Well as you guys know, there have been tons of posts on the new Skyline destined to make its debut on American shores sometime in 2007 if all goes as planned. I've been quick to point out on other posts that all information at this point and time is just speculation and that no one will truly know until the Tokyo Auto Salon. Spy shots, computer generations, whatever, I'm not going to accept it as general fact.

A couple days ago on July 12th, an article was written on the Japanese site "7Tune" in regard to the new Skyline, and in general it seems pretty legit to me. Relunctantly I'm posting it here but again want to caution everyone to take this with a grain of salt. Also, note THIS IS THE BASE SKYLINE, NOT THE GT-R. Something along these lines will be replacing the current G35 series.



The End of an Era
THE 2006 NISSAN SKYLINE

It's quite evident now that since the Skyline was introduced and especially in the last 10 years, each new Skyline base model has progressively become less sporty, in particular the current V35 Skyline. But don't give up on the Skyline yet, Nissan is in the process of putting �sports' back into the Skyline range, with the introduction of the V36 Skyline sedan and Coupe. The next model in the Skyline lineage is now under development, for a release mid-2006.

The V36 will be designed primarily for the North American Market. In a move that points to a total shift from the famous R-series Skylines of the late 1980's to the early 2000's, the next V36 Skyline will mark the absolute end of the �100% Japanese Skyline', something which long-time Skyline enthusiasts have pondered since the introduction of the V35 Skyline sedan back in 2001. The success of the current Infiniti G35 sedan and coupe in the North American market has prompted Nissan to increase the American influence across Nissan's entire range. The fact that the Skyline is Nissan's most revered model, the focus of the new way of design and marketing is geared to appeal to prospective new car buyers outside Japan.

What might be seen by some as a little odd, our source within Nissan R+D has hinted that the use of the �V36' designation is still undecided and that the old designation �V35' might carry through for the next 2006 platform. But nevertheless, we've been assured that the 2006 Skyline will be the ultimate sports saloon to take on Mercedes Benz, BMW and Lexus in the USA - it's primary intended market! This might bring tears to Skyline enthusiasts eyes, but it will ensure that the Skyline family survives into the future amongst a completely revamped Nissan line up which bears little resemblance to the old �bubble economy' days. The Inifniti G35 is selling strong in the USA, so the 2006 incarnation will go head to head with Lexus's yet-to-be-released S350 and BMW's 3 Series.

The body of the 2006 Skyline will be along the lines of the current V35, but it'll be lower and wider, the Coupe being even more sporty and �elegant' than the current design. Of note, the headlights and overall look of the front of the 2006 Skyline looks very similar to the current Fuga, this is intended to give the Skyline more class and to reinforce the Nissan brand style that is evident with Tiida, LaFesta, Note and Primera, but without drawing anything away from it's sports car handling and performance.

The current VQ35DE, VQ30DE and VQ25DD will still make up the staple engine line up for the 2006 Skyline, but the big news is: Nissan North America have requested a 4.5L V8 to be installed in the top-of-the-line 2006 Skyline! Plans to incorporate the a 4.5L V8 rated at 350ps or even 400ps to compete with BMW and Lexus is just a dream of Nissan North America at the moment, but it could very well be a reality 2 or 3 years from now in the 2007/8 Infiniti G35 face lift model. We're not sure how this would affect sales of the Infiniti M45 (with the same engine/driveline configuration albeit in a bigger shell), but we are sure that Nissan will take all this into consideration. The chosen transmissions will be a 6 speed manual and an all new 6 speed automatic. No CVT transmissions will be offered for the 2006 Skyline.

Overall height of the next Skyline is lower than before, similar to the BMW 3 series, so it's obvious that BMW is the next target Nissan plan to beat in the North American market. To drive home the sporty nature of the 2006 Skyline, the focus will be on engine performance and handling to match or exceed the BMW 3 series benchmark. The new platform for the 2006 Skyline still incorporates the multi-link suspension front and rear which appears in the current V35 Skyline, but the suspension tuning will be very different, the chassis designed to handle over 300ps which the next upgrade of the VQ35DE is expected to produce.

