- The new coupe could debut before the decade ends, rivaling other Japanese sports cars.
- Nissan is expected to develop the car on its own, avoiding partnerships with other OEMs.
- The project is still early, and the car has not been officially confirmed for production.
Nissan is considering building a third sports car to slot below the Z and the next-generation GT-R in its line-up, and the firm’s product strategy VP is pushing for it to bring back the Silvia name.
Reports and rumors about classic Japanese sports cars being revived appear online all too often. However, this latest information comes directly from the vice president of global product strategy at Nissan, Ivan Espinosa, who has revealed the new car will be built with electrification in mind but insisted the project is still in its early stages.
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“We’ve been doing some very early upstream exercises of what the architecture could look like,” he told Drive during a recent media event. “You need to find something that can work globally in order to have enough scale. To make something work at the same time, [you would also have to be] one of the first, I would say, electrified [sports cars]. I won’t go into more details, just saying it’s electrified, [and with a] potentially electrified sports car, the assets need to be created from the ground up.”
“This requires a serious level of investment, and this is what’s proving a bit difficult at the moment,” Espinosa added. “But I’m trying, as I said and I keep saying it in my brain, three sports cars in my line-up, a GT-R, a Z, and something else. And this something else in my brain is called the Silvia. Now, will we do it? I’m trying.”
No timeline has been provided for the launch of this new model but Espinosa said he “would love to see something before the end of the decade.” He does not have the final say on what will happen with the next-generation Silvia but will push for it to be developed in-house rather than created alongside a partner, as Toyota and BMW did with the Supra and Z4.
Nissan’s product strategy VP insisted he cannot give official confirmation about the car’s revival and said it needs to make financial sense.
“I’m not sure we’re going do it, just to be 100 clear, but It’s something that I would like to do if we, if we can,” he said. I’m trying to make it work, I’m trying to make it happen. It’s not an easy case. it’s not easy because the sports cars market is shrinking.”
A new entry-level sports car from Nissan could serve as the perfect rival to the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ. Other affordable Japanese sports cars are also in the works, including the next-generation Honda Prelude and a fifth-gen Mazda MX-5 that will be electrified.
Note: This story contains illustrations that are not endorsed by or affiliated with Nissan.
