Nissan to ditch Godzilla in favour of a bespoke Nismo electric sportscar

Nissan is reportedly working on a bespoke all-electric sportscar to replace its iconic GT-R sports coupe, also known as Godzilla, for its insane power and performance capability. The Nismo performance division of the Japanese automaker is reportedly responsible for designing and making this bespoke EV. British publication Autocar claims that the EV is expected to arrive in the market by the end of this decade. However, the carmaker has not revealed any specific timeline for the electric sportscar. Nissan has further revealed that it will not hurry to launch the model.

The Nismo electric sportscar is expected to be powered by solid-state batteries in an attempt to become viable in the long term. However, despite the automaker and several other automotive brands working on solid-state batteries, the technology is yet to be ripe enough for commercial viability. The high cost of these batteries is barring the automakers from using them in their electric vehicles as it would increase the cost substantially. This is possibly one of the reasons why Nissan has chosen to adopt wait and watch strategy for the upcoming electric sportscar under its Nismo division.

Takao Katagiri, CEO of Nissan's Nismo division, has confirmed the project. He said that this bespoke model is very important for Nissan. He also hinted that the car would first be launched in the European market, especially in the UK. “There is a very, very important vision in Europe for Nissan. It’s around the heart of this new car. This region is very, very special for us, especially for performance cars. So one thing I can say is please wait. We are going to introduce a very exciting model to the UK market under the Nismo brand," he said.

Nissan has already said that it wants to debut solid-state battery-powered production cars in 2028. Based on that, we can estimate that the all-electric sportscar replacing the Nissan GT-R would arrive in the market around 2030. However, it won't be an easy task for the Nissan electric sportscar, as there would be plenty of rivals from Porsche, Polestar, and McLaren.

Interestingly, Nissan revealed the Max-Out concept earlier this year, which grabbed many eyeballs. This was showcased to the world as a preview of an electric two-door roadster with a sporty design. This hinted that the automaker is working on creating design studies to make the future electric vehicles from the brand sportier.