Well, there you have it, the attributes of the Skyline that thousands of enthusiasts the world over have grown to love have finally been laid to rest with the 2006 Skyline (Infiniti G35) to be designed for the US market. A sad day for Skyline fans? At any rate, the 2006 Skyline/G35 will be an excellent sports saloon, and if Nissan is successful, it'll raise the benchmark over the current king � the BMW 3 Series.

 

Odd, refering to it as the 2006 Skyline while it will only debut in 2006, that should make it the 2007 model.

Everyone has expected a new one for 2007. It better have a touch or voice Nav or I'm not gonna even look at it. ;-)

 

why is the skyline competing with a 3 series? i thought the normal G35 is doing that already, and has done a great job.

now the actual competition starts if they can make the skyline compete with the next M3..isnt that what it's supposed to be? whats the point of beating out a normal 330?

and even they do aim for M3, i doubt it can beat it. the new M3 with V8 ... its pretty much over. bench mark is still the bench mark. now, if the R34 GTR is here, hehe...now thats a diff story!

 

Japan's model year goes with the date of first registration. they dont sell "future cars". if ur car is sold in 2006, then its a 06. they dont sell 2007 cars until Jan 1st 2007

 

the G35 is the Skyline.

you know, Skyline is not just the GTR

 

I dont think its a sad day in the Skyline series.... the V35 has already out performed every previous generations of Skylines. in fact, the V35 coupe can already match the performance of the R32 GTR.

 

Great article. Thanks for posting and please do not hesitate to post any information about future product models here. Just ignore the haters.

 

Good find...keep the info coming.

 

The G35 has already handled the E46.

 

As far as the older versions go....there is no comparison to modding them comparing with our v-6's. Dollar for dollar, it's not even close once performance modding. Yes the older ones can achieve much more power reliably and cheaper. We spend what 5-8k to get 400hp or so? Imagine starting off with a engine made for boost, just by bigger turbo, injectors, intercooler, tuning, engine management...... this would cost probably 5k possibly under, depending on who you know.

 

"so the 2006 incarnation will go head to head with Lexus's yet-to-be-released S350 and BMW's 3 Series."

I wonder what the s350 will look like??

 

Definitely agreed slow G35. I just thought it was some on the potential changes such as the 6 speed automatic and the addition of a V8 to the line were pretty interesting. Beefing up the G35 line and then debuting the beast! That being said, since there's a fair amount of interest, there was also an article on 7tune posted back in April on the GT-R. A fair amount of the info is old and it comes from a quote "inside source" so I wouldn't take it too seriously. Nevertheless, interesting stuff if its true. The include pics are computer artistry renditions, not the actual car.



This is What You've All Been Waiting For!
THE NEXT GT-R - APRIL UPDATE

Back in July 2003, �Holiday Auto� magazine (Japan) reported the existence of a 1:5th scale clay model of the Next GT-R in which various aerodynamic aids and styling were being trialed� then we heard nothing. Since then a myriad of CG images � by GT-R fans and Nissan alike � have been conjured up, all original designs but all based roughly on the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show Nissan GT-R Concept.

� well, the final design has been decided�

Our source expects the final design renderings to be released by Nissan Design Europe which goes against previous rumors that Nissan Design America would play a part. From now on, NDE will be taking into consideration just how much their design will limit mass production, so there�s a good chance minor details will be changed from the 2005 �Concept� to be shown at this years Tokyo Motor Show. That said, the final shape of the car is complete as is illustrated below:

The above image shows a front bumper with large openings which form one large opening with the grille included. There�s a large diffuser incorporated in the rear bumper too, so both these parts form the basis of the advanced underbody aerodynamics package. Seeing the design of these two major parts of the car have been decided, we can assume that the wheelbase and overall body size have been made final. The main focus of the 2005 Concept design has been to differentiate the GT-R from the regular (and yet to be released) V36 Skyline range. This is evident by the crease line around the waist of the car and details around the headlights and aft of the front wheel arches. The final design is completely original, sharing no major panels with the Skyline. That�s right, the next GT-R has completely shed any links to the �Skyline GT-R� of old. Even though cosmetic details of the next GT-R mirror previous GT-R�s (such as the four round tail lights), it will be very different from any Skyline either current or past.

