Jump to content
Create New...
  • William Maley
    William Maley

    Rumorpile: Nissan Working A Competitor To The FR-S, BRZ

    William Maley

    Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

    July 20, 2012

    Automakers are taking notice of the red hot sales of the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ. And if rumors play true, Nissan could be working on a competitor.

    According to Motor Trend, Nissan is hard at work on a sports coupe to compete with the FR-S and BRZ. However, the coupe will not use a RWD platform. Instead the coupe will utilize a FWD platform with an AWD variant, most likely from the Juke. Also coming from the Juke will be the 1.6L, turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 190 HP.

    The coupe would be primarily for China, with Japan and Europe being secondary. The U.S. is under consideration.

    Source: Motor Trend

    William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    FWD..weak.

    Cubical I have to totally disagree with you.

    Out of College I bought my first pocket rocket, 1991 Ford Escort GT, the one Mazda built and it was a blast to drive till a moron trucker re-ended it and totaled the car. Then came a SRT4 Neon and that was a bad ass FWD. Look at what Audi has done with FWD luxury. You can so have a solid small FWD appliance without needing it to be RWD. If they tune it right, you will have a fun car to drive.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    FWD..weak.

    Cubical I have to totally disagree with you.

    Out of College I bought my first pocket rocket, 1991 Ford Escort GT, the one Mazda built and it was a blast to drive till a moron trucker re-ended it and totaled the car. Then came a SRT4 Neon and that was a bad ass FWD. Look at what Audi has done with FWD luxury. You can so have a solid small FWD appliance without needing it to be RWD. If they tune it right, you will have a fun car to drive.

    Different niche...look at the original post. The FR-S and BRZ are RWD...if they are going to try and compete with them, then it needs to be RWD. FWD would be fine if they were doing a Mini competitor, though.

    Small RWD sports cars like the Miata, FR-S, etc and FWD 'hot hatches' like the GTI, Mini, 500 Abarth, etc occupy two distinctly different niches.

    Edited by Cubical-aka-Moltar
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    FWD..weak.

    Cubical I have to totally disagree with you.

    Out of College I bought my first pocket rocket, 1991 Ford Escort GT, the one Mazda built and it was a blast to drive till a moron trucker re-ended it and totaled the car. Then came a SRT4 Neon and that was a bad ass FWD. Look at what Audi has done with FWD luxury. You can so have a solid small FWD appliance without needing it to be RWD. If they tune it right, you will have a fun car to drive.

    Different niche...look at the original post. The FR-S and BRZ are RWD...if they are going to try and compete with them, then it needs to be RWD. FWD would be fine if they were doing a Mini competitor, though.

    Small RWD sports cars like the Miata, FR-S, etc and FWD 'hot hatches' like the GTI, Mini, 500 Abarth, etc occupy two distinctly different niches.

    Other than Driving dynamics of RWD versus FWD, if they are in the same price point and are well built fun machines to drive, I do not see the public caring about which set of wheels drives the auto.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    FWD..weak.

    Cubical I have to totally disagree with you.

    Out of College I bought my first pocket rocket, 1991 Ford Escort GT, the one Mazda built and it was a blast to drive till a moron trucker re-ended it and totaled the car. Then came a SRT4 Neon and that was a bad ass FWD. Look at what Audi has done with FWD luxury. You can so have a solid small FWD appliance without needing it to be RWD. If they tune it right, you will have a fun car to drive.

    Different niche...look at the original post. The FR-S and BRZ are RWD...if they are going to try and compete with them, then it needs to be RWD. FWD would be fine if they were doing a Mini competitor, though.

    Small RWD sports cars like the Miata, FR-S, etc and FWD 'hot hatches' like the GTI, Mini, 500 Abarth, etc occupy two distinctly different niches.

    Other than Driving dynamics of RWD versus FWD, if they are in the same price point and are well built fun machines to drive, I do not see the public caring about which set of wheels drives the auto.

    The general public is generally ignorant about cars, though.

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    IMHO they should get the Z car right first...

    You all know my biases, and that I own both a Miata and a MINI Cooper S....

    However....

    Almost every smaller sporty car under 35K pretty much trumps the Z IMHO. Not that the Z is a bad car, but I think the others are beter.

    Maybe this is also an admission that they couild have built a sport compact out of the JUKE, and used Rouge to gain mid level SUV sales.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    They are one hell of a car, and we have the Ohio Prelude Club come out and play with us at SCCA, buckeye Miata club, and Porsche Club events...great group of guys.

