Nissan planning big things for future GT-R, including Le Mans entry and hybrid power

The Nissan GT-R is a mighty feat of engineering. There’s no doubt that it’s one of the greatest Japanese automobiles built, slaying more expensive supercars and hypercars left, right and centre. But Nissan is already looking forward to its successor, which promises to be even more bonkers and boast even more technology than its older brother.

Talking to MotorTrend, a source close to the auto manufacturer has outed some juicy details regarding the forthcoming track tormentor.

“You can expect to see the next-gen GT-R get a toned-down version of the 2020 Vision GT car,” he hinted to the site, suggesting that it may look more like a Lamborghini than its predecessor. This also suggests that motoring fans should consider Gran Turismo, or any gaming concepts as more than mere flights of designer fancy. While the body will look like a type of Pokemon, the chassis will sport Le Mans-specification carbon fibre cowling, birthing a more rigid and lighter skeleton.

That’s right — Le Mans. Nissan plans to compete with big boys Porsche, Toyota and Audi at next year’s race, using the GT-R name as a launch pad. This monster will feature a gas-electric motor, which will hopefully last longer than this year’s ZEOD entry.

It should be noted, however, that many of the internals on the road-going car, including the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6, will remain, but it will be boosted by the company’s electric motor experience, bringing total power output of the system to a staggering 784-horsepower. All-wheel drive will be a necessity, while we hope the current car’s launch control system will either be improved (as if that’s even possible) or retained.

Cooling the massive battery reserve is labeled as a current major issue, but luckily Nissan has around four years before the car rolls out of showrooms. Excited? So are we.