The current Nissan GT-R has been around for quite some time now, and it's in dire need of replacement. Just like the current generation, a concept of the next-gen will arrive before the actual production car. However, the new car won’t borrow styling cues from the Italdesign’s GT-R50 show car. Now, that’s a surprising move!

GT-R50 Is Not The GT-R

Speaking to Indian Autos Blog, Nissan’s Senior Vice President for Global Design, Alfonso Albaisa, said, "Cars like GT-R, Z, and Q60, these are icons. These show what you can do. Mech, aero and structurally...The GT-R50 is not the next GT-R. It's a celebration about the people behind GT-R. They are really not concept cars, they are collector cars,"

What’s In Store?

Nissan GT-R R26 Rendering
TopSpeed

The next-gen GT-R has been on Nissan’s mind for a long time, as Albaisa recently promised that the new iteration will be the “fastest super sports car in the world”. Although Nissan hasn't finished designing the new GT-R yet, Albaisa said that he has been reviewing sketches for the possibilities, but they’re waiting for the engineer to finalize the platform and engine specifications before getting serious about the looks and shape. It's rumored that the new GT-R might get electrified. Lightweight body materials would help to offset the extra weight of the batteries and motors.

Our Take

Nissan GT-R R26 Rendering
TopSpeed

The new GT-R seems to be a long time away, given that it’s still in its development stages. In the meantime, we could expect the Nissan-Italdesign GT-R50 to hit the road. The current iteration comes with a 3.8-liter, twin-turbo V-6 petrol engine that produces 560 horses and 470 pound-feet of torque. It was launched in 2007 as a successor to the Nissan Skyline GT-R. In 2014, Nissan also launched a slightly more powerful NISMO version, which is sold alongside the regular GT-R. Now, given that the GT-R50 is in a different league altogether in terms of pricing, will we see the next-gen GT-R follow suit? We would say yes, because it is apparently going to be the fastest super sports car ever. What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Further reading

Read our full speculative review on the next-generation Nissan GT-R.

Read our full review on the 2018 Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign.

Read our full review on the 2017 Nissan GT-R.

Read our full review on the 2017 Nissan GT-R Nismo.

Read more Nissan news.