Nissan Boss Dreams of Silvia Returning as a 'Right-Priced' Sports Car
The Nissan Silvia (known in North America most recently as the 240SX) has an outside shot to return from the grave.
Ivan Espinosa, Nissan's vice president of global product strategy, told TopGear that it's his dream to build a new Silvia.
The sports car would slot above the Nissan Z and need to have "good enough power at the right price," according to Espinosa.
The world is a sadder place with fewer sports cars in it. While we shed a tear following the Nissan GT-R's recent retirement, talk of another Nissan sports car's potential return caught our ear. In an interview with TopGear, Ivan Espinosa—Nissan's vice president of global product strategy—said it is his dream to build a new version of the Silvia (otherwise known in North America as the 200SX and 240SX).
For additional context, here's a longer excerpt of what Espinosa said, "... there is a chance. It’ll be a challenge, but it’s my job to find ways to do stuff like this because I think it’ll be great for customers and the brand, and if I can put the right formula in place we could make it work."
With the R35-generation GT-R now out of the picture, that leaves the Nissan Z as the only other sports car in the company's lineup. If Espinosa's comments are to be taken at face value, then a new Silvia would have to exceed the Z's 400-hp rating as well as its $43K base price. Of course, it would also have to cost a lot less than the outgoing GT-R, which started at nearly $123K. There's also the possibility that the Silvia could return as an EV, as it's clear the car is currently just a pipe dream.
Still, the fact a high-level executive has a new sports car on his wish list gives us hope. It's been more than 25 years since the last new Nissan 240SX was sold on our shores. How long will it be until we could see it return? That remains to be seen, but at least someone at Nissan is saying there's a chance.
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