Nissan 200SX to Be Revived

The fierce competition in the coupe market, as well as the good money to be made there, have determined Japanese manufacturer Nissan to reconsider a revival of its 200SX model. According to Autocar, citing sources close to Nissan, the new model is aimed directly at the Mazda RX-7 and Volkswagen Scirocco.

Launched in 1989, Nissan's coupe stayed in production until 1994. From there, it became the two door version of the Nissan Sentra and stayed in production until 2002. Initially, the 200 SX was powered by a 4-cylinder 1.9l engine with an output of 169 hp.

The revival of the model would be, according to sources, a rear wheel drive version and will be slotted under the 370Z, as its cheaper and more fuel efficient version. The Japanese manufacturer is however yet to decide on a platform to be used for the model.

According to the inside sources, using the platform of the 370Z, modified to suit the current needs, would still prove to be tricky, as the platform would still be too heavy for the project. This leaves the matter of the platform still open.

In February 2009, news of French manufacturer Renault planning to kill the sporty Alpine brand surfaced. At that time, it was suggested that the 200SX concept would share the Alpine platform, but the tough economic conditions made the French-Japanese alliance consider killing both brands.

Since the economic mayhem pretty much ended in the automotive industry, the revival of the 200SX project would be a logical choice. We'll still have to wait a few more years before we can see the first results though.