Just found this http://www2.nissan.co.jp/SKYLINE/V35...CHA/index.html (click on the 4WD tab on the top right).

Looks like they have a 4WD Skyline now, so I wonder if we will see a 4WD in North America for the 2004 model year?









G35C 6MT CB Willow Aero Prem

 

ya there's a awd g35 sedan not the coupe yet.

BS G35C 6spd navi/aero/prem

 

I couldnt make much sense of this .. but here's some pic links to em...

Looks like they are calling it the 350GT8

http://www2.nissan.co.jp/SKYLINE/V35...EUP/index.html

later Gs

should I wait for the 4 wd coupe????

 

dude...the 4wd coupe isnt gonna be here for a good 3 or more years...go ahead..enjoy the wait.

 

The 4wd system will make the car even more overweight than it already is. I am going to stick with the RWD thank you.

The car already needs a 500lb diet

Dan O
Eaton Corporation

 

right on Dan0. I'm fine with RWD too it's a bit more fun then AWD.


BS G35C 6spd navi/aero/prem

 

Not to mention, it'll rob power to the wheels.

 

The only advantage it would have is launching ability for those who cant launch the RWD well.



Dan O
Eaton Corporation

 

I'll give you another reason I might considering trading in mine for the AWD. My G Coupe is my only car and we do get some bad weather in winter time here.

 

yes, that is another reason but i was speaking merely of performance advantages.

If you drove in winter alot, i can see how it would help but when i get my G, it will be parked in the garage for the winter.

I guess i just find the G to be overweight, My Lincoln Mark VIII with a 4.6L V8 weighs in only a little over 100lbs heavier.

I love the G but i will have to put it on a diet.

Dan O
Eaton Corporation

 

for me, no thanks on the diet...this is a luxury vehicle aimed at taking the crown from the German market... and as you should know, german cars are heavy, built safe because of the autobahn... plus we get sooo many trucks and SUV's here in the States, its MUCH safer to be heavy. To offset just add more power...simple

<font color=green>-Ramb0</font color=green>

 

If the GT-R actually produces 400 HP and is available next year you may want to reconsider the AWD. The added weight may be a necessity to keep it from going airborne!

Maybe it's just hype but.....

Take a look at this clip from: http://www.evo.co.uk/t/details/id30904/story.htm

It might look like a svelte and stylish coupé with a luxury interior, but underneath the smooth lines of this US-built Infiniti G35 lies the underpinnings of Nissan's GT-R supercar, due in 2004.

More details of the Japanese monster machine have been revealed by the firm's vice-president of product planning, Patrick Pilata, who spoke exclusively to Auto Express at a secret unveiling of the new 350Z convertible. He also said that plans to power the Skyline replacement with a twin-turbo 4.5-litre V8 engine had been dropped.

Instead, the GT-R will come with a blown version of the 3.5-litre V6 found in the new G35, modified to develop 400bhp. This means stunning performance, and with more than 450Nm of torque the car is expected to sprint from 0-60mph in around 4.5 seconds and have a top speed of 190mph.

The new G35, which may be sold here, features a six-speed automatic gearbox and rear-wheel drive, but both of these will be absent from the machine it will share its chassis with. Instead, the forth- coming GT-R gets a six-speed manual shift and four-wheel-drive layout that's similar to the current Skyline GT-R's. It will also use computer-aided suspension which adapts automatically to the road and driving style.
Sadly, plans to give the GT-R an eight- speed CVT gearbox, as seen in the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show GT-R concept, appear to have been shelved. No transmission unit of this type has yet been built which can cope with the car's huge power output. But one thing that won't change is the GT-R's dramatic styling, which has been heavily influenced by last year's prototype.

Although the exact look has still to be confirmed, Nissan says buyers can expect huge airdams, round tail-lights and a wild bodykit.






G35C 6MT CB Willow Aero Prem

 

From what I can tell from that Nissan.co.jp website, and AWD version of the car only comes with a CVT (transmission). That would be a deal-breaker for me. I'm not into torque converters.

Also, another person posted a link to an article on evo.co.uk. That article says they are disappointed it won't come with an "8-speed CVT transmission." Ugh. Why, oh why, did Nissan decide to market that thing as an 8 speed. The idea of putting totally artificial shift points on a CVT is just silly (since CVTs don't have gears!), and totally negates the benefits of having a CVT in the first place.

Also, another guy up above said he'd take more weight in on a car than less because of safety concerns. This is another of those frustrating American points of view. Forget gas mileage, not to mention handling and performance. Just add more power? Sure, but at the expense of more weight and worse gas mileage. You also have to have more rubber on the ground to haul around all that weight. Wider tires cause more rolling resistance (thus even worse gas mileage), weigh more, and cost more. Also, keep in mind that extra weight on a vehicle does not necessarily mean a stronger, safer car. Weight can come from all sorts of totally non-safety related areas. Take the all wheel drive system, for example. You're adding 100-200 pounds of weight to the car, but it has nothing to do with the strength of the car in an accident. Another example: do you consider the G35 Couple stronger and safer than the 350Z, for example? The G35 is substantially heavier. However, some of that weight is simply from the car being longer. I'd be willing to get the rest of it comes from more substantial sound proofing and other interior, cosmetic items. (power seats, sunroof, etc.) Do any of these have to do with safety? They are certainly worthy and useful factors for a luxury car... but still not safety related.

Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely a fan of safety as much as anyone else. But rather than make the lighter cars heavier, why not make the heavier cars lighter? Doesn't that make more sense? My bet is that you can easily drop 100 or 200 pounds off of a big SUV with no loss of that vehicle's ability to haul weight or pull trailers, etc.

Wasn't it the president of Honda that said (and I'm paraphrasing): if every car on the road became 200 pounds lighter, you'd get better performance, gas mileage, and handling, and *no* loss of safety.

So why do car companies keep making cars heavier? How long until we're all just driving armored tanks down the freeway?