Nissan has announced that it will unveil an all-new sporty model under its NISMO brand on August 17 at 12:00 AM Japan Standard Time (1:00 PM on August 16 ET). The car set to get the treatment has not yet been named, but Nissan has given us a teaser image to go by. Despite the hint, it’s still hard to see exactly what Nissan is planning, as was perhaps intentional. My first thought was the all-electric Ariya, which would certainly be fun, but when we lightened up the photo, it looks like it’s the Nissan Note Aura, the Note E-Power’s wider-body sibling.
Very similar to the Ariya at the front, the lower side intakes and the distance from the hood to the badge are more in keeping with the proportions of the Note Aura. The hybrid features the e-POWER drivetrain, which uses electric motors to drive the wheels, but has a gas engine to charge the batteries and extend range.
The Note Aura makes up to 134 hp and 300 Nm of torque from its electric motor setup. In that guise, it sends its power to all four wheels, though it can be had in front-wheel-drive, too. A 1.2-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine acts as a generator to charge a compact lithium-ion battery There’s plenty of room for improvement, then.
Although NISMO has plenty of experience with big, firebreathing monsters like the GT-R, it’s also been known to modify smaller cars like the Juke. The brand also has a background in electric vehicles, in the shape of the LEAF NISMO. Indeed, NISMO has already worked with the e-Power drivetrain, too. The company released the Note e-Power NISMO in 2018 and its tuning on the vehicle control module, added electrical output, and improved reduction drive is what got the drivetrain up to its current power levels. Whether NISMO can eke more power out of it again will be interesting to see.
