Nissan wouldn’t mind selling the R35 GT-R for another 17 years

Nissan CEO Pierre Loing says the carmaker was forced to end production of the R35 GT-R due to regulations

The R35 Nissan GT-R is old enough to have seen Deadpool and Wolverine, but it’s set to end production next year, leaving the automaker with nothing to take over for the 2025/2026 model years. Now, global product chief Pierre Loing has provided details on why that’s happening, when the next R36 GT-R could arrive, and why it’s taking so long.

The R35 is the first GT-R ever to come to the U.S. as a new model. For the past 17 years, it has represented a unique corner of the supercar market. Now, as it’s about to go, we learn that regulations are a major reason Nissan won’t continue producing it. That rings true for the brand, which currently sells the Z, a car that shares its chassis code with a car that first came out about 16 years ago.

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Speaking to Top Gear, Loing said of the GT-R: “It’s still on sale – for now. It’s been on sale for 17 years and we’d like it to be on sale for another 17 years, but the regulator is giving us trouble!” While we’re not huge fans of any car that lives largely unchanged for so long, most would rather the GT-R lives on in its current form than die completely if the next one isn’t coming anytime soon.

Discussing Nissan’s plans for the period between now and the arrival of the R36, Loing told Top Gear:

“That’s a good question. Of course, I’d like to have something that fills the gap. But if you look at the history of the GT-R badge, we’ve had gaps before. We showed the GT-R concept in 2001, we ended production of the R34 Skyline GT-R in 2002, and the R35 didn’t come out until 2007.”

“The difference between the ‘Kenmeri’ Skyline GT-R ending in 1975 and the R32 starting in 1989 was even greater,” Loing added. “The GT-R is strong enough to live with those gaps in its production. And we have to have a gap because as we move into the world of electrification, there are a lot of debates about ‘what is the GT-R in the age of electrification?’ We don’t have all the answers yet. We’re in the middle of all those debates.”

That last part is particularly telling. The Hyper Force concept certainly brings to mind the GT-R, but it sounds like Nissan isn’t 100% committed to an EV-only powertrain. Of course, as Loing notes, solid-state batteries could be the key to solving some of the problems electric sports cars pose.

“Each step is a breakthrough from what we can do with lithium-ion batteries today,” he explains. “We’re on track to have our first solid-state battery prototype by spring 2025. Two years later, we’ll have a prototype vehicle using real batteries, and then by 2028, we want to have a vehicle that we can sell; probably in small numbers and in Japan to start.”

“We’re right on time right now. I think it’s going to work, and solid-state technology solves a lot of the problems with EV batteries, like density, heat, etc. Vehicles with 150 or 200 kWh batteries? That’s nonsense – weight, cost, big wheels, tires, and brakes that they need. Solid-state technology helps us break that cycle,” he said.

No doubt, finding a way to build an electric car that weighs no more than a comparable ICE vehicle would be helpful and impressive. It would also improve overall efficiency. Now we just have to wait and see if Nissan can pull it off.