Nissan’s next-generation flagship sports car could resurrect a design element not seen on the nameplate since the early 1970s, bringing back dual sets of round headlights alongside petrol engine power, Torquecafe reported on Thursday.
A new Nissan GT-R appears inevitable, and the brand is leaning heavily into the heritage of the Skyline name for its upcoming halo vehicle. Speaking to Japan’s Best Car magazine, Nissan’s head of global design Matthew Weaver revealed that the potential R36 model would look backward for its illumination layout.
“If we were to make an R36, it would have round headlights. That’s all I can say right now.”
said Matthew Weaver, Nissan’s head of global design, reportedly laughing at the end of his comment.
Design heritage from the Skyline 2000 GT-R era
Nissan’s first two generations of Skyline-based GT-Rs featured dual sets of round headlights from 1969 to 1973, a distinct aesthetic that also carried over to the tail lights. Since the Skyline GT-R nameplate was revived in 1989, subsequent iterations shifted away from this circular geometry.
The R32, R33, and R34 models all adopted a more rectangular, horizontal headlight design. When the R35 GT-R arrived as a standalone model rather than a Skyline, it moved the front illumination units into a vertical orientation.
When Nissan unveiled the Hyper Force concept in 2023, the wild electric vehicle concept retained the dual round tail lights characteristic of every generation of GT-R. However, its front fascia featured a full-length light bar alongside three horizontal slats serving as its headlights.
Confirmation after years of speculation
It took Nissan more than two years to effectively confirm that a successor to the GT-R is coming back following endless rumors about its return to the market.
Auto Express quoted Espinosa in April asking, “Is it a priority?” when the subject of the GT-R’s comeback was raised.
“Of course, it’s one of the strongest brands in our portfolio. It’s not only a car, it’s a symbol of many things inside and outside the company. There definitely needs to be a new GT-R: it will come.”
Conversations with US media outlet Motor1 less than seven days later saw Nissan global product strategy chief Richard Candler clarify that the upcoming sports car will avoid a fully electric powertrain, influenced by slowing sales across the battery-driven performance sector.
Why petrol power survives in the R36
The R36 Nissan GT-R will not be an EV as first expected by automotive analysts and feared by enthusiasts, with company executives confirming an internal combustion engine will sit under the bonnet. Current lithium battery chemistries are simply not advanced enough to handle the extreme demands of a flagship supercar.
“I think they’ll come as better battery technology takes its next leap, but the current lithium chemistries are not capable of producing a GT-R-type product. We’re not going to go with batteries in the next generation. No way.”
Candler told Motor1, explaining that current energy storage limitations prevent a pure EV layout for this specific application.
The vehicle will still require some level of electrification to comply with tightening global emissions regulations. Executives maintain that incorporating a hybrid assist system is common sense, though the battery remains a limiting hardware factor.
Remaining engineering questions for the platform
All generations of the GT-R—from its early Skyline roots to the standalone R35 architecture—have relied on six-cylinder engines. These started as naturally aspirated blocks before adopting twin turbochargers for the R32 through R34, while the R35 introduced a twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6.
It remains entirely unknown whether the R35’s twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 engine can be re-engineered to meet stringent global emissions standards if electrified. Engineers have not disclosed how Nissan plans to undertake this hybridization, though industry observers consider it a near-guarantee that the next-generation GT-R will maintain an all-wheel-drive configuration.
