Nismo CEO Confirms New Electrified Sportscar – Nissan GT-R Replacement?

The past decade sees many automakers from the Land of the Rising Sun reviving their beloved sportscars. From the iconic Toyota Supra to Nissan Z, one JDM (Japan Domestic Market) legend is poised to join its fellow revived compatriots in the form of an electrified redux.

Said JDM legend is the almighty Nissan GT-R, unveiled back in 2007 as the direct successor to the ‘Godzilla’, the Nissan Skyline GT-R line. Good news for JDM heads, as the ageing GT-R will be replaced by a totally new model.

As reported by Autocar UK, Nissan’s performance arm Nismo is currently developing a standalone sportscar set to debut before the end of this decade. The unnamed model will be sold in key international markets such as the UK, Europe and the US, aside from the Japanese market.

Nissan Nismo CEO Takao Katagiri said they are going to introduce “a very exciting model” under the Nismo brand. “This region [the UK] is very, very special for us, especially [for] performance cars. So one thing I can say is please wait. We are going to introduce a very exciting model to the UK market under the Nismo brand,” the CEO further added.

Katagiri also confirms that said unnamed model will be electrified, considering the tight emission regulations in said key markets. The new Nismo model, alongside other new Nissan EVs and hybrids, will expand the Japanese marque’s current electrified offerings, specifically in the UK market.

Due to said regulations, the all-new Nissan Z coupe was axed from both UK and EU markets, as the car does not come with an electrified powertrain to pass the regulations while not compromising its performance. This makes the yet unnamed Nismo model to be Nissan’s sole sportscar to be sold in Europe.

In conjunction with this positive revelation, Autocar has come up with a special rendering of the upcoming Nismo sportscar, taking hints from the Nissan GT-R and previous Skyline GT-R models alike. The ongoing Nissan GT-R is set to retire by the end of 2023, with its sales in both UK and EU markets having ceased this year.

Fellow JDM lovers, what do you think of this revelation? Does a hybrid-performance, Nismo-badged GT-R replacement sound good to you? With the new Nissan Z managed to meet enthusiasts’ expectations, this new Nismo-built sportscar has a massive shoe to fill, on top of it being an indirect replacement to one of JDM’s greatest icons.

Image Credit: Autocar UK