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The "mountain road god of war" from Initial D—the SKYLINE GT-R, that is, the GT-R R32—left a deep impression, right? Now it has become an EV, meaning a pure electric model: at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon, Nissan displayed the R32 EV, a "new car" that completely recreates the classic R32, adopts pure electric drive, and is the only one of its kind.

Nissan officially stated that this R32 EV currently has no plans for commercialization or offering a conversion kit. "This project provided valuable experience for team members, who invested a great deal of their spare time to turn their vision into reality."




Worried that the owner won't be able to buy gasoline in the future?

All great ideals stem from a simple thought. The original intention of the R32 EV project is, somewhat hard to understand at first, the idea of project leader Ryozo Hiraku: "I once thought, in 30 years, that is, in 2055 or further in the future, will the owner of this model still be able to buy gasoline and continue to enjoy driving it? I believe that using electrification technology and digital technology to recreate the R32 GT-R, so that future generations can also experience its charm, is very meaningful."

A bit of background: Ryozo Hiraku has long been engaged in electric vehicle powertrain development at Nissan, and is also a fan and owner of the R32 GT-R.




Worried about not being able to buy gasoline, so turning the classic into a pure electric model—this is the original intention behind the R32 EV's development. Therefore, the R32 EV's development goal is not to "surpass" but to recreate. That is why the R32 EV unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon looks almost exactly the same as the classic R32 GT-R in terms of exterior.

The body dimensions remain highly consistent with the classic version: 4545×1755×1340 mm. Also because the dimensions are completely identical, but after all it is an "oil-to-electric" conversion, so although the engine and transmission were removed, when the rear seats were removed to make room for a 62 kWh battery and two 160 kW motors were installed, the R32 EV is still 370 kg heavier than the R32 GT-R—the curb weight has reached 1797 kg.




Wheels are two inches larger

The R32 GT-R was equipped with a 2.6-liter twin-turbocharged engine, with a maximum output of 206 kW, equivalent to 280 horsepower, and peak torque of 353 N·m. The R32 EV pursues a complete recreation of the classic performance, so after the vehicle weight increased, the installed pure electric powertrain also had to change accordingly.

The R32 EV is equipped with dual 160 kW motors, with output reaching 320 kW, equivalent to 453 horsepower, and maximum torque reaching 680 N·m—in terms of power itself, it greatly surpasses the classic version, but the design team adjusted the output and torque to match the original R32 GT-R's torque-to-weight ratio.




At the same time, the R32 GT-R was equipped with Nissan's classic ATTESA E-TS four-wheel drive system. This hydraulically driven clutch can distribute torque between the front and rear wheels at 50:50. Therefore, the R32 EV also uses dual-motor performance to obtain the traction and stability of a four-wheel drive system. After removing mechanical components such as the clutch, modern sensors achieve torque distribution between the front and rear wheels with higher precision than a mechanical system.

The increase in vehicle weight also requires a stronger chassis suspension and tires: the R32 EV is equipped with the NISMO sports suspension kit and adopts Öhlins dampers, hailed as the "Hermès" of shock absorbers, along with larger brake discs and thicker monoblock brake calipers, providing the R32 EV with stronger support and braking to achieve optimal handling performance and minimal body roll.

At the same time, although the R32 EV adopts a wheel style similar to the R32 GT-R, the wheel size has been upgraded from 16 inches to 18 inches, with 235/45 R18 tires.




Maximizing the simulation of a sports car driving feel

The greatest advantage of pure electric models lies in quietness, but the R32 GT-R is a sports car, so the R32 EV is destined not to be "too quiet": the design team specially installed speakers in the cabin to play simulated sound from the original RB26DETT engine.

At the same time, the R32 EV is equipped with paddle shifters. In order to recreate the feeling of manual shifting, the design team specially wrote a program to increase the impact of gear shifts, simulating the brief shock the driver feels when pressing the clutch and shifting through a mechanical transmission.




Inside the cabin, the R32 EV preserves the original flavor of the R32 GT-R as much as possible, but at the same time upgrades the original seats to custom Recaro seats, and installs a high-resolution digital instrument cluster and double-DIN audio—key driving information display is retained, so although the instruments look technological, the driving experience remains thrilling.

Author: Liu Ying LY