Le Mans Hybrid power for Nissan GT-R

Ben Bowlby, Nissan's Director of Motor Sport Innovation, has revealed that the next generation GT-R will run a development of the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 powering the front wheels of the company's LMP1 racing prototype (pictured).

In an interview with Top Gear, Bowlby said that the 1250bhp (932kW) engine is a strong starting point for the next-gen GT-R's hybrid drivetrain system, which has been on the starting blocks for a l-o-n-g time.

"The 3.0-litre V6 is a sort of god-child of the true, road-going GT-R," Bowlby was quoted saying in the article. "It's a direct injection engine, and the combustion technology, and integration of turbo and intake system within the head design, is all very interesting and highly applicable to the road.

"If it was a crazy engine – super light with a short life – the reality is that it wouldn't be applicable. But it revs to the same as the road-going car – 6500rpm – and is truly an early ancestor of what will be a future Nissan GT-R engine."

To date, Bowlby says, the race engine is proving to be reliable, and far more frugal than the current GT-R's 3.8-litre V6.

"I think it's very important development that we shortcut by going racing. We prove that you can do an incredibly efficient and very powerful engine – we have roughly the same power as the road car, but burn about a third of the fuel doing it."

The hybrid R36 GT-R has been confirmed for production and is understood to be pencilled in for a global launch during 2018.