The R35 Nissan GT-R officially ended production this week, bringing an 18-year run to rest with no immediate successor ready to launch. While the automaker’s Chief Planning Officer for North America described the provisional “R36” to us at length earlier this year—think turbocharged and electrified, with more than 600 horsepower—he also pegged the next generation’s launch between 2028 and 2031. Not exactly around the corner.
It seems that Nissan still has plenty of work to do to realize that goal, but that hasn’t stopped Hiroshi Tamura—the R35’s Chief Product Specialist, nicknamed the “Godfather of the GT-R”—from offering his personal opinion on what he’d like to see next. Spoiler: It would get to keep its internal-combustion engine.
“For any future generation of GT-R, it’s just my personal preference, but I’d still like to have some hint of a combustion chamber note,” Tamura was quoted in a recent interview released by Nissan. “Again, this isn’t a hidden indication of the company’s intent, or a clue to any potential direction Nissan might take, rather just my personal preference.”
It’s important to note that Tamura has since retired from his post in GT-R planning, instead serving as an ambassador for Nissan’s sports cars. That’s a role he’s well suited for, watching Hakosuka Skylines roar around Fuji Speedway and daily driving a 240ZG back in the ’70s.
It goes without saying that Tamura’s preference appears to mirror our own. But he shares another important point concerning the GT-R’s future, which should make waiting for whatever’s next a bit easier on the fans.
“The starting point and goal, should always be to bring a smile [to] the customer’s face, to deliver true driving pleasure,” Tamura said. “I tell people to be patient, we had a gap of seventeen years between the [second generation] and R32 but, Nissan never gave up on the GT-R.”
The GT-R badge was indeed dormant before the R32 arrived in 1989, and it can be argued that the icon’s golden era truly arrived in the decade that followed. Nissan, despite all its recent troubles and corporate upheaval, seems to still regard the GT-R as its north star. It hasn’t lost sight of its importance to the brand, and clearly wants to continue that legacy. Until that happens, go ahead and read Tamura’s full interview. His words leave us misty-eyed, but also believing that there are still unwritten chapters in the GT-R’s book.
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