The Skyline name has been used on large sedans and performance coupes in Japan since 1957.
The new model could be sold in North America as a sportier alternative to the Ariya.
A Skyline SUV has already been offered in Japan about ten years ago.
Reports from Japan show the automaker is working on a new electric SUV that could receive the famed Skyline name starting in 2025.
The Nissan Skyline nametag is famous among car enthusiasts since it has been applied to a series of high-performance coupes sold on the company’s home market for many decades.
Indeed, the Skyline has been the basis of the GT-R models since 1969, but it is worth remembering the name has not only designated sports cars.
In fact, most Nissan Skyline models were sedans and coupes sold in Asia and Australia and the current generation is sold here as the Infiniti Q50, which shares nothing with the current GT-R.
This doesn’t mean that using the name on an electric SUV and discontinuing the sedan version will go over well with the enthusiasts, however, as Ford and Mitsubishi found out with the Mustang Mach-E and the Eclipse Cross.
In any case, the plans call for this model to be a sportier alternative to the Ariya which will offer more power and a coupe-like roofline, perhaps similar to the Infiniti QX55.
Since the most powerful Ariya delivers 389 horsepower and accelerates from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 5.1 seconds, this suggests the Skyline SUV could benefit from over 400 horsepower and an acceleration time of under 5 seconds.
This could actually make the new SUV quicker than the last generation of the Skyline GT-R, which took 4.8 seconds to reach 60 mph (96 k/h) thanks to its twin-turbocharged inline-six-cylinder engine and its six-speed manual transmission.
While this new model is expected to be offered in North America, it might be renamed since the Skyline name doesn’t have brand recognition here aside from enthusiasts, who are unlikely to buy a Skyline SUV anyway.
Interestingly, this wouldn’t be the first time Nissan uses this name on an SUV since the 2009 Infiniti EX (which later became the QX50) was sold as the Nissan Skyline Crossover in its home market.
Nissan has yet to confirm any of this information which reportedly comes from an inside source, but details should be cleared up fairly soon since this model will launch in only two years.
Source: Best Car Web via Motor1.com
