Last night, our long-term 2007 Infiniti G35 Sport ran into an old family friend. A colleague of mine has a 2005 Infiniti G35 Sport, but he has upgraded it as closely as he can to Skyline trim. The Infiniti G35 is called the Skyline in Japan.
The U.S...
doesn't yet recognize the Skyline (at least not until the new 2009 Skyline GT-R
goes on sale shortly after its official debut at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show), so he has added Skyline badges. (It's gotten him into a bit of trouble at times when he's gotten pulled over, because his registration says Infiniti G35.) He's upgraded the horsepower to a dyno-confirmed 330 and torque is above 300 pound-feet. He's also added 20-inch wheels, a Tein suspension and a catback exhaust among other mods.
When asked about the performance of Inside Line's 2007 Infiniti G35 Sport, I responded with my usual ambiguous, "AWESOME!"
Senior Copy Editor Doug Lloyd @ 9,519 miles
SubyTrojan says:
01:13 PM, 09/28/07
Just to avoid any confusion, the new U.S. "Skyline" will officially be called the "GT-R." There will be no "Skyline" in the name.
carlisimo says:
01:31 PM, 09/28/07
Rumor has it the GT-R won't have "Skyline" in its name... in any market. Which would be dumb.
That's a cool car (your friend's). The Skyline name just carries so much history, all the way back to 1957, and it's better than any alphanumeric designation ever could be. Perfect answer to those who say Japanese cars have no heritage.
Oh and I love TEIN. I bought their coilovers and a stuffed mascot (a damper) for my Miata.
But there's always some confusion because a lot of people here only know of the GT-R version of the Skyline. But no, it's just a long-standing midsized RWD premium sedan and coupe available with a variety of engines (hence the 350GT badge). And with a GT-R version on and off since 1969, with its famed AWD system since 1989.
estreka says:
02:10 PM, 09/28/07
That's really cool. Are there other pics?
Nissan is really throwing away a lot of potential heritage. Using the Skyline marque would've really helped. It doesn't much matter, though. Those that buy these things are gonna be the ones that know they're Skylines.
roar02ram says:
08:30 PM, 09/28/07
Wait, are we talking about the Acura Legend? No? Oh.
Seriously, keep the name.
benson2175 says:
01:04 AM, 09/29/07
Skyline is a cool name. I bet if Acura kept calling the RL Legend it would have way better sales. I had an '87 coupe with a 5spd; Greatest car I've ever owned. I spend at least 30 seconds every day missing it.
blueguydotcom says:
03:52 PM, 09/29/07
wow, what he did to that car is embarrassing. never understand cosmetic mods...it's so "look at me!"
altimadude00 says:
09:24 AM, 09/30/07
With the Nissan badge on the Infinity, it kinda reminds me of the late 90's Maximas.
desmolicious says:
05:34 PM, 10/ 1/07
I saw that car in front of me at some traffic lights in Santa Monica/Venice a couple of weeks back. All I could think of is why?...
I'm with bluemangroup on this one ;)
firstwagon says:
06:52 PM, 10/ 3/07
Making your car like a JDM was really popular with some people around Vancouver. They would spend a great of time and money to make even piece of trim, badges and even body panels are the same as the Japanese domestic market version.
Now they just order JDM cars from importers, complete with the wheel on the wrong side.
estreka says:
09:58 AM, 10/ 4/07
Actually even wheel placement was popular for the JDM crowd. I never understood why they bothered converting to RHD. The body, badging, and engine I understand, but reducing the utility of the vehicle does not make sense.
ateixeira says:
01:39 PM, 10/ 4/07
I agree, it's silly. Especially when you're downgrading an Infiniti to a Nissan.
Sure they're clones, but I'm sure that the Infiniti has more content.
desmolicious says:
05:08 PM, 10/ 4/07
Clones? Whaaaaaaat? Next thing you'll tell me is that a Lexus Es300 is just a Toyota Camry with a fancy shell!
hondacura4 says:
03:29 PM, 10/ 7/07
I actually prefer the old G35's rear as its not as "fat" as the new one.
The new GTR wont have the Skyline in its name because its no longer based on the Skyline.