Much-publicised financial issues will not kill off the return of the Japanese car maker’s halo sports car, its new chief revealing “exciting plans”.
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The Nissan GT-R sports car is set to return according to its new CEO, who sees it as part of a core range of ‘signature Nissan models’ defining what the Japanese car maker stands for.
Speaking with Autocar, Ivan Espinosa – who officially steps into the global Nissan CEO role on April 1, 2025 – said “driving excitement will always be at the heart of Nissan” when asked about the role of performance cars in the car maker’s line-up.
“There are many, many ways of explaining and showing to the world what this means, starting from the Z, which is affordable and fun to drive, to the GT-R, or even the Patrol [SUV] … these will remain, for sure,” Espinosa told Autocar.
“I want to have four or five cars at the top of our portfolio that are really brand-oriented, cars that really represent what Nissan is about and show what the heartbeat of Nissan is. And these cars should go everywhere in the world."
Orders for the most recent Nissan GT-R – the Porsche 911-rivalling R35 – closed in Japan in March 2025, following its exit from Australian showrooms in 2021, Europe in 2022 and the United States (US) in 2024.
Its departure leaves the far more affordable Nissan Z coupe as the stand-alone sports car in the car maker's line-up.
The final R35 Nissan GT-R is set to be built in August 2025 at the car maker’s Tochigi plant in Japan, with no timeframe set on when a new generation will be introduced.
It’s now a matter of when, not if, the GT-R makes a return to Nissan’s global portfolio.
“We keep the dream alive of what driving excitement is for. We will invest in signature Nissan models to deliver strong nameplates. Vehicles are the heartbeat of Nissan – and that includes sports cars, where we have very exciting plans.”
An electric successor has been mooted – with Nissan showing what that could look like with its 1000kW Hyper Force Concept in 2023 – but the car maker has previously said advancements in electric powertrain technology were needed before an electric vehicle was worthy of the GT-R name.
Mr Espinosa said progress had been made and there are still challenges to overcome, but “in a couple of years as the regulations start converging into more electrified powertrains, it might be easier to do this. This is what I dream of doing.”
The final R35 sold in Australia used a 441kW 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine with all-wheel drive, but there appears to be no appetite to continue with internal combustion – or hybrid – for the hero Nissan.
The new Nissan CEO’s comments come after a troubled run for Nissan cast a shadow over the GT-R’s future – and other models.
Slow sales globally in 2024 in China and the United States – the world’s two largest car markets respectively – and a large debt repayment saw the car maker pursue a potential tie-up with Honda as it looked to restructure.
Taking over as the youngest Nissan CEO at 46 years old, Espinosa told Autonews: “One fundamental thing we have to address … we think our brand is stronger than it probably is in some parts of the world.”
The ‘signature models’ – such as the GT-R, Z and Patrol – would be part of a strategy to strengthen the Nissan brand globally as it looks to bounce back from a difficult period, the car maker announcing its revival plan publicly ahead of the new CEO's official start.
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