The current Nissan GT-R is old. In fact, with it hitting the market in 2009, one could argue that Nissan is battling it out with the Dodge Challenger/Charger duo to see who can actually stick around the longest. A weird thing happened this year, though, as Nissan decided not to sell the 2022 model year GT-R in the U.S., choosing only to offer the 2021 model a bit longer than usual – a move that was probably facilitated by an excessive stock of 2021 models. The 2023 model year is fast approaching, though, and it looks like the GT-R is, in fact, coming back to the U.S. market for 2023. Sadly, however, we’re not talking about a next-gen model, and we’re not talking about any major updates.
2023 Nissan GT-R – Priced From $115,435
Despite the one-year hiatus – in terms of model year – from the U.S. market, the Nissan GT-R is coming back to the states for 2023 without any significant changes. Compared to the 2021 model, pricing is up by a cool $200, but that’s the extent of it. Pricing for the entry-level GT-R Premium starts at $115,435 while the GT-R Nismo commands $212,635.
Not Even A Tiny Bump In Power
If you were hoping to hear about some kind of increased performance from the now-senile GT-R, sorry to break it to you, but that’s not the case. Still a supercar killer at heart, the GT-R carries on with the tried-and-true 3.8-liter V-6. In the GT-R Premium, the engine still puts out 565 horsepower and 467 pound-feet of torque. In the GT-R Nismo the GT3-derived turbos and some other fine-tuning help push the engine’s output up to 600 ponies and 481 pound-feet. The extra power is kept in check by a Nismo-specific suspension and carbon-ceramic brakes. All-wheel drive is a given, as is the dual-clutch six-speed transmission.
The good news is that, while dated, the Nissan GT-R can still run with the best of them. In Car & Driver’s latest testing, the 2022 GT-R (you know, the one not sold in the U.S.A.) was able to hit 60 mph in just 2.9 seconds. On the opposite side of the fence, Motortrend learned that the Nismo, despite the impressive power output, took the same 2.9 seconds to get to 60 mph. It does, however, handle a bit better and more like a race car than its non-Nismo counterpart.
Future Of The GT-R – To Electrify Or Not To Electrify
For the past couple of years, the Nissan GT-R has been in the electrification spotlight. Being, quite literally, 14-years old as of the 2023 model year, the current GT-R is due to be replaced. In a world where electrification is taking hold, it seems only natural that the next-gen GT-R will, at the very least be hybrid, if not all-electric. We’ve gone on about how electrification will save the R36 GT-R, but at the same time, Nissan has alluded to the fact that it’s not sure if it can electrify the GT-R or not. After all, the very nature of electrification comes with increased weight, and the GT-R isn’t exactly light, with the current model tipping the scales at around 3,935 pounds.
What is for sure is at some point the GT-R will have to be offered as an EV if the nameplate is going to remain alive. We don’t know when that’s going to happen, but there’s a good chance that an all-new design, based around an all-new chassis, has a better chance at happening than a hybridized R36 based on the very old bones that support the current GT-R. Until then, maybe we should just be happy that the GT-R is still alive and well because, unless things change in the near future, there could be a sizeable period in which the GT-R name sits on the shelf waiting for technology to evolve in the right way for an electric GT-R to be feasible.