Back in March Nissan announced they were converting an R32 Skyline GT-R to run on fully electric power. The project is now complete, and will be shown at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon in January. Ahead of the event, Nissan has uploaded a video of the car onto social media, revealing some details under the gunmetal gray skin.
Next to the old ignition switch there’s a Start/Stop button now. There’s no word on whether the key slot actually does anything anymore; Presumably the button is activated by a proximity sensor and key fob.
The gear selector and shift boot remain, but is it still a 5-speed? The stick looks a bit longer than before. Perhaps it’s just a lever that puts it into drive or reverse mode. In another shot of the footwell there doesn’t appear to be a clutch pedal.
The entire back bench has been replaced with a battery pack. It looks cleaner than other EV conversions (ahem, Toyota) thanks to a neatly designed cover that fills the rear cabin right up to the bottom edge of the rear windows.
Seeing a charging port under the fuel filler lid, backed by those iconic blister fenders and C-pillar, is a bit surreal. Overall the conversion is quite well done. From the outside, the only suggestion that something is amiss are the larger brakes, possibly with some regenerative energy collector behind them.
【R32EV】 vol.15
東京オートサロンの展示に向けて、車両を仕上げていきます。#GTR #R32EV pic.twitter.com/11ykZOWu4f
— 日産自動車株式会社 (@NissanJP) December 13, 2024
It seems an important part of the equation would be how the R32 drives. When companies like Jaguar converted E-Types to electric power it made sense, because many owners love the E-Type for its styling. Enthusiasts know the R32 is undeniably cool car, but its calling card has always been its supercar-level performance. You could even argue that the stealthy package was part of its sleeper appeal. Sure, EVs have insanely quick acceleration, but will the R32 EV have the raw throttle response, handling (the battery will be heavy), and steering feel that the original Godzilla did?
The car was shown at the recent R’s Meeting in Japan, but the Tokyo Auto Salon display seems significant. Is it dropping a hint about the R36? Nissan’s Hyper Force concept has already made the suggestion in much more impactful form. It will be interesting to see how the R32 EV is received by enthusiasts at the biggest tuning show in Japan.
If it is a hint to what the R36 might be, it is nice publicity stunt, but otherwise, I pretty much always frown upon EV conversions and especially this one. I hope they kept a nice original R32 GT-R in their museum.
I am an EV driver, I truly like the way it feels and drives. I also am a motorcyclist and somewhat recently a classic car driver. And fixer, of course…
EVs can be frighteningly fast, they can be fun, but they do not feel like any internal combustion engined car, the way they wear their weight, the torque delivery, the absence of vroom vroom, it is something else, some like it, some don’t.
But as written in the next-to-last paragraph, if one only cares about the looks, have at it, but seeing a Shelby Cobra, a Pontiac GTO or this R32 swapped to electric rub me the wrong way.
Take a Shelby Cobra without the ford 289 or 427 and brag all you want, but is that not now an AC Ace? The spicy bits is what makes a Cobra out of it! Take a Pontiac GTO without the big engine, what makes it different to a Pontiac Lemans? This R32 came with a legendary engine, tearing it out takes a big part of the experience away.
The engine, the whole drivetrain is a huge part of how a car feels like, its personality. Throwing it all away is like lobotomizing a car. You keep the shell, you pull the personality out. Especially with an EV drivetrain, as fast as they can be, and as fun as they can be, it is just not the same car anymore.
Would be cool to see this car vs. a regular R32 in the style of a Best Motoring battle.