Last week, Nissan promised major announcements regarding the plan ahead for its skunk works Nismo performance division. Today, we are excited to report that the three-part announcement is much more significant than we thought.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is calling for "a new era for Nismo as its global performance car and motorsports brand." While Nismo was founded in 1984, the division has been rather underutilized compared to the likes of BMW's M-division or the Mercedes-Benz AMG arm.
A major overhaul, Nissan's commitment on Nismo will start with an all-new Nismo Headquarter located at the industrial city of Yokohama, Japan. Ghosn expects the new HQ to become "a hothouse of passion and performance" for all its performance and motorsport engineers.
The second part of the announcement reveal the products the new Nismo division will bring forth in the year ahead. First, the funky Nismo Juke compact crossover is expected to enter the U.S. market in a matter of months. Next a second generation Nismo 370Z is expected to debut for 2014. Saving the best for last, Nissan has confirmed that an ultimate Nismo GT-R is under development. Stretching the limits of what is possible in engineering, the team involved will strive for nothing less than a GT-R capable of reclaiming the title for fastest production car to lap the Nurburgring.
Following the Juke, 370Z, and GT-R, Nismo will then focus on creating "a range of affordable performance Nissan models from small cars to flagship sports cars." What's more, the expansion will also mean that smaller and developing markets will also have access to Nismo vehicles for the very first time.
The final big announcement from Nismo is its ambitious return to the experimental "Garage 56" class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. While Nissan will no longer be a part of the groundbreaking DeltaWing project, the new experimental racing car is slated for a 2014 debut. Nissan promises a "pioneering Nissan race car showcasing electric technology" and " a new approach to innovation and excitement." Nismo projects the project will be finalized within 15 months.
Finally, Nissan will also consider its entry into the pinnacle of endurance racing -- the ultimate LMP1 class against the likes of Audi, Porsche, and Toyota. The last time Nissan competed for overall victory at Le Mans was its 1999 entry of two R391 prototype. Unfortunately, the first crashed during qualifying while the second retired due to an electrical failure despite racing as high as fourth overall.
"We will return to Le Mans with a vehicle that will act as a high-speed test bed in the harshest of environments for both our road car and race car electric vehicle technology," Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said in a statement.
An exciting new era for Nismo, stay tuned for more in the months ahead.
