Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Nissan, announced earlier this evening (Feb 25, 2013) the overall encompassing plans for NISMO (Nissan Motorsports) as its global performance car and motorsports brand. Nissan will create a range of affordable sports cars from the sport compact Sentra all the way to its flagship Nissan GT-R. First on NISMO’s list will be the 2014 NISMO Juke (6 speed compact SUV with increased power and handling) followed by the 2014 NISMO 370Z and ultimately culminating with a NISMO edition Nissan GT-R (the company's halo car).
Nissan also plans to re-enter the 24 Hours of LeMans, the most prestigious racing event in the world under the Garage 56 banner.An entirely new chassis will be made incorporating electric propulsion technology (not the Nissan Deltawing) Nissan will continue its involvement with Australia's Super Car V8 series, Nissan’s GT Academy (an online gaming series under Playstation which allows any driver to compete for a real seat in NISMO’s racing team) and continued involvement in Japan’s GT racing series.
Carlos Ghosn kicked off the announcement with the grand opening of NISMO’s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan before highlighting all the points above. According to Ghosn,
“NISMO will democratize performance and bring new excitement to the Nissan portfolio with a broader range of affordable and innovative performance models for more markets and more people.Whether it's a small car or a sports car, if it's wearing the NISMO badge it offers something special – quality, functionality, and efficiency, with NISMO's distinctive styling, sporty handling and dynamic performance capabilities."
Expect to see NISMO technology and trim levels to seep into almost all of Nissan’s model’s. For every year (at least for the next four years in accordance with Nissan’s Power88 business plan) a new NISMO model will be introduced. The Juke NISMO edition will be released in the United States later this spring and expect the new Nissan NISMO 370Z set for sale in summer of 2014. As for the NISMO GT-R, Ghosn stated that
“The vehicle's overall performance has been dramatically increased, high-speed stability improved and ride quality vastly more refined. In development now, the new GT-R NISMO will sit at the top of the new Nissan NISMO range of performance vehicles, and be available alongside the standard model in Nissan's specialized GT-R dealerships next year.”
It’s exciting to hear about Nissan’s plans for NISMO. The NISMO announcement this evening really puts every other car brand on notice regarding building the next generation of customers globally
Source: Nissan Global News
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