Nismo arrives in Ireland
Nismo is being launched in Europe as the brand name for Nissan’s performance road car line-up and, as part of Nissan’s long term product plan, Nismo products are planned for almost all Nissan’s future products.
The launch of the Nismo brand in Europe brings Nissan’s vast global motorsport experience from the race track to the road. The Nismo ethos is to concentrate on upgrading the ride, handling and design characteristics of a road car to emulate its racing counterpart rather than focussing purely on adding massive power. This results in delivering truly thrilling performance cars without the excessive cost penalties that higher power outputs bring thus making them more accessible to a wider audience.
The first of the current Nissan product range to receive the Nismo treatment in Ireland will be the Nissan Juke.
The starting point is the standard Juke’s radical design, with its unique blend of sports coupé lines and SUV styling. But transforming it into a Nismo model is not just about adding a body kit and sporty cabin styling. Everything that has been modified has been changed for a reason, with inspiration taken from the company’s decades of competitive racing.
Nissan and Nismo engineers have developed a new aerodynamic body kit, giving the Juke an even more efficient, dynamic and powerful design. The new model features lower front and rear bumpers and side skirts, plus a modified grille and tailgate spoiler to better control airflow. These upgrades reduce front and rear lift, enhancing performance.
Stylish new 18-inch alloy wheels with wider tyres offer improved grip and further boost the Juke Nismos on-road presence. Red door mirror caps and a pinstripe around the base of the car will instantly mark it out as a Nismo machine.
Under the bonnet is a tuned version of Nissan’s 1.6-litre direct-injection turbocharged petrol engine. Power has been boosted from 140kw (190PS) to 147kw (200PS) and torque is up from 240Nm to 250Nm. These increases give a sharper engine response with no increases to either fuel consumption or CO2 emissions.
Key to the car’s appeal is also its enhanced dynamic experience. As well as featuring stiffened suspension settings and new steering modifications for sportier direct handling and improved traction control, the new model will also be available with torque vectoring (4WD only), sharing technology with the R35 Nissan GT-R to offer better grip and cornering capacity.
Customers can choose from a 2WD model with a six-speed manual transmission, or 4WD with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) with 7-speed manual mode, tuned for Nismo.
For all Nismo variants, the design treatment continues inside the cabin, where the steering wheel, pedals, gauges, gear knob and door trims have been redesigned to boost the sporty feeling when driving. The leather and suede covered steering wheel also features the Nismo trademark top dead centre red leather strip.
To further underline the performance personality of the car, special suede-trimmed Nismo sports seats with red stitching have been added for increased support and comfort while cornering.
The Juke Nismo is available for sale now at Nissan dealerships nationwide.
The next Nissan vehicle in line to benefit from the Nismo treatment will be the 370Z which is expected to hit Irish shores later on this year.
