Nissan Skyline GT-R goes electric because why not

Nissan has visited this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon with a completely electric conversion of the iconic Skyline GT-R (R32). The sporty coupe ditched its six-pot turbo for twin e-motors delivering 435 PS (429 hp / 320 kW) to the wheels.

That’s a sizeable improvement over the original’s 280 PS (276 hp / 206 kW) heading to all four wheels through a five-speed MT and an Attesa E-TS all-wheel drive system. The electromod seen here uses two identical motors rated at 217.6 metric HP each (that’s 215 American hp, or 160 kW) to drive both axles.

Where the rear bench seat used to be a 62-kWh battery pack from the Nissan Leaf Nismo now resides. The company pointed out that it decided not to put this battery under the floor like many EV makers prefer to do, but didn’t explain why. The range also wasn’t mentioned, but Nissan admitted that the weight of the GT-R went up from 1,430 kilos (3,153 pounds) to 1,792 kg (3,950 lbs).

On the outside, the electric Godzilla looks like any other, and the same goes for the cabin. Even the transmission lever and the handbrake are still there. New additions include LCDs on the dashboard and the center console, but they just display the original car’s physical buttons and switches, so we wouldn’t necessarily call it an improvement. When driven, the GT-R EV imitates gear shifts and plays back a fake engine soundtrack.

Stronger cars need stronger brakes, and this one flaunts large-diameter rotors from the R35 GT-R. To fit them behind the wheels, the old 225/50 R16 tires had to make room for new ones sized 235/45 R18. Öhlins shock absorbers and other niceties from the Nismo suspension package were also installed. Recaro bucket seats with multi-point safety harnesses rounded off the build.

The one-off show car was a pet project of Ryozo Hiraku and his team of powertrain engineers, who worked at it during their free hours. As such, it will never go into production.