Nissan is considering expanding its range of Nismo performance cars to include hot versions of the Qashqai, X-Trail and NP300 Navara pickup truck, according to Nismo’s boss.
Speaking to Stuff NZ, Takao Katagiri said that as part of plans for a dramatic expansion of the Nismo brand, Nissan will start to produce hotter versions of its larger family vehicles.
He said: “We want to make the Nismo brand as a kind of AMG for Daimler, or Renaultsport for Renault. We want to make Nismo a true performance brand for Nissan.”
Expansion of Nismo range
"An expansion of SUV and crossovers for the Nismo performance brand could be a very unique approach for Nissan, and we know that the customer requirement is there.”
Katagiri claims that Nissan will double the number of performance cars it makes in the next five years, with around a dozen hot variants of Nissan’s most popular models.
He noted that some of the cars will benefit more from Nismo’s involvement than others, with some getting comprehensive performance tweaks while others would be more about the aesthetics.
Rivals to Audi RS Q3 and Porsche Macan
It’s expected that Nismo will attempt to match the popularity of high-performance SUVs like the Audi RS Q3, Porsche Macan and the new Jaguar F-PACE, at a lower price.
“I am not in a position to disclose everything, but in terms of a direction this is something we are working on,” Katagiri said. “It is not a wish. We have a plan.”
