Nissan GT-R 4 Door Saloon

The Nissan GT-R has been a runaway success for Nissan. Incredible performance, unbelievable handling and a price point that makes every other supercar maker’s prices look ridiculous.

But Nissan admits that the GT-R is a loss-maker, which is hardly a surprise. So what can they do to capitalise on the kudos surrounding the GT-R? The route seems to be more models based on the GT-R’s platform, including a saloon and even an SUV.

The GT-R is based on Nissan’s flexible FM platform but, because of the unique nature of the GT-R’s interpretation, it is known by Nissan as the PM Platform (Premium Midship). But the flexibility of these modern platforms makes it very cost-effective to spawn new models without starting from scratch, so the plan is to build a saloon to compete with the likes of the Panamera and a performance SUV in the mould of the Porsche Cayenne.

But the new GT-R derived vehicles won’t be badged Nissan. Instead, they will be badged Infiniti, which is the Nissan Premium Brand (equivalent to Toyota’s Lexus). Now that would have been a problem for UK car buyers in the past, as Nissan has never brought the Infiniti brand to the UK. But that’s changing, with a whole range of Infiniti models due to launch in the UK in the summer.

Let’s hope that when Nissan gets round to building these cars – probably late next year – they bring them to the UK.

Look out Porsche!