Nissan introduced the twelfth generation of the Skyline sedan in 2006 only for the Japanese market, while the rest of the world, including the U.S. customers, received the Infiniti M series.

The 2006 Skyline sedan was the sporty version of its famous brother GT-R, but it was less-powered and rear-wheel-drive only. It was sold only in Japan, while the U.S. market and the rest of the world received it as an Infiniti M35. It was the same car, but with RHD and different badges. There were also a few other noticeable differences between the two siblings.

Unlike its predecessor, it followed a new, flowing-design trend, with swept-back headlights that resembled those installed on the Infiniti G35 Coupe. Its raked grille sported four horizontal slats and additional two chromed ones on top and on the bottom. The bumper featured a lower apron with an incorporated spoiler. Nissan included the fog lights inside the headlamps, on their inner side. The designers made the rear window sloped and the decklid short to emphasize the car’s sedan orientation for sportiness.

Inside, the high bolstered seats at the front were inspired by those from the G35 Coupe. Nissan created a unique design for the instrument cluster, without individual casings for the speedometer and tachometer. The Skyline featured a screen for the infotainment system similar to the one from the Nissan Primera, controlled via a distinct control panel on top of the center stack.

The carmaker offered the Skyline with a choice of three V-6 engines, starting with a 2.5-liter and ending with a 3.7-liter. Depending on the engine, the carmaker paired the powerplants to a six-speed manual or to a five- or seven-speed automatic transmission.

Having reached its 11th generation, the new Skyline arrived in the summer of 2001, kicking and screaming with a redesigned body, great weight distribution and powerful engines.
Sharing its platform with the 350Z, the Skyline had a lot of the latter’s features. Sporting a mid-front placed engine with capacities of 2.5 L, 3.0 L and 3.5 L coupled with a rear-drive layout and an advanced suspension system, the Skyline was at least as stable as fast as it went. Nissan went for simplicity with the Skyline, having fitted the car with normally aspirated engines. Hardly altered, the car was also rebadged and sold as the Infiniti G35.

While the Skyline GT-R gathered most of the attention, the Sedan version was less known, mostly since it wasn’t available on all markets.
The 2001 Skyline followed the same recipe as its predecessors and offered sports-car performance for a four-door sedan. Nissan aimed at the Japanese market, but the car was available in other countries with right-hand drive systems since the carmaker didn’t build it as a left-hand-drive.

From the outside, the car resembled the Z-platform based Nissan 350 front fascia with its swept-back headlights and the four-slats grille that sported the company’s logo. Since its A-pillars were not as raked as the coupe, the greenhouse was taller and more extended. In the back, the car featured the same L-shaped taillights as the 350Z, with the reversing lights installed on the trunk lid.

Inside, the Skyline sedan featured a 350Z-inspired dashboard with a retractable screen for the navigation system that popped-up from the center stack. The instrument cluster sported a four-dials arrangement with a big speedometer and tachometer. Its designers installed two LCDs at the bottom of the panel for the trip computer and the odometer.

Nissan offered the Skyline with a few drivetrain options. While the base-model was powered by a sluggish 215 hp V-6 paired to a 4-speed automatic, the top-spec version featured a 3.5-liter, 272 hp paired to either a 6-speed manual, a 5-speed auto, or a CVT with eight pre-set gears.