If you thought the rear-wheel drive, manual sports sedan was headed for the history books, we have some excellent news. Nissan has just dropped a teaser for the all-new 2027 Skyline, and it is shaping up to be a brilliant return to form.
There is an undeniable, old-school presence to a high-output, six-cylinder rear-drive sedan. That analogue charm is exactly the kind of emotional hardware driving enthusiast’s have been begging for, and the prospect of Nissan resurrecting this formula in 2026 goes straight to the head.
The latest teaser shadows from Nissan reveal a genuinely menacing silhouette. It boasts a sharp, angular face with vertical lighting elements, while the rear proudly retains those iconic, circular Skyline taillights protruding from the fascia. Nissan’s global design boss, Alfonso Albaisa, has confirmed the car draws heavily on its heritage without falling into the trap of being a lazy retro-pastiche. It looks fresh, sinister, and purposeful.
But the sheet metal isn’t the main event; it is what lies underneath. Sidestepping heavy hybrid architectures, this next-gen Skyline is heavily tipped to run a breathed-on version of the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 lifted directly from the Nissan Z Nismo.
We are talking outputs pushing north of 335kW, sent exclusively to the rear tyres. And the absolute kicker? Reports suggest Nissan will pair it with a proper six-speed manual transmission. A big-power, twin-turbo, manual RWD sedan from Japan is a rare and welcome commodity these days.
While the Skyline badge will be reserved for Japan, this exact architecture is set to cross the Pacific, expected to be badged as the reborn Infiniti Q50 for the North American market. This could validate the whispers heard late last year when executives secretly showed the car to US dealers at a Las Vegas conference, promising a twin-turbo V6 that “screams.”
Crucially, because the Skyline is a native JDM product, it will absolutely be built in right-hand drive. The engineering is already done for our layout; the only question that remains is whether Nissan Australia will have the foresight to bring it Down Under.
