“Man, where did the cool Nissans go?” I remember wondering aloud to myself a few weeks ago.
In terms of funness: the GT-R, no matter how much more power they throttle out of that engine, is getting old. The Nissan 370Z is in dire need of a replacement, though that’s most likely not going to happen anytime soon. There is a Juke Nismo and Sentra Nismo. And... that’s it, really.
But Nissan, hopefully, is looking to change that by adding to the Nismo lineup. Speaking with Automotive News, Takao Katagiri, CEO of Nismo, said, “Demand for these types of cars is about 5 to 10 percent of every market. We see potential in the expansion of categories.”
He added that “Nismo will begin targeting lifestyle vehicles beyond the Nismo mainstays in sedans, coupes and hatchbacks.”
By the time the early 2020s roll around, the automaker hopes to grow Nismo sales from 15,000 last year to 100,000. That is very ambitious!
Achieving this will include Nismo-ing a bunch of stuff, including crossovers, minivans and pickups. Yes, pickups, said Katagiri, for us cowboys living here in the United States.
Imagine a Nissan Titan Nismo, though, with that awesome black and red trim with a beefier engine and performance suspension system.
Nismo would do this properly, too: the Automotive News story reported that Nissan wants to create Nismo performance dealerships in the U.S. and offer performance driving school to customers.
I’m curious if that will mean an off-road course for the Nismo truck customers.