Nissan is planning to give their supercar GT-R sports coupe a refresh. The ‘refresh’ would not just be superfluous but reports say that the GT-R will now get petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain. Kazutoshi Mizuno, chief engineer and product specialist of the GT-R indicated to Insideline that second generation of the sportscar will break covers somewhere in 2018. The first generation of the Nissan GT-R sports coupe came in 2007 and since then GT-R has got very minor facelifts.
Further, it is being said that until the development of the GT-R Mk2, Nissan will be watching the other hybrids like Porsche 918 Spyder as they head towards production. Porsche Hybrid is expected to be able to sprint from 0-100 in about 3 seconds and also deliver great fuel efficiency.
The other hybrid which Nissan will be closely watching is the next Honda NSX which will be using a mid-mounted V6 further supplemented by 3 electric motors; one for dual-clutch transmission and two to send torque to the front wheels which will help deliver improved handling.
As for now, the GT-R will receive updates in terms of styling and mechanics which would be making its way somewhere in 2013. These updates will be more cosmetic along with performance tweaks, which will take the GT-R a notch higher than where it is today.