Lets now have a look at the overall dimensions. The entire length of the next GT-R will be shorter than the R34 (4600mm) coming in at about 4500mm. Then the width! Our informer has jokingly said that the next GT-R will look like a Choro-Q! (a miniature toy car with �squashed� proportions) We can expect the GT-R to be about 1900 to 2000mm wide, with a wheelbase of 2700m giving the GT-R a �forward cabin � short front overhang� look, with large rear fenders reminiscent of the Porsche 911 Turbo used to be back in the late 1970�s. As for other cosmetic changes, there has been talk that Nissan will �remake� the head lights and rear combination lights once again�

Moving on to the engine and driveline, development is really starting to move along. As has been reported on before, the next GT-R will use a 3.2L V6 motor-assist twin turbo engine rated at 480ps powering the rear wheels through a traditional RWD transaxle with the front wheels powered by electric motors controlled by an advanced 4WD controller even more sophisticated than the last version of Nissans �ATESSA�� but it seems like something new has happened?

* The next GT-R will be lighter than the Fairlady Z/350Z., with the use of carbon and aluminum throughout the car, the next GT-R is destined to weigh in less than the Fairlady Z�s 1450kg. This should put any concerns about the GT-R being heavier due to the incredible amount of new systems and technology that�s slated to be included in the final package.
* Back in October last year, the next GT-R prototype was spotted at the Nurburgring old course and subsequently appeared on the cover of just about every car magazine around the world. The Nurburgring prototype completed only a single lap of the old course and was sporting a clever Infinti G35 disguise. The single lap was intended to test mechanicals, but the main focus was on testing a �semi-wet sump� system which is much more practical than the original dry sump system that was planned. So the final decision is a semi-wet sump and we�ll update the details of this as soon as more information arises.
* It�s GT-R lore now that the 1989 - 94 BNR32 GT-R sold at a loss for about 5,000,000 yen, when in actual fact it cost 12,000,000 yen to produce, and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has vowed that that situation will never occur again. In fact, Ghosn has said to be pushing for a higher quality vehicle than the next GT-R�s arch rival, the Porsche 911 Turbo. The Porsche 911 Turbo is still the car Nissan want to beat and it seems Ghosn wants to do it better at two thirds the price� But we can rest assured that the next GT-R won�t put Nissan into the red.
* Based on Getrag components, Nissan have developed their own sequential 7-speed gearbox for use in the next GT-R. More on this in our next update.

The next GT-R will be sold as �Infiniti GT-R� in markets outside Japan, as that model name has already been registered in Europe, Australia and the USA, and Infiniti GT-R has been registered in Japan too! Although it�s difficult to imagine the final product, we can�t see why there would be any difference at all between the domestic Japanese GT-R and the export version. The last question on everyone�s lips is: Will the GT-R show up as an Infiniti, completely separate from the Skyline?

Nissan will keep production costs of the next GT-R to a minimum by �aggressively cutting costs�, which means parts sharing to you and me. In fact, the 7-speed sequential gearbox will be adapted to an all new RWD car which will be the next big surprise after the GT-R is released. As for marketing and final minor details of the next GT-R, Carlos Ghosn is doing his best to keep everything very secret as he has all but claimed the next GT-R project as his own. But all will be disclosed at the Tokyo Motor Show come October.

 

 

They meant IS350, which will out-accelerate a 6mt just by flooring the pedal.