There is a lot of conflicting information coming out of Nissan->ke62 about the possibility of a super->ke177 sedan->ke142, but the latest news says that the project is a go, and we're hoping that this time it's correct. All of this talk got started by the 2014 Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge concept, essentially a 2014 Infiniti Q50 with the drivetrain out of the 2014 Nissan GT-R. It seems like a simple enough idea that could make for an amazing car, which is why everyone was shocked to learn that Nissan had allegedly shelved the project. That news came from a former Nissan VP and seemed extremely reliable.
Super sedans are reasonably popular though, with Porsche->ke1, Aston Martin->ke13 and Lamborghini->ke44 all joining the fray with longtime contenders Mercedes-Benz->ke187, BMW->ke178 and Audi->ke14. For Infiniti->ke36 to stay out of the fight seems counter intuitive, especially when you consider how much of the engineering work has already been done. But the latest rumor suggests that when the new GT-R debuts in 2018, a four-door version of the car will be debuting alongside it wearing an Infiniti badge. This really makes a lot of sense, to design a whole new generation of the car with the intention of building both two-door and four-door varieties.
Note: Next generation Nissan GT-R rendered here.
Continue reading to learn more about the 2019 Nissan GT-R Sedan.
2019 Nissan GT-R Sedan
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- Model: 2019 Nissan GT-R Sedan
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Exterior
It's pretty unlikely that a sedan version of the GT-R would just look like a GT-R that has been stretched out enough to add another set of doors. Nissan is putting an Infiniti badge on the car because it wants you to think of the cars as two different products, and the styling will almost surely separate the two even further. Moreover, the new car probably won't look like the Eau Rouge either, as a big part of the advantage of designing a new car from the ground up is that you don't have to make it look like an older one. It is also very possible that the new one won't be a tie in with the Q50->ke4742 either, and as a standalone it would have to have its own unique look.
Interior
Note: interior from 2014 Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge shown here.
Nobody ever really talks much about the interior of the GT-R. It does its job just fine, but the insane performance is what tends to draw your attention. But slap an Infiniti badge on the car and the rules will change. The interior doesn't quite have to be good enough to take focus away from the performance entirely, but it will have to be something that you notice, especially now that it will be a sedan->ke142. Hopefully Infiniti will make the effort to give the car its own interior, rather than taking the easy route and adding a few bells and whistles to the Nissan version. The car's competitors certainly have excellent interiors, and Infiniti will have to make a real effort to keep up.
Drivetrain
Note: Engine from 2015 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo shown here.
Nissan has reportedly been sending a lot of the engineering work for the next GT-R out to its American and European divisions, with some of the work reportedly being done in a partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering, a subsidiary of the Williams F1 team. This is odd, given Nissan's history with Red Bull, but it's not impossible. The real heart of the car will come from North America, a detuned version of the 3.0-liter hybrid->ke147 V6 drivetrain from the weird-looking 2015 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo Le Mans->ke1591 racer->ke148. It will definitely put out something less than the 1,250 horsepower that the racing version produces, but it's not entirely clear how much less, hopefully not much.
Prices
It is reasonable to expect that whatever this sedan shapes up to be, it will probably cost at least as much as a GT-R, and in all likelihood more. This makes things tricky for Nissan, as the 2014 BMW M5 (something of a yardstick in this niche) starts about ten grand shy of the GT-R's starting price. That puts the new sedan at a disadvantage right from the start, unless it's quite a bit faster than the BMW. Porsche manages to sell the 2016 Porsche Panamera Turbo for $142,000, and this is more the sort of price we'd expect from a GT-R sedan, given that the current coupe starts at $103,000. The trouble is, Porsche has its share of problems in justifying its existence as it is, what with an M5 coming in just under the $100,000 mark. It's just so much more money for basically the same performance, an Infiniti in the same niche will have its work cut out for it. Hopefully the new sedan will be a lot faster than the competition, otherwise it won't last long.
Competition
BMW M5
This is the go-to that most people think of when it comes to bigger super sedans. The M5->ke2922 has for some time represented a balance between performance and luxury that makes it look easy. With 560 horsepower and very comfortable seating for five, the M5 will most certainly be the car that a new GT-R will be compared to, no matter what Audi and Mercedes-Benz might have to offer.
Read more about the 2014 BMW M5 here.
Porsche Panamera Turbo
With its price tag that can reach past $200,000, the 2015 Porsche Panamera Turbo is on the pricey side for super sedans. Part of this is simply the Porsche name, but the Turbo S is also faster than an M5, albeit only slightly. There is a very real chance that the new GT-R sedan will be faster still, but we'll have to wait to see how these two stack up. And even those who are worried about how the GT-R will look are probably not too worried about how the styling will measure up to that of the Panamera->ke1840, because it is truly hideous.
Read more about the 2015 Porsche Panamera Turbo here->Porsche Panamera Turbo.
Conclusion
A GT-R sedan sounds great. It makes good business sense, and more super-fast sedans on the market is never a bad thing. A lot of the details about the car are still unanswered, not least of which being whether it will ever actually exist, but the GT-R is an impressive enough machine already to inspire confidence in a four-door version. But one potential problem is that GT-R is popular for its supercar slaying abilities, and those buying it to do that are unlikely to pick the sedan instead. The car would really just be a super sedan, and it will heading into a market that already offers very strong competition for such a car. Hopefully it can do to these sedans what the GT-R did to the other cars in its price range, but it's too soon to tell. We will be holding our collective breath waiting for this car.