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Nissan Skyline Returns With Retro Design—and Could Spawn a New Infiniti Sedan
Autoblog
Autoblog
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa is keeping true to his promise of keeping the Skyline alive. After all, it’s one of the longest-running nameplates in the brand’s history, spanning nearly 70 years. Ending its legacy now sounds like a waste, given that the name is revered in its home market of Japan.
During the presentation of its long-term plans, as well as the reveal of the all-new Nissan Rogue and first look at the returning Xterra, the Japanese marque gave a sneak peek of the rebooted sport sedan. Espinosa didn’t say much about it, but the few snippets shown spoke volumes.
Before you get too excited and think the car shown will be the next GT-R, hold your horses. Since 2002, the Skyline has been a totally separate model from the GT-R. Before those two lines separated, one had to be aware that the Skyline was more of a sedan with a sporting twist, and that it happened to have a hot version.
For those more familiar with the Skyline’s history, the teaser photos show design elements from past models. By the looks of things, this isn’t going to be an evolution of the current model and the discontinued Q50.
At the back, there are the signature round elements that have been a trademark of the car since the ’70s. It’s then encased in a black panel that runs across the width of the rear, likely inspired by the fourth-generation model that was affectionately called the kenmeri (two-door) or yonmeri (four-door) Skyline. The cursive Skyline badge on the quarter panel is another nod to the past.
For the front end, we see some inspiration from the R34 Skyline, with its sharp, aggressive nose. The classic ‘S’ badge has also returned, something that has been absent on the car since 2001. The last model that wore it was, you guessed it, the R34 – the non-GT-R versions, to be exact.
Any Juicy Details?
Well, none so far. Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa described the car as a “reimagined icon of Japanese engineering and driving passion, with performance and precision.” Now, fingers crossed that the ‘reimagined’ part doesn’t mean it’ll be EV only. That said, it was previously reported that it could get the same twin-turbo V6 engine from the current Z, as well as an option for a six-speed manual.
