Rightly or wrongly, a long-running criticism of the Nissan GT-R is the fact it's nigh-on defined by its incredibly advanced software programming that's in place to make the car as fast as it can possibly be. Though we feel the pay-off is worth it when the end result is a terrifyingly and brutally fast car, there are those out there who'll say they feel disconnected from the car; as if the car is practically driving itself. In the next generation of Nissan GT-R, however, that could very well end up being the case.

Speaking to the UK's Car Dealer Magazine, Ponz Pandikuthira (Nissan's VP of Product Planning) revealed that Nissan has big plans for rolling out an array of autonomous vehicle systems, with the aim of making sure "that all cars in our line-up benefit from the technology". As a result, you can expect that whatever ends up replacing the current Nissan GT-R will be fitted with these advanced self-driving features to some degree. That being said, this shouldn't mean we should start petitioning Nissan to scrap such plans. On the contrary, Pandikuthira reckons having these devices in place would make the GT-R not just a faster vehicle, but also a more engaging and intuitive driver's car

For instance, Pandikuthira's vision is that the next GT-R that features this autonomous car technology will help teach drivers the optimum way around a race track. According to the Nissan VP, this could culminate in the GT-R "showing you the lines to take, [and] assisting with the steering to make you a better, faster driver". Though it sounds like anathema to us initially, there is sound logic behind it - not everyone can drive a car quickly, after all, so having your own personal digital track day mentor with you at all times could be a really effective way of teaching the owners of these stupidly fast cars how to manage them in a controlled and effective manner. It'll be interesting to see how such systems behave in the real world once they're production-car-ready.