Nissan Teases Special R32 GT-R Prototype with EV Powertrain Swap

The electric restomod is one of the most popular restoration projects out there, where classic vehicles are given a second life, powered by a much cleaner electric powertrain. Already famous amongst the tuning and modding community, this phenomenon is starting to even catch up amongst full-fledged automakers in an attempt to revive and continue their storied ICE-powered models in these environmentally-conscious times.

Following Toyota in resto-modding their iconic models with carbon-neutral underbones, Nissan has now unveiled their latest project, in a form of the marque’s most storied nameplate, the Skyline GT-R. Posted via Nissan Japan’s official Twitter page, the automaker has teased a brand new EV prototype project, featuring the R32 Skyline GT-R – aptly named“R32 EV”.

The teaser clip suggests the electrified “Godzilla” project is still in its infancy, since we can hear the roaring sound of the RB26, as well as the presence of the large tailpipes at the rear. Should Nissan want to stay true to the R32’s roots, it will have to install a dual electric motor setup to match the original model’s all-wheel drive (AWD) system.

Nissan is no stranger to a dual-motor electric powertrain layout, which can be found in the Nissan Ariya EV SUV model. For the range-topping spec, the Ariya is primed with a dual-motor setup that delivers a total system output of 389 HP and 600 NM – which is more powerful than the original R32 GT-R’s output of 276 HP and 353 NM.

Aside from the teaser, Nissan Japan has also set up a dedicated page for the project on its official website, where users can read more about this R32 EV, albeit at a very limited scale. For instance, the website showed an interesting quote by the project’s mastermind that reads, "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." 

Beyond that, the automaker remains tight-lipped about this restoration project, with said webpage saying that more teasers and information on this project will be published in the near future.

2024 Nissan GT-R Nismo Edition, recently launched in Japan

Prior to this teaser, we’ve previously reported on Nissan’s plan to launch an electrified GT-R successor, under the NISMO brand – the marque’s performance arm. Commenting on this matter, Nissan NISMO CEO Takao Katagiri said the firm is going to introduce “a very exciting model”, which will also be available in the UK market.

“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 said.

Apart from that, our previous report also indicates that the marque is planning to revive the ‘Skyline’ nameplate, in the form of an EV crossover, said to be based on the Nissan Ariya SUV.