Nissan's design chief has let slip, with a laugh, that a future GT-R might return to the round headlights of its earliest Skyline-born days, a gesture toward a badge that has spent more than fifty years reinventing its face. Beside that playful hint sits a more sober truth: the company's product strategy has ruled out a fully battery-powered GT-R, judging that current battery chemistry cannot yet carry the weight of such a machine. The moment lands where heritage, regulation and technology meet, and the car that will carry the name forward is still taking shape.
Nissan Hints New GT-R R36 Could Revive Round Headlights From the Classic Skyline Era
Round headlights haven't graced a GT-R since the early 1970s.
Mark
Why does a remark about headlights matter this much?
Mimi
Because the GT-R's identity is carried in a few details. The round tail lights have appeared on every generation, and the headlights haven't been round since the early 1970s. A design chief pointing back to that era says something about where Nissan wants to anchor the car.
Luke
But it's one remark, made with a laugh, and he said that's all he could say. It's a hint, not a confirmed design.
Mark
And the powertrain side is firmer?
Mimi
Firmer in direction. Candler said no full battery power in the next generation, and he gave reasons: weak demand for electric sports cars and battery chemistry that can't meet GT-R requirements.
Luke
Notice that's still one executive's assessment of battery technology. And he also said some electrification is unavoidable because of emissions rules.
Mark
So what form could that electrification take?
Mimi
That's not known. The source says it's unclear whether the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 could meet global standards if electrified, or how Nissan would do it.
Luke
Same with all-wheel drive. The report calls it almost a guarantee, which is an expectation, not an announcement.
Mark
What is actually confirmed?
Luke
That Nissan executives say a new GT-R will come. Espinosa said so in April. Name, timing, engine and look are all still open.
Der Puls
- A design executive's offhand laugh has set enthusiasts speculating about a return to round headlights that Nissan abandoned in the early 1970s.
- A product strategy chief has pushed back against an all-electric GT-R, leaving a visible rift between nostalgic expectations and engineering limits.
- Emissions rules are forcing Nissan to electrify its flagship sports car, yet no one has shown how a twin-turbo V6 would meet those standards.
- The R36 is still at the level of hints and executive quotes, and every detail of its design and powertrain remains open to question.
Nissan's design chief has let slip, with a laugh, that a future GT-R might return to the round headlights of its earliest Skyline-born days, a gesture toward a badge that has spent more than fifty years reinventing its face. Beside that playful hint sits a more sober truth: the company's product strategy has ruled out a fully battery-powered GT-R, judging that current battery chemistry cannot yet carry the weight of such a machine. The moment lands where heritage, regulation and technology meet, and the car that will carry the name forward is still taking shape.
Matthew Weaver, Nissan's head of global design, gave a teasing answer in an interview with Japan's Best Car magazine. Asked about the next GT-R, he said that if an R36 were made, it would have round headlights, then laughed and added that this was all he could say for now. Weaver, who previously led design on the Nissan Juke, was pointing back to the first Skyline-based GT-R generations, which carried dual round headlights from 1969 to 1973.
That would be a sharp break. After the nameplate returned in 1989, the R32, R33 and R34 adopted rectangular, horizontal headlights, and the standalone R35 turned them vertical. Only the tail lights have stayed round across every generation, and even the electric Hyper Force concept of 2023 kept them while swapping in a light bar at the front.
The hint comes after years of rumour. In April, Nissan executive Espinosa insisted the GT-R was one of the brand's strongest names and that a new car would come. A week later, product strategy chief Richard Candler ruled out a fully electric GT-R, saying current lithium batteries cannot deliver what the car needs, though he expects electrification to arrive as battery technology advances. Emissions rules mean some level of electrification is unavoidable, and how Nissan will combine that with the twin-turbo V6 and all-wheel drive is still unknown.
Matthew Weaver, Nissan's head of global design, offered a hint about the next GT-R in an interview with Japan's Best Car magazine, and he did it with a laugh. "If we were to make an R36, it would have round headlights," he said. "That's all I can say right now." The magazine reported that he laughed at the end of the remark. Weaver previously led the design of the Nissan Juke.
The comment points back to the earliest days of the badge. The first two generations of Skyline-based GT-R carried dual round headlights from 1969 to 1973, and the round theme continued to the tail lights. Nissan has not used round headlights on a GT-R since the early 1970s.
After the nameplate was revived in 1989, the look changed. The R32, R33 and R34 all moved to a more rectangular, horizontal headlight shape. The R35 GT-R, which was no longer a Skyline, turned the lights vertical. Round lamps would therefore be a break from more than five decades of design.
The tail lights have been the constant. When Nissan showed the Hyper Force concept in 2023, an aggressive electric concept, it kept the dual round tail lights seen on every GT-R generation. Its front end, though, used a full-length light bar and three horizontal slats in place of conventional headlights.
The design hint arrives after a long stretch of uncertainty. It took Nissan more than two years to all but confirm the GT-R is coming back, following endless rumours. In April, Auto Express reported Nissan executive Espinosa answering a question about whether the car was a priority. "Of course, it's one of the strongest brands in our portfolio," he said. "It's not only a car, it's a symbol of many things inside and outside the company. There definitely needs to be a new GT-R: it will come."
Less than a week later, Richard Candler, Nissan's global head of product strategy, spoke to the US publication Motor1 about the powertrain. The GT-R will not go fully electric, he said, because electric sports cars have not been hugely popular. He expects them to arrive as battery technology takes its next leap, but said current lithium chemistries cannot produce a GT-R-type product. "We're not going to go with batteries in the next generation. No way," he said.
Candler did not rule out electrification altogether. Emissions regulations mean the car will have to be electrified at some level, he said, calling it common sense, while describing the battery as the limiting factor. The chemistry, in his words, is not yet strong enough to meet the GT-R's requirements.
Every GT-R, from its Skyline roots to the standalone R35, has used a six-cylinder engine. The early cars were naturally aspirated, the R32 to R34 added twin turbochargers, and the R35 was the first to use a V6. It is not known whether the R35's twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 could meet global emissions standards if electrified, nor how Nissan would go about it. The report says the car will almost certainly stay all-wheel drive.
For now, the round headlights are a design executive's hint rather than a confirmed feature. Watch for how Nissan balances heritage styling, emissions rules and a hybrid-style approach to electrification as details of the R36 emerge.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
If we were to make an R36, it would have round headlights. That's all I can say right now.— Matthew Weaver, Nissan head of global design, to Best Car
We're not going to go with batteries in the next generation. No way.— Richard Candler, Nissan global head of product strategy, to Motor1
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