TOKYO — Rumors about a four-door Nissan GT-R have been circling around the car world in Japan for several years. But it wasn't until recently that concrete details started emerging.
One source now tells us that a four-door version may be sold as an Infiniti, which will make dealers happy, the same dealers who were disappointed to learn that the GT-R would be sold as a Nissan.
The four-door GT-R, likely to be called either Infiniti R or perhaps R38 or R50, is now believed to be heading for showrooms in 2012.
Nothing is set on the styling, but one look at this sketch shows which way the design is heading. Boasting headlights reminiscent of the FX50, just launched at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, the four-door borrows most of its underpinnings from the GT-R.
And it all makes perfect sense.
The car business today is all about the bottom dollar, or recouping your investment costs, so there is a clear opportunity to do more with the GT-R. Sure, it gets a unique chassis, unique body, unique engine and unique transmission, but only up to a point.
Translated, that means that Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn would never have green-lighted the GT-R project if the spin-off high-tech stuff — from the turbo engine to the all-wheel drive — wasn't going to be utilized in other models to make it all pay at the end of the day.
So, presto. Even without confirmation from inside Nissan, there is clearly a plan for a four-door version of the GT-R to be sold through Infiniti.
And, from what we're hearing, this sedan will be dropped onto a slightly stretched version of the GT-R's platform, using the coupe's 473-horsepower twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 engine and six-speed transmission.
Or at least that's what the prototype will pack. But there is at least one significant problem.
Nissan needs to dramatically increase its production of GT-R V6 engines, which currently stands at a meager 50 a day, or find something else to drop in the Infiniti R, which one source suggests could be the FX50's 5.0-liter V8.
But the GT-R story does not stop there. Sources inside Nissan say the company's product offensive will eventually include a GT-R-based SUV for the U.S. market targeting the likes of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S and Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG.
What this means to you: Enjoy the GT-R possibilities while waiting to learn Nissan's official game plan. — Peter Lyon, Correspondent
One source now tells us that a four-door version may be sold as an Infiniti, which will make dealers happy, the same dealers who were disappointed to learn that the GT-R would be sold as a Nissan.
The four-door GT-R, likely to be called either Infiniti R or perhaps R38 or R50, is now believed to be heading for showrooms in 2012.
Nothing is set on the styling, but one look at this sketch shows which way the design is heading. Boasting headlights reminiscent of the FX50, just launched at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, the four-door borrows most of its underpinnings from the GT-R.
And it all makes perfect sense.
The car business today is all about the bottom dollar, or recouping your investment costs, so there is a clear opportunity to do more with the GT-R. Sure, it gets a unique chassis, unique body, unique engine and unique transmission, but only up to a point.
Translated, that means that Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn would never have green-lighted the GT-R project if the spin-off high-tech stuff — from the turbo engine to the all-wheel drive — wasn't going to be utilized in other models to make it all pay at the end of the day.
So, presto. Even without confirmation from inside Nissan, there is clearly a plan for a four-door version of the GT-R to be sold through Infiniti.
And, from what we're hearing, this sedan will be dropped onto a slightly stretched version of the GT-R's platform, using the coupe's 473-horsepower twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 engine and six-speed transmission.
Or at least that's what the prototype will pack. But there is at least one significant problem.
Nissan needs to dramatically increase its production of GT-R V6 engines, which currently stands at a meager 50 a day, or find something else to drop in the Infiniti R, which one source suggests could be the FX50's 5.0-liter V8.
But the GT-R story does not stop there. Sources inside Nissan say the company's product offensive will eventually include a GT-R-based SUV for the U.S. market targeting the likes of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S and Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG.
What this means to you: Enjoy the GT-R possibilities while waiting to learn Nissan's official game plan. — Peter Lyon, Correspondent
Add A Comment »