    I've seen 8 of these (Yeah, EIGHT) totaled along the highways in Columbus in the last two weeks....last one was Yesterday ayem just off of I- two seventy...

    But...I doubt Nissan will get their sport compact as "right" as Honda got the prelude.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I agree with Moltie. RWD is special, and for people buying a BRZ, they do know what they're getting. They hunger for it. A slammed Juke sounds like a joke in comparison to the purity of the BRZ.

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I agree with Moltie. RWD is special, and for people buying a BRZ, they do know what they're getting. They hunger for it. A slammed Juke sounds like a joke in comparison to the purity of the BRZ.

    RE-BRZ....

    Sigh...I am glad you and Caddycruiser like them.

    I fear a gang from C and G, with pitchforks and burning torches, descending to my driveway should I buy one....

    http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5770193-Nissan-working-on-a-mini-Z-to-fight-FR-S-BRZ

    Linky is to a VW Vortex thread where there is a pic of the Nissan abomination....damn is it ugly...!

    Looks like a Mitsu final gen Eclipse beaten with an ugly stick....ughhh.....

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    The Scion FR-S is THE DEVIL. Pitchforks shall be used on those who purchase this devil. However, the Subaru BRZ is one sweet car.

    Ummm...they are the same car...some trivial differences, but that's about it.

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I'm sure some people are already getting JDM Toyota 86 badges for their FR-Ses....

    Yes they are...it's a popular swap.

    And given how dismal the rest of the Scion lineup is, I would do the same with one.

    IQ, TC, XD, XB....read the critical reviews on these cars. They are not well designed, well thought out cars.

    In some ways I wish they had gone with Toyota GT-86...and dropped the rest of the Scion lineup. It would do a lot of good at moving Toyota "forward" in the direction it needs to go.

    How imaginative of you Nissan.

    Given that the Cube, the Rouge, the Juke, and a few other oddities have come from the imagination of Nissan....wouldn't it be better if they had no imagination at all?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites



    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • google-news-icon.png



  • Community Hive Community Hive

    Community Hive allows you to follow your favorite communities all in one place.

    Follow on Community Hive
  • google-news-icon.png

  • Subscribe to Cheers & Gears

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001 we've brought you real content and honest opinions, not AI-generated stuff with no feeling or opinions influenced by the manufacturers.

    Please consider subscribing. Subscriptions can be as little as $1.75 a month, and a paid subscription drops most ads.*
     

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • So three major problems with this car, one, terrible Jellybean external shape, not impressed at all with the style. Second is the buttonless dash having everything via a touch screen and rotary knob, terrible safety issue as your eyes will be off the road more than on trying to find the right option in the right menu. Third is the center pack clearly cuts into valuable leg space based on their own picture. This is a hard pass.
    • Great Masculine shape, really digging the style they did here.
    • First seen at the Shanghai Auto Show (see article: Polestar 4 - The New Breed of Electric SUV Coupe), Polestar brought the Polestar 4 to the New York International Auto Show for North Americans to see in person. Polestar calls the Polestar 4 an "electric SUV 4-door coupe". Outside of that marketing speak, the Polestar 4 is a slightly lifted four-door hatchback about 190 inches in length, or roughly 2 inches shorter than a Toyota Camry.  Built without rear glass, the Polestar 4 makes use of a rear camera for visibility astern. Polestar 4 features a plethora of standard content, including 20-inch 5 V-spoke black diamond cut alloy wheels, panoramic glass roof, adaptive cruise control, 360 parking camera with 3D view, energy saving heat pump, front-illuminated Polestar logo, e-latch doors, power-operated tailgate with soft close, Polestar digital key, wireless phone charging, and 8-way electrical driver seat and 6-way electrical passenger seat. The fastest production car the brand has ever developed to date, Polestar 4 can accomplish a 0-60 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds and in top spec can produce 544 horsepower. Long-range single-motor variants have 272 horsepower and a targeted EPA range of over 300 miles. All long range variants have a 102 kWh battery capable of 200 kW charging on a DC Fast Charger and 11 kW on home level-2 charging. Google built-in is ... built in and includes Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play. Polestar continues to offer a leading connected in-car experience. As with all other Polestar cars, regular over-the-air updates allow for new features and improvements to be sent remotely to all vehicles. Pricing starts at $54,900, with orders opening in April for deliveries in the latter half of this year.   View full article
  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search

Change privacy settings