Is the Nissan 200SX coming back as a hybrid before turning electric?
If you like the idea of a front-engined, rear drive sports coupe that gives you decent performance without sucking back too much gas, you may be happy to hear that Nissan is considering resuscitating the 200SX, globally known as the Silvia. Emphasis on "considering." Junichi Endo, Nissan's senior vice president of global marketing, puts the chances at 50/50 saying that it all comes down to "marketability." They haven't decided if car buyers can swallow the "performance hybrid" concept in a vehicle whose name conjured up thoughts of turbochargers in times past. Well, except for those that were based on the front-drive Sentra from '95 to '98. Those don't conjure up anything.
If the consumer-survey coin comes up heads and they decide to make it they won't have to shoulder the entire "hybrids can be fast and sexy" education burden alone. Honda has already announced production of their sports hybrid, the two-seater CR-Z and that other little Japanese manufacturer, what's their name...oh yes, Toyota, is said to be working collaboratively with Subaru to produce a performance hybrid via the hot FT-HS coupe concept.
These are merely Nissan's near-term ideas though. It's longer-term goals are still highly focused on a good portion of their line-up becoming electric. In an article on the Australian Drive.com, Endo is further quoted as saying, "In the very short term, probably a hybrid front-engine, rear-wheel drive [sports car] ... would be a good candidate. In the mid term an electric vehicle is a strong candidate we are looking at." To which we can only blithely reply, "Bring it on."
[Source: Drive]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Aaron 4:09PM (5/19/2008)
Isn't that a 240SX? I think the 200SX was FWD.
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stevefazek 7:38PM (5/19/2008)
Same car differnt engine Aaron.
The 200SX had a 2L turbo engine called the SR20.
The us got the crappy 240SX same car but with a 2.4L NA truck engine
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Kevin Nugent 10:21PM (5/19/2008)
ummm.... i don't care if that thing comes back a hybrid in my opinion that is a ugly sports car . But nice try nissan :)
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Guenther 9:07AM (5/20/2008)
will not be hybrid [PERIOD]
The list of reasons against this is long.
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EvolutionVII 8:00AM (5/20/2008)
Too bad the picture above shows a Silvia S15, which never was a global but a JDM model (only RHD). It never had a Nissan badge on it, as it was a red flashlike "S".
The 200SX numberplate makes it even worse.
@Aaron: You mean the 200SX (B14) Sunny coupe.
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Marco_VESS 9:33AM (5/20/2008)
Not quite - the picture shows an Australian-market S15 200SX, which was basically an S15 Silvia with a different set of badges. Interestingly, the Silvia badge on the dashboard remained.
The background is a bit of a giveaway - that particular tower is a well known landmark in Australia's capital, Canberra.
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Adam Maas 11:43AM (5/20/2008)
The most recent 200SX in North America was a Sentra coupe on the FWD B14 chassis, very different car from the Euro and Aussie 200SX, which was a Silvia and closely related to the 240SX (which isn't necessarily a Silvia, the first model is in fact a 180SX, while the second-gen 240SX is a Silvia). Older 200SX's were 240SX predecessors, on the S12 and earlier RWD platforms.
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Eric 9:10AM (1/26/2009)
That's what we need, more hybrids that are actually fun to drive!
http://200sxPortal.net
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