Nissan Japan has revealed an interesting new variant of the Skyline called the 200GT-t, which uses a Mercedes-Benz turbo four-cylinder. The engine lending comes thanks to the Daimler and Renault-Nissan partnership announced in 2010.
Daimler and Renault-Nissan signed a deal which saw Daimler hold 3.1 per cent stake in Renault-Nissan, and Renault-Nissan hold a 1.55 per cent stake in Daimler. Since then we’ve seen a number of cooperative exchanges in technology. This is one of the latest.
The Nissan Skyline 200GT is essentially the same vehicle as the Infiniti Q50, which recently went on sale in Australia. The 200GT-t is the new entry-level variant sitting beneath the only other model in the lineup, the 350GT Hybrid.
Up front is a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder producing 155kW of power and 350Nm of torque. Some may recognise these figures from Mercedes-Benz ‘250’ class vehicles, such as the C 250 and A 250.
The engine is matched up to a seven-speed automatic transmission with rear-wheel drive. Unlike the all-wheel-drive-only 350GT Hybrid, the 200GT-t does without electric batteries in the rear section of the car. This means it boasts a bigger boot, from 400 litres in the 350GT to 500 litres.
Nissan Japan will launch the new variant on June 5.
