One of the R35’s ‘fathers’ reckons the next Nissan GT-R might be a hybrid

The next Nissan GT-R could very well be a hybrid, according to Nissan brand ambassador Hiroshi Tamura. It could also very well take another ten years to get here, but more on that later.

Tamura-san, former GT-R product planner and one of the R35’s ‘fathers’, told TopGear.com that he’s not entirely sure Godzilla’s return will be powered entirely by electrons.

“I’m not sure it will be 100 per cent EV,” he said. “I believe Nissan will get customer opinions on the next GT-R. And if the customer doesn’t want a full, 100 per cent electric car, we shouldn’t [build one].

“But if customers accepted a hybrid, it probably might happen.”

There’s a fairly large caveat to insert here: though Tamura-san has been at the heart of the R35 GT-R’s story – and Skylines before that – through his tenure as Godzilla’s product planner, he no longer sits on the GT-R inner circle. That now rests with new CEO and performance car fan Ivan Espinosa and his team.

Tamura-san however, is sure they’ll ask the right questions. “We need to show the next trend,” he said. “This is a very important role for the GT-R. It’s easy to say, ‘oh, it might be a hybrid’, but in my opinion the most important thing is how the customer, how the audience feels [when driving].”

He points to his own experience shaping and developing Godzilla’s long history when, back at the turn of the century, he was one of the people – along with Kazutoshi Mizuno – tasked with resurrecting the supercar slayer.

You’ll remember the Skyline GT-R famously went from a long line of straight-six powerhouses that stretched from 1969 right up to the R34, before transforming into a monster V6 in the now-very-much-dead R35.

“The first time we showed the R35 [internally] the reaction was horrible!” he laughed. “They said ‘Tamura-san, it must be an inline-six, you cannot put in a boring V6!

“I know the RB26 has a nice screaming sound, but we needed some excitement, and a new solution, and that’s why we selected the V6.”

His point: we shouldn’t get hung up on what powers the next GT-R. “People might not expect the solution, but the goal – and the most important thing – is happiness. Not the solution’s name. It’s creating something new, creating a new trend.”

All of this is assuming Nissan even gets the chance to build a new GT-R. From the outside it’s easy: a car so ingrained in the company’s history that making a new one is a no-brainer.

But Nissan’s in trouble: it recently announced plans to slash more jobs (now totalling 20,000), close seven factories and put all post-2026 new car development on ice. No word on whether Godzilla was part of Nissan’s post-2026 world.

Tamura-san however, knows how deep the GT-R connection runs. “I believe it’s something more fundamental; some spiritual connection internally and externally. One of the ways [to make this connection] is to have an emotional car.

“The GT-R is like Gundam tech. It embodies very strong power, controlled by technology. You are the commander. The car is the extension.

“The GT-R is about having strong leadership. That’s its connection into our company.” Here’s hoping we’ll see that face rise from the ocean to scare a whole new generation of supercars once again.

Image: Toby Thyer for Top Gear