Without the Nissan Skyline, the world wouldn’t have the GT-R. Initially called the Prince Skyline, it was launched in 1957 and always touted as a sports sedan, whether it had four doors or two. When it gained a Nissan badge in 1968, it was the first time Japan saw the words ‘Skyline’ and ‘GT-R’ paired together.
While the GT-R eventually stood on its own, the standard Skyline remained an aspirational car for many in Japan. After all, it can be considered as a rival for the BMW 3-Series, even back then. The current model continues that tradition, although it’s getting quite seasoned.
The thirteenth-generation Nissan Skyline is also known as the Infiniti Q50. It was launched way back in 2014 and made do with several facelifts along the way. Meanwhile, its rivals have all been given full model changes within this decade.
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It’s safe to say that the sport sedan is overdue for a total redesign. But given Nissan’s financial state over the last few years, it’s been proving difficult. There’s that, and the sedan market hasn’t really been a huge money maker for, well, any brand.
But despite the tough times ahead, Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa has confirmed that an all-new Skyline is in the works. It was announced during the company’s financial report for FY24, so at least there was a sliver of good news during that press conference.
Before you get too excited, he said Skyline and not GT-R. That said, it’s given that the latter will have a new generation, although it will come much later. The Skyline in this case is that traditional version meaning it’s more a rival to the Lexus IS, BMW 3-Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Still, it’s good news from Nissan and for sedan lovers out there. At the same time, it’s great to see the embattled automaker still sticking to its traditional models. The question now is if the all-new Skyline will be an electrified-only affair or will still have pure gas models.
