Nissan hasn't launched that many cars this year, but it's keeping customers interested with the Nismo line of body kits. This video footage from Japan shows almost the entire range, including the all-new 2018 Leaf.
For me at least, the Leaf Nismo is the most exciting car here, and not because it's unexpected. What's so surprising about Nissan putting a body kit on an EV? They did it with the ugly little Micra too.
No, the Leaf Nismo just looks right, like it was designed from Day 1 to have this body kit in its inventory. The black roof contrasting with the white body makes the red piping stand out even more.
Seeing the GT-R a few meters away from it, it's easy to spot the family resemblance. We wouldn't be surprised if the same guy styled the ground effects. The Leaf also sports a black hood insert, Nismo wheels, and chromed door handles. The cool thing is you can walk into the dealership and order one, without having to ever talk to any tuners. Plus it's covered by the warranty.
Highlights of this display also include the Serena Nismo minivan, which we just talked about, as well as the "Fairlady Z," which is the Japanese name for the 370Z.
Two representatives of the hatchback family are also present, the Note and March, which is the same as the Micra. Nissan made quite a few Nismo crossovers too. Here, we see the Juke RS Nismo, one of the few Nismo cars that have extra power. There's also an X-Trail Nismo here... you know, for the racing soccer moms.
The one you don't see is the Nissan Patrol Nismo, which was specifically for the fine folks in the Middle East. They have hobbies like humiliating supercars in 2,000 horsepower SUVs, so it's right up their alley.
Anything else missing here? Yeah, the US-spec Sentra Nismo sedan, widely considered one of the worst cars to come out this year.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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