As CES winds down, the Tokyo Auto Salon present might be beginning up. It is form of the Japanese counterpart to SEMA, that includes aftermarket corporations and OEMs exhibiting off modified automobiles and elements. And Nissan might be kicking it off with an unnamed (however seemingly straightforward to guess) Nismo-tuned EV.
The announcement comes through Nissan’s YouTube channel, the place a placeholder video for the reveal stream reveals the reveal time and the fundamentals about it being a Nismo EV. And since we have embedded it on the high of this put up, remember to come again for the reveal, which might be at 8 p.m. Thursday (tomorrow), January 11. All that is proven within the placeholder is a silhouette of the car.
Seeing as Nissan solely has three EVs on sale, it is not too arduous to guess what that is. One EV, the Leaf, is previous and has had a Nismo mannequin launched in Japan, in order that’s in all probability out. One other, the Sakura kei EV, is a boxy little factor that does not match the silhouette in any respect. In order that leaves the Ariya, which has a curvy, brief nostril that matches the picture effectively.
We have additionally seen spy images of a sporty Nissan Ariya testing on the Nürburgring final fall. So all issues level to the Ariya. It additionally helps twin motors and fairly first rate horsepower numbers as is, so including extra energy together with dealing with upgrades can be an ideal match. The take a look at Ariya we noticed was mildly restyled with a deeper chin spoiler, facet skirts and a diffuser. It nonetheless had an ordinary paint scheme, although, which can be spiced up with crimson accents or some graphics on the manufacturing mannequin.
Essentially the most highly effective Ariya makes a stable 389 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque proper now. It is doable that Nissan and Nismo enhance the output, but it surely’s not a assure. The Nismo Leaf solely made as a lot energy because the U.S.-spec Leaf Plus, as a substitute relying extra on its suspension upgrades for improved efficiency. However with much more highly effective competitors from Hyundai, Ford and Chevy, and the truth that extra highly effective motors do not require up to date emissions tools, we might hope that Nissan would add extra grunt to remain aggressive.
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