And now, a dispatch from the Potentially Upsetting News Department: a recent Nissan trademark application may indicate the GT-R could go hybrid in the future.
Justin Berkowitz over at Car and Driver has the scoop on this recently-registered "Pure Drive R-Hybrid" badge. Check out the "R" on that logo. Doesn't that look an awful lot like the famous "R" that has been on the Skyline and Nissan GT-R since the 1980s? And as Justin notes, the "R" has also been used on the SE-R models as well, and more recently on the Juke R.
What does it mean here? Could it indicate an all-new performance car with "R"-worthy heritage, or should we ready ourselves for a hybrid GT-R? There have been rumors it may go that route for some time.
While that may seem horrifying at first, keep in mind that more and more high-end performance halo cars like the Porsche 918, Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1 are utilizing hybrid technology.
It's hard to think how Nissan can top the GT-R's insane zero to 60 mph time of 2.7 seconds with existing tech. A hybrid electric GT-R with a ton of electrically-boosted power may be the natural step in the car's evolution.
We'll have to keep an eye on this one. In the meantime, yea or nay on a hybrid GT-R, even if it's like a poor man's LaFerrari?
Photo credit lincolndisplayimages.com