Nissan Skyline Sedan

[TheIntrepid]

Scoop! Nissan Studies GT-R-Based Four Door

By Mike Connor

A senior Nissan source has confirmed the company is studying the possibility of producing a high-performance four-door sedan based on the exotic Nissan GT-R hardware. The source suggested the car may be sold as an Infiniti.

Producing a four-door GT-R is certainly feasible, though it wouldn't be cheap. Although the GT-R coupe is based on Nissan's flexible FM (front midship) platform, it is what one analyst calls "a major deviation" from that platform's architecture, to the point where it's known internally as PM (premium midship).

The PM platform could be stretched to allow an extra set of doors and useable rear passenger space, while keeping the existing suspension pickup points, powertrain mountings, and other sheetmetal. This would enable the four-door to share a lot of the GT-R's mechanical hardware, including the 480-horsepower twin-turbo 3.8-liter VR38 V-6 engine, all wheel drive, and the rear-mounted six-speed DSG-style auto-clutch transmission.

However a sedan version would require a new bodyside, plus expensive revisions to the carbon fiber intensive front structure, so while Nissan could save some money through component sharing with the GT-R, it's likely that a sedan variant would cost $3000 to $5000 more. One alternative would be to make the car with a conventional steel body (it would add weight, but Nissan would want the GT-R coupe to remain its performance flagship anyway).

The drawings here are purely illustrative; it's unlikely Nissan would retain too many GT-R cues on an Infiniti-badged car. Nissan knows a four-door GT-R would have about as much credibility in Japan as a four-door Corvette would here in the U.S. Furthermore, American and European buyers likely would balk at the idea of paying $85,000 for a sedan with Nissan badges. Making the car an Infiniti could help solve both problems, and it would give the brand the halo vehicle it lacks.

A high-tech, high-performance Infiniti sedan also could serve as a halo car for the expansion of Nissan's luxury brand into Europe, China, Japan, and other world markets. After dithering for a decade or more, Toyota has finally made Lexus a global brand, and its new IS-F sedan signals an entry into the premium high-performance segment dominated by Mercedes-Benz's AMG and BMW's M cars.

The significance of both moves won't have been lost on Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.

[Cookie Monster]

I like it but the roofline is FUGLY!

[TheIntrepid]

I like it but the roofline is FUGLY!

It's about as illogical as a 2o6 drawing because of the Infiniti badges

I guess this could be the next G37?

[Soup DeVille]

It's about as illogical as a 2o6 drawing because of the Infiniti badges

I guess this could be the next G37?

I don't know. I understood that the Skyline and the GT-R were now supposed to be two compeltely seperate models, and theat the GT-R would exist alongside the Skyline but have no real connection to it anymore.

[nickdrinkwater]

You're right.  The Skyline and GT-R have been unrelated since 2003.

[omicron]

All the Gran Turismo players here ought to remember the R33 Skyline GT-R 40th Anniversary sedan.

As for this car, even if it were to be an Infiniti, I'd still like to see the quad-stoveburners.

[sportyaccordy]

They should just put the VR37HR-TT or whatever the fuck it's called in the G35 body w/the ATESSA-AWD system, give it a GT-R like nose and tail and call that the GT-R sedan...

[cawimmer430]

Incredibly ugly. 

The R34 Skyline sedan on the other hand looked very nice. 

[Raza]

Well, they seem to have fixed the rear 3/4 that's so disgusting on the GT-R, but the front is awful!

[Eye of the Tiger]

Incredibly ugly. 

The R34 Skyline sedan on the other hand looked very nice. 

It looks like a Toyota Camry with a widebody kit.

[cawimmer430]

It looks like a Toyota Camry with a widebody kit.

Please don't compare a POS like the Camry with the Skyline. 

[Eye of the Tiger]

[TheIntrepid]

Incredibly ugly. 

The R34 Skyline sedan on the other hand looked very nice. 

[Vinsanity]

I like it but the roofline is FUGLY!

LOL I like the roofline; it's a defining characteristic on the new GT-R, and it would only be proper for a 4-door derivative to have it.

I'm still wondering what they would call it...

[Soup DeVille]

LOL I like the roofline; it's a defining characteristic on the new GT-R, and it would only be proper for a 4-door derivative to have it.

I'm still wondering what they would call it...

Quattroporte-R

[Cookie Monster]

Incredibly ugly. 

The R34 Skyline sedan on the other hand looked very nice. 

It looks so homely.

[Cookie Monster]

LOL I like the roofline; it's a defining characteristic on the new GT-R, and it would only be proper for a 4-door derivative to have it.

I'm still wondering what they would call it...

Yeah but that with the high beltline makes it look so weird.

[nickdrinkwater]

Nissan Skyline Sedan

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

I like it but the roofline is FUGLY!

+1

[CALL_911]