These exclusive renders see the ultimate Japanese sports car reforged into a new form that could rock the SUV world to its core.
Although the Nissan Skyline never officially arrived in the U.S., the Gran Turismo video game series created a cult following for this JDM car in the 1990s. The Skyline would arrive as an Infiniti G35 in the U.S., but it just didn’t have the same presence as the iconic R34 GT-R. The memorable appearance in 2 Fast 2 Furious film made fans want a Nissan Skyline GT-R even more.
Due to the car’s cult following, Nissan would introduce the R35 GT-R in 2007 which did finally come to the American market, although dropping the Skyline name entirely. Despite several facelifts, this model is still in circulation and is sadly showing its age.
With that in mind, it’s now received an extreme SUV makeover from HotCars digital artist, Timothy Adry Emmanuel. If the Ford Mustang Mach-E is any indication of things to come, a Nissan GT-R SUV wouldn’t be all that surprising.
At the front end, the iconic GT-R badge has returned and also has the grille and front fascia proportions. The contours on the hood and headlights are familiar too. This Nissan GT-R SUV is clearly much higher off the ground than the sports car that inspired it, but there are other new design features like the high clearance on the wheel arches, contrast color fender flares, and a more angular form.
There are some features of this Nissan GT-R SUV that are alien to the car’s traditional form, such as the four-door format, squared-off windows, two-tone paint job, and rooftop cargo carrier. But Timothy’s overall approach to the styling of the car has clearly drawn inspiration from the Nissan GT-Rs of the past and present.
This is obvious in the wide-body shaping of this SUV, which is a feature of this car that will please R34 Skyline purists. At the back end, those unmistakable round taillights remain, which gives this GT-R SUV the perfect finishing touch.
With reports suggesting that the next GT-R will be an EV with a 1,000-Kw battery pack and 1,340 hp, the future is very promising for fans of Nissan. However, this Nissan GT-R SUV concept appears to retain the current GT-R’s 600-hp 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 with its large quad exhaust tips.
That said, if Nissan did reimagine the GT-R as a crossover like this, it would have no issue competing against the Ford Mustang Mach-E or the upcoming rumored Chevrolet Corvette SUV.
