Nissan teases Xterra, confirms GT‑R
At the New York Auto Show Nissan teased a revived 2029 Xterra that will be built in the United States and offered with either a V‑6 or a new V‑6 hybrid powertrain (caranddriver.com). Nissan’s CEO Makoto Uchida also directly confirmed development of a new GT‑R and suggested additional sports‑car projects are in the pipeline (motor1.com).
Nissan used the New York Auto Show to show the first hint of a new Xterra and to say a new GT‑R is already in development. (caranddriver.com) Car and Driver reported the Xterra is due in late 2028 as a 2029 model, built in the United States on a body-on-frame layout, the truck-style construction used by off-road sport utility vehicles such as the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler. Nissan said buyers will get a V‑6 or a new V‑6 hybrid powertrain. (caranddriver.com) Motor1 reported Nissan chief executive Ivan Espinosa said, “We are actually working already on the GT‑R,” and added that sports cars remain part of the company’s plans beyond the Z. He also said Nissan needs “4 or 5 cars at the top of the pyramid” as halo models for the brand. (motor1.com) The timing is tied to Nissan’s broader reset in North America. In March 2025, Nissan said it would roll out new and refreshed models in the United States and Canada through fiscal years 2025 to 2027, with more hybrid and plug-in hybrid offerings to rebuild sales momentum. (usa.nissannews.com) The Xterra fills a gap Nissan left more than a decade ago. The second-generation Xterra ended after the 2015 model year in the United States, and the company has since leaned on crossovers such as Rogue, Murano and Pathfinder rather than a dedicated rugged midsize sport utility vehicle. (cars.com) Building the new Xterra in Mississippi also fits Nissan’s existing factory footprint. Nissan’s Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant is in Canton, Mississippi, and public plant-tour information from Nissan lists that site as one of its U.S. manufacturing operations. (usa.nissannews.com) The GT‑R news matters because the last generation is already gone from Nissan’s U.S. lineup. Nissan said in June 2024 that the 2024 GT‑R T-spec Takumi and Skyline editions would close out the R35 generation in North America, ending a run that began with U.S. sales for the 2009 model year. (usa.nissannews.com; usa.nissannews.com) Espinosa had already told fans in an August 26, 2025 Nissan video that the GT‑R would “evolve and reemerge in the future,” but the Motor1 interview is the clearest statement yet that work is underway now. Nissan has not released a launch date, price, powertrain, or platform for the next GT‑R. (global.nissannews.com; motor1.com) For now, Nissan has shown only a sliver of the Xterra’s front end and offered only broad promises on the GT‑R. The message from New York was narrower than a full product launch but clearer than a rumor: the off-road sport utility vehicle is coming back, and the flagship sports car is not dead. (caranddriver.com; motor1.com)
