Nissan is set to adopt a dramatically shorter development cycle for its upcoming 14th-generation Skyline sedan.

The new Skyline, first announced with a teaser image in April 2026 (main), is set to be revealed as a production preview by the end of this year or early in 2027, according to Nissan CEO, Ivan Espinosa.

In an interview with Nikkei Asia, Esinposa revealed that the Skyline would be revealed during the coming Northern Hemisphere winter (December to February), thanks to an accelerated development cycle. To do so, design and testing have been overhauled with the use of emerging technologies.

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“A big part of this is built on AI capabilities and the utilisation of new tools, more digital tools in the design phase, in the testing phase, in the manufacturing phase,” Espinosa said.

As part of a major restructure to return the brand to profitability, announced in 2025, Nissan pledged to trim average vehicle development timelines from 37 months to 30 months. In the case of the new Skyline, Nikkei Asia reports that the previous generation’s 55-month development has been cut to just 26 months.

Nissan’s accelerated development strategy stems from its joint venture program with Chinese automaker Dongfeng. The Nissan N7 sedan, with development led by Dongfeng, took just two years.

“China is, as of now, setting the industry standards of the future in terms of technology, in terms of cost competitiveness and in terms of development time,” Espinosa said.

The outgoing Skyline, which was sold in Australia as the Infiniti Q50 between 2014 and 2019 (below), has now been in production for 12 years – almost twice as long as a traditional passenger car model cycle.

infiniti q50 sport
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Its replacement is rumoured to adopt the twin-turbo V6 from the Nissan Z coupe, itself a development of the engine from the current Q50 Red Sport, bringing the possibility of a manual transmission, though it will likely be reserved for a flagship Nismo version rather than fitted across the range.

Although not yet fully revealed, Nissan has hinted that the new Skyline will take cues from models of the past, most prominent of which are the four circular tail lights seen through the model’s past iterations.