New Nissan CEO's Dream To Build A New Silvia Can Only Be Good News For Enthusiasts

Nissan isn't in great shape right now. The new Armada is actually really good if you're into the whole full-size, three-row, body-on-frame SUV thing, but the rest of the lineup is kind of meh, and more importantly for the business itself, the profits just aren't there. Tuesday, though, we reported that outgoing CEO Makoto Uchida had described Ivan Espinosa, the new CEO, as "full of energy" and "also a real car guy." That's good news for enthusiasts, but our friends at Car And Driver also reminded us that Espinosa has previously said it was his dream to bring back the Silvia. 

As a man in his late 30s, I'm probably most interested in how Espinosa is still full of energy because I could absolutely use some help in that department, but that's not the main point here. No, we're talking about someone who might somehow defy the odds and make Nissan interesting again. It's also important to note that Espinosa wasn't talking about a new version of the Silvia/240SX a decade ago. No, he said that in an interview with Top Gear last summer — less than a year ago. So even if it's a delusion, at least it's a recent delusion that he probably hasn't changed his mind on.

At the time, Espinosa also called a new Silvia "[a] far-fetched idea," so don't go counting your drift chickens just yet, but he also literally said, "This is my dream," when talking about bringing back the Silvia as a sports car that sits below the GT-R in the lineup. Or, you know, where the GT-R would sit if it were still in production. He also admitted it would be difficult even if he thinks it's possible, telling Top Gear, "Sometimes cars like this do struggle a bit because the audience isn't that big, but it can work if we find the right idea that can be run everywhere in the world."

Maybe this will sound like a cop out, but I'm not especially concerned about when or if Espinosa finds a way to justify bringing back the Silvia. I'd love it if he did, but you've got to make money before you can afford to develop a really good sports car, and it'll be even harder in the electric era. Batteries are heavy, after all, and heavy cars make corners a lot less fun. The kind of person who would be willing to fight for a project like that, however, is also far more likely to push for the rest of the lineup to be more interesting, too. Imagine legitimately wanting a Nissan again.

Cars take years to develop, so we probably won't see any of the good stuff Espinosa green lights until the 2030s, and he has to keep the company afloat until then while also keeping his job. So from my perspective as someone who doesn't like getting yelled at, it sounds like he just agreed to take one of the most miserable jobs in the world — automotive CEO, not Nissan CEO, specifically — but if he can pull it off and reinvent Nissan, then I can't wait to see what that looks like.