Nismo is slowly being assimilated into parent company Nissan as a
bone fide
in-house tuner, and as such is on a mission to soup up every Nissan
model on sale. So naturally, there now exists a counterpoint to the 600
hp GT-R Nismo – the Nissan Note Nismo, a warmed-over version of the second-generation mini-MPV.
The transformation starts on the outside, where you’ll find Nismo’s
signature embellishments. There’s a new mesh grille, aggressive front
and rear bumpers, deeper side skirts, a sportier exhaust system,
gunmetal 16-inch wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza RE080 rubber and a
larger tailgate spoiler.
Inside, there’s a Nismo three-spoke Alcantara steering wheel with red
centre marking, Tricot fabric upholstery on the regular seats (Nismo
sports seats are available as an optional extra) and doors, as well as
darker metallic interior trim. Copious flashes of red both inside and
out complete the makeover.
Now, we’ve seen all this before,
but what we didn’t know was the engine hiding under the bonnet. As
standard, the Note Nismo comes with the same 1.2 litre supercharged
direct-injected three-pot and Xtronic CVT found elsewhere in the
Japanese range, but benefits from a tweaked ECU and the aforementioned
exhaust. Outputs, however, remain the same as before – 98 PS at 5,600
rpm and 142 Nm at 4,400 rpm.
If that’s not enough, there’s an S model that features Nissan’s
familiar 1.6 litre naturally-aspirated MPI four-cylinder engine, but
with higher compression to boost power to 140 PS at 6,400 rpm and torque
to 163 Nm at 4,800 rpm. This mill comes with a five-speed manual
transmission only.
Both variants feature Nismo suspension and structural reinforcements
amounting to front and rear tunnel stays, but only the S gets additional
front and rear suspension member stays, rear cross bar and rear
underfloor V-bar. Rear disc brakes too, as opposed to the drums on the
regular Nismo.
That’s not all – the S is also the only one with 17-inch wheels shod
in wider Bridgestone Potenza S007 tyres, a Nismo-branded instrument
cluster (with a speedometer that reaches all the way to 260 km/h),
aluminium pedals and those sports seats as standard. You can also
specify a pair of delicious red leather Nismo-branded Recaro bucket
seats as optional extras.
The Nismo models are now on sale in Japan – the standard model is
priced at 1.95 million yen (RM59,400), while the higher-performing S
variant comes in at 2.2 million yen (RM68,300). Four colour options are
available – Brilliant White Pearl, Dark Metallic Grey, Super Black and
Brilliant Silver.
These performance models have been announced alongside a minor
facelift for the Note range as a whole, which includes new LED
headlights, a revised grille, a new steering wheel design and the
addition of a new V Selection + Safety trim level that brings automated
emergency braking and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) as standard.
