► Where has the fun gone?► Can the company remain relevant to enthusiasts in Europe?
► Luckily, we have a solution
The elder statesmen of the supercar gang, the Nissan GT-R, has shuffled off to the big petrol station in the sky after 13 years of service.
I’ve driven the Nismo version, and it’s a monster. A handful. Insane. Fun. And I still can’t go on Instagram without seeing a GT-R exhaust partially alight.
It’s a sad day in Petrolhead land when a legendary car like the GT-R gets binned because of red tape. But at least Nissan still has the Z to look forward to.
Retro-styled, RWD, 400bhp – it looks like just the ticket. But of course, the roadster isn’t coming to Europe, which ensures that Nissan, despite its extensive sports car back-catalogue, sells zero cars here for the enthusiast.
Fun sponge
I put this conundrum to Veep for Nissan products in Europe, Arnaud Charpentier. He said: “It’s true, we don’t have sports cars in Europe.
“Will we have more? It’s difficult to say. We have different ideas and projects in mind but we’ll need a big push to make these things happen.”
He went on to say that the Juke was kind of fun. Luckily I was wearing a mask at the time.
It seems like the enthusiasts at Nissan want to do something fun. It has avenues it can explore too, such as its Formula E team and Nismo sub-brand.
Most importantly, building something that’s rowdy and fun-filled would give Nissan a real opportunity to remain relevant.
Remember Mitsubishi? Remember its golden era of supercar-slaying Evos? I certainly do, and so do others.
Even kevved up fifth, sixth and seventh generation Evos regularly trade for £30k plus at online auction houses. And now, Mitsubishi doesn’t even sell cars in Europe.
A hot-hatch, a sportscar, or something even just a little bit oi oi would let enthusiasts know Nissan hasn’t forgotten us.
Just look at Toyota. It hasn’t knocked the ball out of the park – it’s hammered it into another dimension. The little GR Yaris is fast overtaking the GT-R as the di rigeur Instagram Reel attention grabber.
A hatchback solution
Some reports have posited Nissan is looking into new electric sports cars. But may I suggest that it could do something much simpler? That’s right, an electric hot-hatch. Yes, I know Cupra has already launched the Born – but, let’s be honest, that’s really just a tarted up ID.3.
Intriguingly, Nissan has already made something of a hot-hatch in the form of a Leaf development mule.
I’ve had a brief squizz in it, and it’s a riot. It’s basically a Leaf with Ariya running gear, used to test Nissan’s fancy new e-4ORCE four-wheel drive system.
Brake horsepower is in the 305 range but the torque is a monstrous 495lb ft thanks to twin modified Leaf e+ motors.
I reckon 0-62mph is comfortably sub six seconds. It also has 17-inch Volk TE37 wheels, which make everything cool.
It’s a bit of a hot-rod. Big power, small car. Except it handles. Grip is enormous off the line and equally as impressive through the corners thanks to multi-link rear suspension. The e-4ORCE system also keeps the chassis remarkably flat and tractable, while the huge brakes breed confidence too.
In the Ariya, the 4WD system can shuffle the torque around and independently brake each wheel. But engineers with clipboards, pens and sensible shoes told me that more of the torque could be sent to the rear. You could even have a big diff control button like you used to get on Subaru Imprezas.
Its steering could do with a bit of work, but it’s a mule innit? You’re nearly there, though, Nissan. Stiffen everything up, chuck in a set of bucket seats, add a drift mode and get it on the forecourts already.
Please, Nissan
In a world where Audi can make a £50k 400hp four-wheel drive hyper-hatch, surely Nissan can do the same, all while keeping it on-brand and electric?
Nissan even has some proper motorsport credibility to pump into the project now it’s racing in Formula E. Throw in some of that knowhow, slap a Nismo badge on it – and there’s your marketing ploy, right there.
Or, Nissan, you could just ignore me and build a traditional sports car. But please,for the sake of JDM lovers everywhere, do something fun for the enthusiast and bring back some joie de vivre for Europe.
Keyword: Nissan needs to bring the fun back to Europe