Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa has reaffirmed that a new GT-R is coming. He's also said he'd like to bring back something in the spirit of the Silvia — but that second part is still just an idea he's floated, not a confirmed product.
The GT-R commitment isn't new, but it's the clearest signal yet of where Nissan's sports-car lineup is headed. At the company's "long-term vision" presentation on April 14, 2026 — an event that centered on a next-generation Skyline sedan, a revived Xterra, a redesigned X-Trail/Rogue e-Power, and a Juke EV — Espinosa told reporters in a group interview that Nissan is investing in sports cars and has an obligation to carry on the GT-R's tradition and heritage. That comes about a year after the current R35 GT-R finished production in August 2025, ending an 18-year run.
Separately, Espinosa has talked about wanting a second, more affordable sports car in the lineup. His own framing, as quoted by multiple outlets: rather than building a "spicy Sentra," he'd "probably go and make a Silvia — a real affordable sports car." He's also said the first car he ever bought was a Silvia and that he thinks there's still space for one. But he immediately qualified it — "I'm not saying I will do it" — which is about as clear a hedge as a CEO can give. Nissan has not confirmed the Silvia name, a concept car, a platform, or a launch date for any such model; what's on record is a personal enthusiasm, not a product plan.
Where things get speculative is the next GT-R itself — widely referred to online as the "R36," though that's an unofficial nickname, not a Nissan code name. On August 8, Response.jp published a rendering-based prediction piece imagining a next-gen GT-R with sharper LED headlights, a larger front intake, and smoother bodywork aimed at improving aerodynamics, borrowing cues from the 2023 Hyper Force concept but toned down for production feasibility. The outlet didn't cite a named source for any of this — it's presented as informed guesswork. On the mechanical side, the same report speculates about a hybrid or plug-in-hybrid setup built around a version of the VR38DETT twin-turbo V6, with output estimated at roughly 800–900 PS (about 789–888 hp) for a standard car and around 1,000 PS (about 986 hp) for a NISMO variant. The same report floats a 2029–2030 arrival, not before 2028. None of these figures have been confirmed by Nissan.
Worth separating clearly: the GT-R's return is something Nissan's CEO has said on the record. The Silvia idea is something the same CEO has floated and then walked back from committing to. The R36 specs and timeline are neither — they're a single Japanese outlet's speculation, informed by reading the CEO's comments and past GT-R development cycles, but not a preview of a confirmed car.
Context matters too. The R35 ran for 18 years, from its 2007 launch until production ended last August — an unusually long model cycle for a modern performance car. The last time GT-R buyers had to wait for a new generation, the gap was shorter: about five years between the R34's 2002 production end and the R35's 2007 debut. That history doesn't tell us how long the current wait will run, but it's part of why any concrete word from Nissan on the next GT-R tends to travel fast through JDM circles.
For fans outside Japan, the throughline is this: Nissan's own leadership says the GT-R is coming back, and the same person has floated — without committing to — something in the Silvia's spirit. What either car actually looks like, and when either arrives, remains open. We'll follow up as Nissan puts out anything more concrete than a CEO comment and an outlet's rendering.