But enough of that; it’s time to drive. Hold down the starter button (again, no need to mess about with keys), hear the Skyline’s 3.7-litre VQ37VHR V6 come to life and settle into a muted hum, put the selector in D and pull away. At suburban speeds the 370GT is a delight. There’s an abundance of torque from the mid-sized V6 (366Nm, to be precise) and the big coupe gets up to speed with little fuss. Flatten the accelerator and the engine responds straight away thanks to Nissan’s tricky VVEL variable valve-train tech, and pulls hard right up into the upper reaches of the tachometer. Speed piles on quickly and the engine noise is almost musical – a good incentive to do it again, no?
The five-speed automatic gearbox is smooth, and the Adaptive Shift Control does a good job at predicting driver behavior and selecting cogs to suit. Drive hard, it’ll shift hard. Gently tap the accelerator and shifts will be smooth, slurred and occur much further down the rev range. If you want to turn up the wick a little you can put the gear selector one notch back into DS mode, or if you want full manual control over the gearbox you can tip the lever sideways and use the two magnesium paddles behind the steering wheel to swap ratios. Nissan’s latest tiptronic system is great, and probably one of the best slushbox-based performance autos we’ve sampled. There’s little delay between pulling the right paddle and actually engaging the next gear, while power transfer feels very direct.
The suspension also boasts a similar blend of performance and comfort. The spring-rates are a little firmer than most luxury cars, but the dampers aren’t entirely unyielding and driving along some of Sydney’s more pockmarked roads didn’t faze the 370GT in the slightest. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to put the Skyline through the wringer on some more challenging tarmac however we’ve no doubt that it’d hold its own at a circuit club day. The V36 rides on a development of the V35’s FR-L platform (in turn a development of the 350Z’s chassis) and boasts a sophisticated double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension, which will also be seen beneath the upcoming 370Z. The four-piston front and twin-piston rear calipers on the Type SP grip well too.
It was a pity that we didn’t get to spend more time behind the wheel of the V36 Skyline 370GT, but it was an incredibly impressive experience nonetheless. In terms of the sheer quality, equipment, handling and power that you get for the price, the 370GT soundly thrashes the European competition. Yep, you don’t get the brand cachet of a three-pointed star or a spinning propeller and the interior materials aren’t quite up to par with the Germans, but real enthusiasts don’t give a hoot about all that guff. Simply put, the 370GT is a cracking drive, an outstanding cruiser and fantastic value.
It’s incredible that Nissan confines this little gem to the Japanese and US markets (where it’s marketed as an Infiniti G37 Coupe) when an Australian release would likely see customers clamoring to get into one. Nissan’s loss is IMG’s gain, however, and at least now ‘us Aussies’ can finally get our mitts on the latest and greatest Skyline, the 370GT Coupe.
For options and pricing, see IMG’s website: www.internationalmotorgroup.com.au
Tony’s big statement
“The V36 Skyline Coupe 370GT represents incredible value for money. If you’re in the market for a luxury sports coupe you’d be bonkers not to consider it - provided you’re not scared of having to alter the in-dash display and fiddle with the radio wiring.”
- Responsive engine
- Tiptronic gearbox
- Solid handling
- Gorgeous styling
- Generous equipment list
- Fiddly stereo system
- Lack of rear headroom
- Would be more fun with the six-speed manual
Specifications
| Engine | 3.7-litre V6 VQ37VHR |
| Max Power | 245kW @ 7000rpm |
| Max Torque | 363Nm @ 5200rpm |
| Performance | Acceleration 0-100km/h: 5.3seconds Top speed: Over 260km/h (electronically limited to 180km/h) |
| Transmission | 6-speed Manual Type S,Type P 5-speed Auto Type P 5-sped Auto w/ Paddle Shift Type S, Type SP |
| Wheels | 10-spoke Front: 19×8.5” / Rear: 19×9.0” Type S, Type SP 5-spoke Front: 18×8.0” / Rear: 19×9.0” Type P |
| Tyres | Front: 225/45R19 / Rear: 245/40R19 Type S, Type SP Front: 225/50R18 / Rear: 245/45R18 Type P |
| Brakes | Front 4 Pot caliper, 355mm rotor / Rear 2 pot caliper Type S, Type SP 4 Wheel disk brakes Nissan, 1-pot front & rear Type P |
Gallery
GALLERY » 2008-nissan-v36-skyline-coupe-370gt
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I have sold these here in the US for a couple of years, and they are indeed an awesome machine. Known as a Japanese 3 series.
The 6 Speed is a hoot, however the clutch can take some getting used to. In the US market, the 6 speed comes with the sport package including 19 inch wheels, sport seats with electronically adjustable thigh and torso bolsters and manual seat extension under the knees, upgraded brakes and a LSD.
http://www.infiniti.com for more.
I love the photo of the car next to the R35 Skyline in the workshop. They kind of look like bigger and younger brothers next to each other.
I remember Nissan said in the past they picked the Maxima family over the Skyline family since it’s a whale so better for Australians, so I guess that decision remains firmly in place. Maybe the fact that Australia hates on larger cars nowadays could see a reversal of that decision…? (I can dream…)
“the radio and sat nav don’t function in Australia”
Actually the radio does work over here.
As a proud NM35 Stagea owner, I can attest to the fact that although the FM frequencies display from 76-89Mhz, they will pick up our radio stations.
An example is Triple M in Melbourne is 105.1 but is picked up as 86.7 on my radio.
I have not had any conversions performed on my OE radio.
Sat Nav on the other hand….
Jealous.
I want one.
Hi CB.
Try as I might, I couldn’t get the V36’s radio to pick up any channels in Sydney! There was much frequency fiddling, but no joy.
On the other hand, the former owner of the car left some awesome JDM music on the Skyline’s hard disc storage, so I rocked out to that instead
The JDM stereos run in a different band, and require conversion.
Most grey import cars just get the head unit replaced, but since the current Skylines have them integrated into the dash it’s harder.
There is no such thing as a R35 Skyline
the GTR brand has been separated from the Skyline series
whoa whoa i want that car so bad
TonyD, the Maxima is a whole lot cheaper and a whole lot more mainstream than the Skyline which is more BMW competitor (especially the models over the last 7 years or so). The other thing, as a family car, the Maxima is much roomier (I should know!) It would have been good to see the Maxima sold alongside Skyline or Infiniti, they are two different markets. I love the 2001 onwards Skyline G35 sedan and coupe equivelant, but I wouldn’t buy grey import.
dude it looks just like the altima in the front and an infinity g35 in the back
Nissan won’t bring this in as a Nissan as convincing people who buy Beemers and Mercs that the “NISSAN” 370GT is worth cross shopping will be impossible.
It would come as an Infiniti. And hopefully we’ll see the 4door as well. But if Nissan setup Infiniti here in OZ, it’ll have to have customer service as good as Lexus’ (JAPANESE service they could say to steal some of Lexus’ light) to convince potential buyers. Which is no mean feat.
The exhaust note from an accelerating G35 Infinity is all I need , In Canada , this is the one, i think it’s the same .
very nice car…just what i am looking besides 370z.
the only i dont like import car are all writing is in jap..so got no idea how to operate them. How abt the warranty and servicing? would nissan aus do it?
hope they bring this into aus. Nissan does need a coupe with rear seats. i had a 350z, looking at buying the 370z but not sure as I need some rear seating.
Lets see, much better looking than BMW or Merc, (or anything else for that matter) handles much better, quicker, just about as well built, cost half the money, .As for the instruments you work them out quickly enough .If you ask me Everything else is the alternative..Skylines are the Best -end of story