The two nastiest coupes ever to come over from Japan are about to be reborn with bigger engines, fatter tires, more torque and ponies, and nicer styling. We’ve got the pictures and specs on the new Skyline GT-R and Toyota Supra super coupes, and when these two baddies come our way you can be sure we’ll be drooling all the way to our bank to make a withdrawal.
The two nastiest coupes ever to come over from Japan are about to be reborn with bigger engines, fatter tires, more torque and ponies, and nicer styling. We’ve got the pictures and specs on the new Infiniti Skyline GT-R and Toyota Supra super coupes, and when these two baddies come our way you can be sure we’ll be drooling all the way to our bank to make a withdrawal.
The New Skyline GT-R
Nissan has been foaming at the mouth to bring out a new Skyline, and they decided that instead of having the new 350Z compete with it, they’d just bring it out under their upgraded brand identity, Infiniti. Not a bad idea for you don’t want your any of your sport coupes taking the market away from the other. Girls and boys, I introduce to you the new Infiniti Skyline GT-R:
Some specs on the I-badged Skyline might make you drop to your knees, so don’t say we didn’t warn you. Looking at this picture from the front you can tell it’s just the G35 body on top of the tiger underneath, and with a different grill and air dam you can be damn sure that enough atmosphere will be pumping into the intercoolers. The engine has yet to be decided upon, however Sport Compact Car magazine is speculating that it’s come down to a decision between a 4.5L V8 pushing 400-hp (something akin to the older generation GT-R) and a twin turbo’d 24-valve short stroke V6 with a displacement somewhere between 3-3.5 liters. The twin turbo engine is good for nearly 450-hp, so with specs like that maybe the Nissan execs already made up their mind.
The Skyline will of course have all-wheel drive with a dramatically upgraded ATTESA suspension (Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for those not in the know) that handles better than the one in the older R34 GT-R. When you think “amazing suspension” you automatically think of the Lotus Elise, well shit, Nissan is bringing in Lotus’ top engineering team to help with the new GT-R suspension so you can bet they’re going to make something amazing. A fly on the wall is saying that a Getrag 7-speed AMG-type gearbox is not far-fetched (the kind in the new M5 bimmer) so there’s nothing else for us to say besides “get here faster!”
2007 Toyota Supra
This ain’t no 2.4-liter Honda four banger with 140-hp, this is a Toyota race-inspired V10 with 500-hp on tap, with all engine architecture coming straight from their Formula One cars. You are looking at a 5.0-liter with a 9000 rpm redline and a 7-speed stick — and oh yeah, it’s going to weigh less than 3000 lbs. The aerodynamics of this car are simply perfect, from the low ground effects to the centered exhaust systems for maximum efficiency.
They are saying that Ford GT and Ferrari F430 owners need to watch out ’cause when this hits the market they will be fearing something else besides the police…
Thanks to Sport Compact Car magazine for the scoop!
17 comments so far
That new Supra sounds amazing. It may be what Toyota needs to help revive its image from the dull, conservative look they’ve been branded with lately.
January 11th, 2005 at 8:57 am
I agree David.. I mean take a look back at the cars they used to make what happened.. Where did all the engines go? Not to mention the body styles. We wont even go there thats a whole other tangent. I like to call it the conservative mom look… We need to get these cars back to MILF status!
January 11th, 2005 at 9:54 am
I have to say that with the skyline being the previous dominator in terms of power and performance, the new supra really makes the idea of the G35-bodied Skyline less impressive. Even if Toyota drops the specs a bit the body styling along with even 3/4 that amount of engine would be an amazing car.
January 11th, 2005 at 11:06 am
I’ve read that Supra will be released by Toyota similarly to what Nissan is doing, under their luxury brand.
Read here:
http://car.kak.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=news&file=article&sid=2163&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
It doesn’t say that this it the new Supra however I’ve read that this model (the LF-A) is actually that masked car on the picture you’ve posted. Eh, one can connect the dots
I might be wrong
January 11th, 2005 at 11:14 am
Bryan
You are right there is a lot of talk saying Lexus is going to be taking over the reigns of the Supra but to me and from what I read they didn’t seem real confident but I guess we will just have to wait and see. Either way I would love to see this car back in action.
January 11th, 2005 at 11:21 am
Peter,
I believe you were refering to me rather than Bryan, but in either case, I believe that Toyota should stick with original name (ie. Toyota Supra) because of how developed that brand name is. Most people will know what a Supra is however not everyone will know that LF-A is a successor to Supra.
But then again, no regular person (not a car freak) will want this car and people who will want it will know its history etc.
Dimitry
January 11th, 2005 at 4:58 pm
Sorry man I totally was totally talking to you my fault… I am a touch blind my doctor said I jerked off to much as a kid…. But I totally agree with you we are the same page.
January 11th, 2005 at 11:34 pm
From what I remember the G35 has been called the Skyline in Japan for some time now, however it was never really welcomed as a member of the GT-R series, because as you can see, it carries little from the predecessors. So I never considered this a true Skyline, but hey, there’s always a chance of being wrong and learning something new.
February 11th, 2005 at 8:26 am
Sorry guys, not impressed.. The GT-R will cost as much as the new Z06, and will it even be able to live up to the Z06’s stellar performance numbers?
And rumor is the new Supra will carry a 6-figure pricetag. Didn’t they learn anything from back in 1993, when they priced the Gen4 Supra so high that it didn’t sell so great and died a slow death.
February 16th, 2005 at 3:26 pm
A friend (who is a nissan mechanic) told me that the new Skyline R35 looks way different.
http://www.geocities.com/skylineclubhk/r35.htm
February 28th, 2005 at 6:12 am
now THAT looks like a skyline…
March 1st, 2005 at 9:54 am
Comments about this car’s powertrain are off. The 4.5 block from the Infiniti line won’t fit - too long to get it and a proper accessory drive belt setup on the front of the engine and still clear the radiator. There’s no 3 liter V-6 DOHC engine left in the Nissan lineup. That was the VG series and it’s been out of production for about three years now. The mainstay is the 3.5 liter VQ DOHC with variable valve timing on both cams. This engine makes 280-300 HP in relatively stock trim. Aftermarket tuners have supercharged and turbo’ed this engine, but haven’t achieved reliable HP much above 400. Finally, the 7 speed Getrag box hasn’t been fitted to the VQ engine by Nissan: they have their own 6 speed box which goes in both the Skyline and Z.
March 14th, 2005 at 10:03 am
ford better watch out
September 14th, 2006 at 8:26 pm
hhahahaha jesus!!!!!
SKYLINES AND SUPRAS EVERYWHERE!!!!
September 19th, 2006 at 2:03 pm
the supra is so ccool
December 28th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
The G35 skyline is joke, sorry if you like it but it is nowhere close to a skylin in any regard -styling, power, drivetrain orientation - it carries nothing with it and is just an expensive 350z. teh 2008 Skyline R35 has had sneak shots of it taking and has recently been sighted in new mexico undergoing US highway trials.
See following thread for pics.
As far as the supra is concerned i have little to no additional info to provide. Although i was under the impression that it was to be a 5 litre V8, unfortunately i belive it is to be NA. A short stroke 9k redline would be interesting but i fear it would lack sufficient low end tourque that is characteristic of the mkIV.
In my books the skyline will reign as king. Nissan has taken there time, not that toyota hasn’t, and i am willing to bet the skyline is going to be remarkable, it has already paced a 1.39 lap at laguna seca. One look at the stance of the car and you know you’ll need to have one, enjoy
February 24th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
well the 350z and g35 carry the skyline motor in the u.s. right now so i just call them gtr’s
April 30th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
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