The Honda-Nissan merger may be dead, but that hasn’t stopped collaboration talks between the two brands. Speaking with The Drive, Nissan North America Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer, Ponz Pandikuthira, revealed discussions between Honda and Nissan are still ongoing. He even brought up the possibility of platform sharing for the next-gen NSX and GT-R.
“Can we do a next-generation NSX and GT-R off the same platform, make the NSX authentic to what it stands for and make a GT-R authentic to what it stands for? So they are not clones?” Pandikuthira asked The Drive, rhetorically. “Can you co-develop two cars like that? I think we can.”
Acura NSX Type S
This theory isn’t just hopes and dreams, either. Acura confirmed to Motor1 last year that an “NSX-type” electric sports car would be put into production. Nissan, meanwhile, told us at the New York Auto Show that the GT-R would make a return. Other reports suggest the car will go on sale in three to five years, as a hybrid.
“The authenticity of this matters,” Pandikuthira told The Drive. “An Acura NSX had a very different origin of what that car was. Super lightweight, all aluminum.” He went on to describe the NSX as “super precise, lightweight, aerospace execution, whereas a GT-R is a brute, but a sophisticated brute.”
Pandikuthira was keen to point out that while merger talks have faded, the “strategic partnership” between Honda and Nissan, ratified back in August 2024, is alive and well. Ivan Espinosa, one of Nissan’s leads during the merger negotiations, is now the company’s CEO. He “never stopped talking with Honda,” according to Pandikuthira.
Photo by: Robin Trajano | Motor1
Nissan R35 GT-R
“We need collaboration,” he told The Drive. “We’re going to need partnerships to deliver vehicles. I think partnerships are going to be a key part of our future.”
Pandikuthira made sure to clarify this wasn’t a confirmation the GT-R and the NSX are being co-developed, but rather a belief that “it can be done.” Considering the success of Toyota and Subaru’s co-developed 86 platform, we’re inclined to agree.
If shared platforms get us more sports cars, we’re all for it.
More on Nissan and Honda
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