2018 Nissan GT-R Tipped To Use Carbon Fiber And Hybrid Power

Nissan has been making the GT-R since 2007 and it's a potent beast. The car isn't exactly cheap in its own right, but it punches much higher than its weight class costing significantly less than some of the cars it runs with on raw performance. Outright performance is a big deal for the GT-R, but it seems Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has fired up his troops to make a version of the GT-R for 2016 that is more desirable.

I'm not sure desirability is an issue, most of the folks that would like to own a GT-R simply can't afford the price tag of the car. A source close to the company claims that Nissan is set to roll out a next-gen GT-R that will have a full LMP-spec carbon fiber cowling.

The source also claims that the car will look more like the Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo that was shown off in June at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. However, the style will be toned down since Nissan designers think the concept car was too radical for the road. The current 3.8L V6 and AWD will carry over to the R36 GT-R.

One big addition will be an electric motor behind the engine boosting torque output to a massive 737 lb-ft from the current 442 lb-ft. The hybrid system will also produce 134hp of its own bringing total power output to 784hp. That should mean even more impressive levels of performance. All this tech will also likely mean the car gets much more expensive as well. If all goes well a production version of this car is expected for the 2018 model year.

SOURCE: MotorTrend