Nissan Confirms Next GT-R to Arrive as 2016 Model

At the Nissan 360 global press event held last week in Southern California, a Nissan representative confirmed that we will see a new Nissan GT-R supercar as a 2016 model.

The current R35 Nissan GT-R has been on sale in the U.S. since the 2009 model year, seeing constant improvements. At first, the 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged beast produced 485 hp, but that was later bumped to 530 hp, and again to 545 hp, receiving drivetrain and suspension upgrades as well. Nissan has managed to keep its status as a giant killer despite the GT-R’s aging design and technology and ever-increasing price, and the new one should offer plenty more to keep it ahead of the pack. Just last week, the Nissan GT-R placed first in the third-annual Motor Trend World’s Greatest Drag Race.

A hybrid powertrain has been rumored to be part of the next-gen GT-R’s package, keeping pace with the technology coming to the rival Acura NSX. Before the next-gen GT-R arrives, however, Nissan has one last swan song left in the R35’s list of tricks by way of an upcoming Nismo version that should be lighter, more powerful, and far more track-focused. We expect it to land as a 2015 model sometime around the end of this year or early next, as Nissan has had a tendency to release GT-R models well ahead of a normal schedule in the U.S.

We asked our source if the next-generation GT-R would be a 2016 or 2017 model; we were told directly that it would be the former. Expect to see it land well before the end of 2015 if Nissan keeps to its product cadence from the current-generation car.