twin-turbo straight-six with individual throttle bodies, and out of the box churned out a claimed 276bhp according to the oft-quoted 'gentleman's agreement'. In reality it was more like 300bhp+, and was built to deal with at least 500bhp.

That engine – an unburstable unit that tuners went on to squeeze many more hundreds of horsepower out of – was transmitted to the road via a very complicated all-wheel-drive setup. So successful was this car in its motorsport guise, Aussies christened it ‘Godzilla’, and an icon was born.

“By combining the car that I love the most with the technology that I think is the best, we can create a car that people around the world will be more excited about,” this engineer added. It’ll certainly get them talking. Watch this space for more…