Nissan Skyline

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Nissan-falken-gt-r-race-car-04 — The Nissan FALKEN☆GT-R Race Car '04, a racing variant of the R34 Skyline GT-R.

The Nissan Skyline (スカイライン in Japanese) is a line of compact cars (evolved to mid-size car during 1989-2002 and later, as a compact executive car from 2003 onwards, along with a mini SUV variants for 2009 onwards) originally produced by the Japanese carmaker Prince Motor Company starting in 1957 and subsequently by Nissan after the two companies merged in 1966. It is currently available in either coupé, or sedan body styles, and are most commonly known by their round brake lights, with the wagon form being dropped in 1989 with the introduction of the R32 platform.

Iterations R30 to R34 of the Skyline are still popular tuner cars for Japanese car enthusiasts from the 1980s to today, especially with available features such as straight-6 engines, turbochargers, and the high-performance GT-R trim.[1] While not distributed in the United States, the Skyline's prominence in video games, movies and magazines resulted in many such cars being imported there from 1999 to late 2005, after Motorex petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to allow 1990-1999 GT-Rs and GTSs to be imported, at the condition that they were modified to meet United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

The Skyline eventually discarded the "R" code completely, in favor of a new code, the "V". The V-series Skyline bear a resemble to the Nissan 350Z, right down to having a V35 Skyline 350GT equipped with the same powerplant as the 350Z (i.e. a VQ35DE, a 3.5-liter DOHC V6). These Skylines are later badged as the Infiniti G series in the United States.

Several variants of the Nissan Skyline have appeared since the first Gran Turismo game.

Body and Chassis Styles

Compact car (1957-1989)
Mid-size (1989-2002)/Sport compact (GT-R/Coupes)
Compact executive car (2003-present, sedan and coupe), Mini crossover SUV (2009-present, Infiniti G-based)

Pictures

Trivia

Although later generations of the Skyline (specifically, the R32 to R34) are classified as mid-size sedans, both the coupe and GT-R are classified as sport compact car, as they are less than 4.7 meters long (any vehicle exceeding 4.7 meters in Japan are classified as mid-size car) despite their rather bulky and long appearance.

Nissan Skyline

Body and Chassis Styles

Pictures

Trivia

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