Photo: Nissan
Nissan has announced the founding of a new division called Nismo Cars Business Department with the quoted aim of "developing more appealing products in a shorter time" and promoting them through dealers and motorsport.
The Nismo business is currently only 15,000 units per year. That's not a lot when you consider the variety of models they've developed and the cost of the GT-R Nismo program.
Any way you look at it, this latest statement can only be read as "We Are Going Mainstream." Rumor has it that Nismo body kits without power increases will be added much more frequently in a similar fashion to how BMW dresses its cars up using the M Sport package or M Performance parts catalog.
Another valuable piece of the yet uncompleted puzzle is the fact that people from the core operations team, Nissan Motor Sports International, and in-house tuner Autech will be used.
It suggests Nismo will continue to be all over the place, with body kits for the Note in Japan and motorsport activities in America. But we can't help notice the company missing some valuable opportunities.
The Pulsar Nismo never happened, nor did the 184 horsepower diesel hot hatch they talked about in 2015. The former CEO of Nissan Europe wanted a Qashqai Nismo crossover, which might have arrived before the planned Tiguan R and Ateca Cupra.
Nismo started out in 2013 with the GT-R and 370Z, capitalizing on the sporty appeal both models had. But the Juke and Sentra models revealed clear the focus was on form instead of performance.
The new-for-2017 Sentra Nismo also received disappointing reviews, and it doesn't just have to do with the size of the engine. The most recent developments also suggest there's no unified strategy.
"As a Nissan sub-brand, NISMO further builds upon the core values of Nissan cars," said Takao Katagiri, president and CEO of both Autech Japan and Nissan Motorsports International. "With the combined expertise of Nissan group companies, NISMO road cars will make customers enjoy Nissan cars more than ever."
Any way you look at it, this latest statement can only be read as "We Are Going Mainstream." Rumor has it that Nismo body kits without power increases will be added much more frequently in a similar fashion to how BMW dresses its cars up using the M Sport package or M Performance parts catalog.
Another valuable piece of the yet uncompleted puzzle is the fact that people from the core operations team, Nissan Motor Sports International, and in-house tuner Autech will be used.
It suggests Nismo will continue to be all over the place, with body kits for the Note in Japan and motorsport activities in America. But we can't help notice the company missing some valuable opportunities.
The Pulsar Nismo never happened, nor did the 184 horsepower diesel hot hatch they talked about in 2015. The former CEO of Nissan Europe wanted a Qashqai Nismo crossover, which might have arrived before the planned Tiguan R and Ateca Cupra.
Nismo started out in 2013 with the GT-R and 370Z, capitalizing on the sporty appeal both models had. But the Juke and Sentra models revealed clear the focus was on form instead of performance.
The new-for-2017 Sentra Nismo also received disappointing reviews, and it doesn't just have to do with the size of the engine. The most recent developments also suggest there's no unified strategy.
"As a Nissan sub-brand, NISMO further builds upon the core values of Nissan cars," said Takao Katagiri, president and CEO of both Autech Japan and Nissan Motorsports International. "With the combined expertise of Nissan group companies, NISMO road cars will make customers enjoy Nissan cars more than ever."
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