Nissan Skyline V37 (2014–present)

From V36 to V37: what the 13th Skyline changed

The V37 moved the Skyline from naturally aspirated V6 power to a hybrid and, later, to turbocharging. The V36 had used only VQ-series V6 engines without electric assistance. Its successor arrived in Japan with a single powertrain, the 3.5 hybrid, while the outgoing 250GT stayed in showrooms alongside it for a time.

The body grew wider and lower. Nissan's launch release gives the change against the V36 as 50 mm more width and 10 mm less height, with about 20 mm more rear knee room and a drag coefficient of 0.26.

At launch the Japanese car even wore the Infiniti emblem rather than a Nissan one. For the full lineage from the 1957 Prince original onwards, see the Nissan Skyline overview of all generations.

Q50 twin, Tochigi build and steer-by-wire

The V37 and the Q50 are the same car under two names. Infiniti revealed the Q50 at the 2013 Detroit motor show, and production at Nissan's Tochigi plant, which the company calls its mother plant for luxury vehicles, began on 14 May 2013. The Skyline came from the same line.

Direct Adaptive Steering was the headline technology. It converts steering-wheel inputs into an electrical signal that controls the front wheels, while still passing road-surface feedback back to the driver. On the hybrid it was standard in every grade, together with Active Lane Control, which uses a camera to detect lane markings at 70 km/h (43 mph) and above and fine-tunes the steering angle. The system won the RJC Technology of the Year award for 2014–2015 in Japan.

V37 powertrains: hybrid, Mercedes turbo and VR30 V6

Three engine families have powered the Japanese V37. The hybrid pairs the 3.5-litre VQ35HR V6 with a 50 kW electric motor in Nissan's one-motor, two-clutch parallel system. The 2.0 turbo is a Mercedes-Benz M274 unit, and the 3.0 twin-turbo is Nissan's own VR30DDTT.

On its own, the V6 in the hybrid produces 225 kW (306 PS), and the motor adds 50 kW (68 PS) and 290 Nm (214 lb-ft). The four-wheel-drive 350GT FOUR HYBRID used ATTESA E-TS, and Nissan called it its first hybrid with four-wheel drive. On Japan's JC08 cycle the rear-drive hybrid was rated at 18.4 km/L, about 5.4 L/100 km.

The 200GT-t went on sale on 5 June 2014. Nissan rated it at 13.6 km/L on the JC08 cycle and said it matched a non-turbo 2.5 in performance; boot space was 500 L (17.7 cu ft), against 400 L (14.1 cu ft) in the hybrid. Unlike the European Q50, the Skyline was never offered with the Mercedes 2.2 diesel.

The 2019 update: ProPILOT 2.0 and the 400R

The biggest mid-life change came in 2019. Nissan unveiled the revised Skyline in Yokohama on 16 July 2019, with Japanese sales from that autumn. German sources date an earlier, smaller facelift to December 2017.

ProPILOT 2.0, standard on all hybrid grades, was described by Nissan as the world's first driver-assistance system to combine navigated motorway driving with hands-off driving in a single lane. Once a destination is set, it can help with overtaking, lane changes and leaving at the chosen exit. A cabin camera checks that the driver is watching the road, and hands-off mode is unavailable in tunnels, on winding or two-way roads and where lanes merge. The system won the Best Innovation Award in the 2019–2020 Japan Car of the Year.

Petrol versions switched to the VR30DDTT, with the 400R as the top model: quilted bucket seats, aluminium trim, red stitching and Intelligent Dynamic Suspension, which adapts damping to the driving situation. Outside, the V-Motion grille brought back a Nissan badge, and four round rear lamps returned in full-LED form.

Skyline NISMO and NISMO Limited (2023–2024)

Announced on 8 August 2023 and limited to 1,000 cars, it went on sale in early September 2023 with rear-wheel drive and a seven-speed automatic.

NISMO tuning lifted the VR30DDTT from 298 kW (405 PS) to 309 kW (420 PS) and from 475 to 550 Nm (406 lb-ft). Changes included 20 mm wider rear tyres on 19-inch Enkei wheels, retuned suspension, stabilisers and ABS, fade-resistant brake pads, black Recaro front seats and windscreen adhesive taken from the Nissan GT-R NISMO to stiffen the body.

The NISMO Limited, 100 cars planned for summer 2024, marks 60 years since the S54A-1 Skyline GT. Each engine is assembled by hand at the Yokohama plant and carries a label naming its builder.

V37 dimensions (Q50 Hybrid, European specification)

Nissan's Japanese releases give no full dimensions, so the table uses ADAC data for the closely related Infiniti Q50 Hybrid, a rear-wheel-drive car built from October 2013 to January 2015.

In Europe ADAC lists the Q50 Hybrid from 51,356 EUR for the rear-drive automatic built from October 2013 to January 2015.

IIHS crash tests of the Infiniti Q50, year by year

No Euro NCAP rating exists for a car sold as the Skyline, so the crash data below is for the Infiniti Q50 in the United States, the export version of the V37.

The 2014 and 2015 cars earned Top Safety Pick+ when fitted with the optional Forward Emergency Braking. In the 2014 small overlap test, the structure was rated Acceptable and lower leg and foot protection Marginal. The IIHS pages checked for later model years show no award.

Choosing a V37 Skyline or Q50

The right V37 depends on use.

• Hybrid: the most economical version, and from 2019 the grade with ProPILOT 2.0 as standard; look for the four-wheel-drive 350GT FOUR HYBRID if you need traction.
• 400R: the enthusiast's choice from 2019, with 298 kW (405 PS) and adaptive dampers.
• NISMO: a limited collector's car of 1,000 units, plus 100 NISMO Limited cars.
• Q50 in Europe: the same body sold new through Infiniti, including diesel versions the Skyline never had.

Hybrid cars sit among other hybrid cars in our catalogue, and the wider choice of Japanese cars and the Nissan range are a click away.