Photo courtesy of Holiday Auto
Sources in Japan have told Inside Line that although Nissan has throttled back some of its product programs in the face of worsening economic conditions, two notable programs are still on track. The rumored Infiniti sedan based on the GT-R is still a go and could come as early as 2011. Nissan is also developing an SUV based on the GT-R chassis, and it too could arrive in 2011.
In more depressing news, the same sources revealed that plans for a rear-wheel drive 200SX/Silvia replacement have been axed.
flicmod says:
12:12 PM, 01/16/09
Please tell me this is only fanart and not from Nissan itself. Hideous!
kurtamaxxxguy says:
12:26 PM, 01/16/09
Yet another Urban Mobile with street "creed", but who knows: in S. Calif it may prove wildly popular.
Our Portland roads would eat it for lunch.
Will be interesting to see which Infini or Nissan SUV gets modified for the GT-R driveline. But will Nissan up the production quantity of engines so they can support more GT-R based product?
As the GT-R driveline appears primarly RWD based anyway, perhaps an enterprising Tuner will yank a GT-R's front drive shaft, work over front suspension to reduce un-sprung weight, and sell the result as a RWD vehicle?
desmolicious says:
12:43 PM, 01/16/09
I appreciate the 2 door GTR for what it is, but am not a fan. But somehow the 4 door, as an Infiniti, really appeals to me.
altimadude00 says:
12:46 PM, 01/16/09
Why create this, of which only a hand full of people will buy, and ax the 200ZX that potentially lots of people would be interested, not to mention the hybrid it was supposed to be a sibling to?
roar02ram says:
01:52 PM, 01/16/09
That's too bad about the 200SX, but it probably wouldn't have sold well enough to justify its own existence anyway.
I love this Infiniti idea, though...although I wonder about the price....not to mention the mechanicals...
bbechtel16 says:
02:43 PM, 01/16/09
Wouldn't the 200SX/Silvia just steal 370Z sales?
brn says:
10:47 AM, 01/17/09
A GTR based SUV? Somebody explain to me what in the world they expect from that.
estreka says:
06:51 PM, 01/17/09
I know Nissan is going after Porsche and all, but don't follow them down the Cayenne path. It leads nowhere. Trust me.
If Nissan wants a GT-R sedan, just offer a turbo G37 and call it a G37S.
athens says:
10:17 PM, 01/17/09
A G37 turbo would probably have to be priced at least 15% above the $45K mark of the G37 Cabrio. That would place it in Porsche Cayman S territory. And it would still not be a Porsche.
Guess it's supposed to go up against the Porsche Panamera. And it's rumored to be getting a version of the FX 50s V-8 rather than the GT-Rs TT V-6 motor.
Very Aston Martin DB-like nose.
anythngbutgm says:
12:42 PM, 01/19/09
"A GTR based SUV? Somebody explain to me what in the world they expect from that."
The next generation Infiniti FX or EX maybe? Just because it says it's GTR based doesn't mean it needs to wear a Nissan badge.
furyinside says:
10:10 AM, 01/22/09
I like the idea of the SUV. That makes perfect sense especially since the GT-R was made to compete with the 911 Turbo. How perfect would it be to have something to compete (and win) against the Cayenne? I worry about diluting the GT-R's exclusivity though. It's nice to finally have a Skyline on a dedicated platform. It kind of takes away from its thunder/exclusivity if you start making things from that platform. But- I understand it makes more financial sense to use a platform for more than one thing and try to get a few extra bucks out of it.
I'm not so sure the sedan makes sense though. Wouldn't it be basically a bada$$, sportier G37x? I mean that's great and all but do we really need it? And I really really hope it doesn't end up like that drawing. It's just terrible...
Better idea: Redesign the Sentra. Lighter RWD only GT-R. And a brand new S15 Silvia for the US with the 370's platform! :-D