Nissan has developed a virtual supercar to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the legendary Gran Turismo driving game, the NISSAN CONCEPT 2020 Vision Gran Turismo. Hear the designers describe their own vision in the making of the supercar.

nspired by the GT-R Nismo GT500

A WCF reader has sent us a render with a GT variant of the recently unveiled Nissan Vision Gran Turismo 2020.

Nissan joined the Gran Turismo 6 group of virtual cars with their Vision Gran Turismo 2020 that was actually exhibited as a full scale model recently at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Some say the artistic exercise serves as a preview for the next generation GT-R set to arrive sometime in 2017.

Now, WCF reader Yasid of Yasid Design has envisioned the concept as a GT car with styling influences taken from the GT-R Nismo GT500 which takes part in the 2014 Super GT500 class. Dressed in motorsport clothing, the GT2020 was designed as the ultimate track weapon with a sleek profile and a sloping roof line. It wears a massive carbon fiber front spoiler together with a huge low-profile rear wing and enlarged side skirts.

The next-gen GT-R will likely receive a race-spec version and just as the road-going car, expect some form of hybridization, possibly through a KERS-like system co-developed with Williams if we were to believe recent rumors. The GT-R R36 will reportedly have as much as 800 PS (588 kW) so a track derivative would probably have even more and all wrapped in a lighter package.

Could produce up to 785 PS (578 kW)

Nissan has remained relatively tight-lipped about the next-generation GT-R but new details are starting to emerge about the upcoming model.

According to Motoring's sources, the car will look like a "toned-down version" of the Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo which will unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year. The car is also slated to feature a more aerodynamic design and an increased focus on improved cooling capabilities.

Power will reportedly be provided by a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 engine which is backed up by an electric motor. Nothing is official but the website says the car will have a combined maximum output of roughly 785 PS (578 kW) and 1000 Nm (737 lb-ft) of torque.

If everything pans out, a concept could be introduced at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show before the production model arrives in 2018.

Due in 2018

A new report indicates the next generation Nissan GT-R will provide a combined output of 784 bhp (585 kW).

Nissan's LMP1 racer for next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans is expected to be the basis for the GT-R (R36) which will likely feature a hybrid powertrain wrapped around in a body inspired by the 2020 Vision Gran Turismo concept. According to a source cited by Motor Trend, the new GT-R will have an entirely new design created to provide efficient cooling to the hybrid system and also to improve aerodynamics.

It will allegedly keep the current model's V6 3.8-liter twin-turbo engine but output will be bumped from 600 bhp (447 kW) to 650 bhp (485 kW). There will also be an electric motor developing an extra 134 bhp (100 kW) which would enable the supercar provide a combined output of 784 bhp (585 kW) thanks to the hybrid system co-developed with Williams. A newly developed eight-speed transmission will be installed in order to cope with all that power, thus effectively replacing the current six-speed DCT which apparently can't handle more torque. Adding the electric motor in the R36 will increase torque from R35 GT-R Nismo's 481 lb-ft (652 Nm) to 737 lb-ft (998 Nm).

The report says a concept is expected at next year's Tokyo Motor Show while the production car will be launched in 2018.

Nissan is brewing up a replacement for its lauded GT-R with the brand's execs essentially confirming the use of a hybrid powertrain.

Nissan Great Britain's sports car chief, James Oliver, spoke to Top Gear magazine and said the next GT-R, codenamed R36, will "embrace electric power" and be even faster than the already outrageously fast R35.

"I think it [a GT-R hybrid] is the obvious direction," Oliver told the publication. "There's been obsessive development of the GT-R over the years, and at some point we will move onto the next generation car. The overall market is looking at different methods of powering cars, and at Nissan we've got great expertise and investment of electric.

"We already have the capability in terms of battery production and electric vehicle technology, so I don't think it's a great stretch to think a future performance product would have some of that tech incorporated into it," he added.

"When the R35 launched in 2009 it was a massive leap forward, and we need to make sure when the next generation comes, it's a similar leap forward. Not just the car itself, but the overall effect for Nissan," Oliver explained.

While the Nissan chief declined to disclose details about the R36's powerhouse, we think that it will be closely related to the new unit found in the Infiniti Q80 Concept from the 2014 Paris Auto Show.

Infiniti's four-door coupe study premiered a new high-performance hybrid powertrain consisting of a twin turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 and an electric motor for a combined 550hp. The next GT-R could feature the same or a similar setup – perhaps with one or more additional electric motors.

When asked about the sports car's looks, Oliver pointed to Nissan's Vision 2020 Concept for the Gran Turismo 6 racing game describing it as a "design study" for the GT-R R36. We interpret this as that the R36 will be heavily influenced from the concept pictured below.

He also answered a question in regards to Nissan's pricing policy stating that, "the overall approach will be performance on a par with much more expensive cars at a relatively affordable price". That doesn't really mean much, though, as in the U.S., for example, the GT-R's entry price shot up by more than 45 percent over the years, from $69,850 in 2008, to $101,770 in 2014.

Oliver didn't say when Nissan will release the R36, but Nissan's chief creative officer Shiro Nakamura told Autocar that it's "three to four years away", which places its introduction in 2017 or 2018, at least a year later than what we previously thought.

Both Nakamura and Oliver confirmed a facelift for the current R35. "We’ve been improving it all the time," said Nakamura, "and there’s still room to improve."

Oliver said something along the same lines: "I think we need to keep developing it and squeezing every last ounce of performance out of it. I think that our customers really value and respect the fact that it's being constantly honed and refined."

This means the partially camouflaged GT-R with the modified front end that we spied earlier this month in Germany is likely the facelifted model mentioned by the Nissan execs.

Current car still has potential for more performance

Nissan Chief Creative Officer has shed some light about the next generation GT-R (R36).

In an interview with Top Gear magazine, Shiro Nakamura spoke briefly about the new GT-R and reconfirmed the model will adopt a hybrid powertrain with the combustion engine sitting in the front. He went on to specify the supercar "will also be a front-engined 2+2 seater coupe" and the R36 will indeed "be a hybrid, but not mid-engined."

Asked by TG whether the unofficial renders which emerged online are accurate, Nakamura said that none of them actually comes close to the real deal. He did admit the Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo concept will influence the GT-R's front and rear fascias but not significantly as the concept was envisioned with a mid-engine layout.

Shiro Nakamura said the next generation Nissan GT-R won't come out sooner than 2018 because the company believes the current model still has potential for more performance and the added oomph will be implemented in an upcoming facelift already spied testing.