The Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. unveiled a Skyline Coupe to be released in Japan in autumn this year at an event held on April 24, 2007 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Skyline. A right drive version was unveiled for the first time at this event, while the left hand drive version of this model was previously exhibited as the “Infiniti G37 Coupe” at the New York Motor Show just this April, 2007.
The Nissan Skyline celebrated its 50th anniversary yesterday in regal style at an event held at Tokyo’s new Midtown development. The Skyline, a mid-size car, is available as either in a coupé or a sedan body style. Reckoning back to 1957, the Skyline is a legendary car in the Nissan lineup. It comes with a long heritage of performance and style that captured the motoring fans around the globe.
Taking this opportunity, Nissan also showed the all-new Skyline Coupe in the said event, making its first appearance in Japan. The new Skyline Coupe is scheduled for release in Japan this fall.
Chief engineers for the product development of each generation Skyline, including Shinichiro Sakurai, the chief development engineer of the first Skyline model, were present in the celebration. The event featured a film presentation that mirrored the evolution of the Skyline design, performance and image throughout the various milieus of each generation Skyline.
Additionally, a fashion show titled the “Skyline GT Collection” commemorative of the anniversary was held in, featuring twelve of today’s most popular fashion models, including Yoko Horiuchi. The models were dressed in specifically designed outfits, inspired by each generation of the Skyline.
Celebrity guests include musician Joe Hisaishi, actor Ken Watanabe, while major league baseball player Ichiro sent his congratulations via a video message. Each of these celebrities share in a common trait with the Skyline i.e. that they were born in Japan but have since gained fame and recognition in the global arena. Hisaishi’s latest composition, I Will Be, written for the Skyline’s new TV commercial, was performed for the first time by Mai Hisaishi, who is also featured on the commercial.
The Skyline 50th Anniversary exhibition, featuring each generation Skyline model, is open to the public at Tokyo Midtown Garden until the 6th of May. Also, all-new Skyline Coupe and the Skyline GT Collection fashion line will be displayed at the Midtown Atrium from Wednesday, April 25th through Sunday, May 6th – Nissan.
The current Skyline, equipped with remarkable Nissan accessories and quality auto parts, is sold in North America, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Middle East as the Infiniti G35. Details are not given by the company, but the car, which is basically similar as the G37 Coupe, seems to be mounted with a 3.7L V6 engine “VQ37VHR” that is equipped with a variable valve timing/lift mechanism.
The front view of the car shows that the emblem on the grill of the American version is Infiniti, while that of domestic version is Nissan. Front fenders of the domestic version feature side marker lamps, which are not found on the American version. The rear view flaunts that the domestic version has the emblem of Nissan and letters below the emblem have been changed from Infiniti to Skyline. Additionally, the emblem of model name for the American version is the G37, while that of domestic version is the 370GT.
