Guide To Nissan Skyline

The Nissan Skyline is reportedly the coolest car most of us have never seen.  It is widely considered to be one of the most desired exotic cars in the world, and is without question a racing legend.  However, the Skyline has never been exported by Nissan to the United States. 

In 1989, the Nissan Skyline (also referred to as the GT-R) debuted in Japan.  It was (and still is) a phenomenon on the racing circuit.  The car features a 2.6 liter intercooled engine capable of producing 276 hp at 6,800 rpm.  It is said to be capable of reaching 600 hp without internal modifications.

However, because of various United States guidelines and specifications, Nissan did not export the Skyline to the United States. As a result, the Infiniti G35 was created to help satisfy the hunger the American market for this particular design.  However, come 2009, American citizens will be able to buy a genuine (and legal) Nissan Skyline.

Nissan announced the 2009 Skyline's U.S. arrival at the New York International Auto Show in April of 2006.  Its official debut will take place at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show.   Nissan engineers are famously reticent about revealing details about future cars, but experts and armchair theorists speculate that the '09 will feature a specially developed twin-turbo V6 engine instead of a V8. 

One of the challenges Nissan's engineers will need to solve in the interim is how to maintain the Skyline's legendary hp (450 at last count) while meeting U.S. emissions laws.  It's also not yet known if the legend will arrive known as "Skyline" or simply as the "GT-R."  But what's in a name?  The devoted will recognize her in the blink of an eye--which is about as long as you get with a car said to go up to 300 miles per hour.