The Nissan GT-R’s ‘Godfather’ Wants a Gas-Powered R36

Earlier this week, enthusiasts bid farewell to the mighty GT-R. After 18 years of production and about 48,000 cars built, the R35 is officially no more. Nissan’s CEO, Ivan Espinosa, promises that Godzilla will roar again someday, but one big question remains: will it still have a combustion engine? The GT-R-inspired Hyper Force concept was all-electric, therefore suggesting otherwise. Still, the “Godfather of the GT-R” wants ICE to stick around for at least one more generation.

Former GT-R R35 Product Planner Hiroshi Tamura wrote in an article published on Nissan’s website that, ideally, the R36 will still burn gasoline: “For any future generation of GT-R, it’s just my personal preference, but I’d still like to have some hint of a combustion chamber note.”

But don’t get too excited just yet. Now a brand ambassador, Tamura-san quickly clarified:

‘This isn’t a hidden indication of the company’s intent, or a clue to any potential direction Nissan might take, rather just my personal preference.’

Ultimately, it’s not up to him. Since the Hyper Force concept was a quad-motor EV monster with 1,341 horsepower, Nissan may well go that route. For now, things remain uncertain, with the company’s leadership admitting they still “don’t have a precise plan finalized.” That also means a new GT-R is still years away, whether it has a combustion engine or not.

Earlier this year, Tamura told Top Gear magazine he isn’t entirely convinced the next GT-R will be fully electric, suggesting it could be a hybrid: “I’m not sure it will be 100 percent EV. I believe Nissan will get customer opinions on the next GT-R. And if the customer doesn’t want a full, 100 percent electric car, we shouldn’t [build one]. But if customers accepted a hybrid, it probably might happen.”

Whether ICE, EV, or somewhere in between, a next-generation GT-R is on the way. Giovanny Arroba, Vice President of Nissan Design Europe, hinted that the R36 could arrive around 2030. Referring to the Hyper Force in an interview with Autocar, he described the radical concept as a “daring but tangible dream to achieve by the end of the decade.”

Circling back to Nissan’s article, Tamura recalls being the one who advocated the R35 to abandon the inline-six and manual gearbox in favor of a V-6 paired with a dual-clutch automatic. He remembers: “Some people thought I was crazy, pushing for only two pedals.” But he notes that perceptions began to shift in the early 2000s as high-end sports cars started moving away from stick shifts.