To some people the R33 series seemed a bit oversized and most of them considered the R32 to be the best Skyline ever. So Nissan changed its approach when the new R34 series was due.

The new line-up was oriented more towards the R32 series than towards its direct predecessor, to result in a car that was even more sporty than the R33 series.

The standard R34 is available either with all-wheel-drive or rear-wheel drive. Of the standard versions there are five now, all of which come in coupe and sedan form: the R34GT, powered by the RB20DE with 140hp, the R34 25GT-V with the RB25DE engine and 193hp; the R34 25GT and 25GT-X, which get optional AWD, and last but not least the top-of-the-line R34 25GT-t, powered by the RB25DET with 280hp. There are no Coupe-versions for the GT-X and 25GT RWD models, though.

Of course a GT-R may not be missing. Regarding the technology, the R34's top version is basically an evolution of the old R33 GT-R, but with a much sharper design and a truly improved chassis, making this the best Skyline GT-R ever and, in comparison to other sports cars, one of the fastest cars in the world:
This GT-R held the Track Record for production cars at the Nürburgring Northloop, the most difficult racetrack of the world, until the Porsche 996 Turbo came along, and won several JGTC championships.

Finally, after 3 years of speculation and various pictures of what the new Skyline might look like, the wait is over. Fortunately, rumors stating the Skyline would be dropped in favor of the new Z-Car were not confirmed, since on June 18th, 2001 the all-new V35 Skyline was released.

The new car comes with two entirely new engines, a 2.5l V6 with 215hp and a 3.0l V6 with 260hp. With these engines, Nissan marks a new step of the Skyline towards the luxury-sedan segment, since there is no entry level engine anymore.

Had previous versions been evolutions of their respective predecessors, the new V35 now presents a cut into the Skyline's design history as radical as the last model change from the R31 to the R32. The V35 comes in 4 versions: 300 GT, 250 GT, 250 GT Four and 250 Gte, the 250 GTe being the least expensive.

Infiniti G35

Additionally, the Skyline finally made its long-awaited US debut for Nissan's luxury-brand Infiniti in spring 2002, where its derivative, the Infiniti G35, goes against the BMW 3-series and Lexus IS300 in the near-luxury class.

An exciting Sport Coupe featuring a slightly stronger engine is scheduled for September 2002.

GT-R Concept / GT-R Promo Concept

The GT-R's future can only be called undefined at this point in time. For sure is there will be a new GT-R and for the first time in history, it will be sold in international markets!
Unclear so far is, what its ingredients will look like. Since the RB-engine-series was dropped for the standard models, the GT-R is likely to lose its famous RB26DETT in favor of a V8 or a new V6 (maybe based on the new Z-Car's engine). Considering the refine-ment of ATTESA and Super-HICAS on the previous models, these systems are likely to be kept. A preview of what the future GT-R might look like, are the exciting GT-R Concepts of the 2001 and 2005 Tokyo Motor Shows.