The information surrounding the Nissan Skyline and its American counterpart, the Infiniti Q50, has been pretty confusing lately. Several reports over the few years indicated a successor was coming, but a new story out of Japanese media says the Skyline sedan will be dropped in a few years, to be replaced with an electric crossover. It makes sense, considering recent market trends.
The Skyline is one of the oldest surviving nameplates in Japan, dating back to 1957 with the Prince Skyline. The series produced one of the most legendary sports cars of all time, the GT-R. And even though you might think the Skyline ended with the R34, it actually continued in Japan with the car you know as the G35 in 2001, followed by the G37 and the Q50. The Q60 is called a Skyline Coupe there, while the Skyline Crossover has existed since 2009, being the same car as the Infiniti EX37 and later the QX50.
A previous report suggested the Skyline sedan would be made using a small turbocharged engine and e-POWER technology, similar to the Japanese Nissan X-Trail crossover. However, we suggested that this would be suited to the way Americans drive, and thus would make a bad replacement for the Infiniti Q50. However, Best Car Web has now learned there were actually three separate projects to revive the Skyline between 2016 and now, all of which were dropped.
The current Infiniti Q50 model will continue to be manufactured in Japan until 2025. Vice President Asako Hoshino declared that “Nissan will not give up on the Skyline,” despite reports from the Nikkei Shimbun stating that all development would be halted. However, the replacement will not be a sedan, as an electric crossover will wear this name instead.
Best Car claims the Skyline EV will arrive in the same year, 2025, and will use battery-electric technology from the Ariya, an impressive EV crossover in its own right. Specifically, the powertrain will be derived from the B9 e Force(also called B9 e-4ORCE), which is currently the flagship version.
Infiniti finally getting an EV?
According to our source, Nissan has supply chain issues so it doesn’t have that many of those engines lying around, but they are up to the job. In America, the top Ariya is rated at 389 hp, but apparently, the Japanese twin model makes 218 PS per motor for a combined 436 PS or 430 hp. Those two motors will somehow be upgraded to about 450 horsepower, so you can expect a 0 to 60 mph time of 5 seconds or less for the Skyline EV, so almost as fast as a Q50 Red Sport 400.
Best Car says this would be like the Skyline 3.0, the first being represented by the inline-6 models that start with the 60s and end with the R34, followed by Skyline 2.0, which is from the G35 all the way to the current model. Nissan does need to switch rapidly into crossovers. Toyota has already changed the legendary Crown into a series of cars and SUVs with EVs likely on the way. Even the regal Toyota Century is becoming a hybrid SUV.
Price-wise, the Skyline Crossover should start from where the Ariya ends, so $60,000+. As for the U.S. market, we think this will be sold as an Infiniti rather than a Nissan because it makes more money that way. Infiniti dealers have been begging for a car like this for many years, and the Skyline Crossover perfectly matches the description of the QS Inspiration Concept, which “completely reimagines the sports sedan.” Alternatively, Infiniti might have normal versions called QX and coupe-SUV ones called QS, based on their trademarks.
