Final Group of Nissans at SEMA 2013

Well, this is it...

A fairly weak showing for Nissans and Datsuns at SEMA 2013.  While Nissan has introduced a number of new models in the last 24 months none of them have really captured the interest of the aftermarket.  The Altima, Sentra, Rogue, Versa, etc. aren't exactly high on the enthusiasts wish lists.

Hopefully that will change in the next 12 months or so with a new Titan, a next generation 200SX model, a hybrid GT-R, a new Z and others.  Though I am surprised there weren't some modified Nissan Juke's there as its small displacement turbo and radical styling seem targeted at the culture SEMA represents.  At least there was one Titan and a short course Nissan present.  We'll take what we can get.

Nissan Juke Nismo RS to Debut at LA Auto Show

Coming in late November through early December is the 2013 LA Auto Show where Nissan will debut at least two new NISMO vehicles.

The only one confirmed at this time is the Juke NISMO RS.  This now makes four distinct models of the Juke that are available.  You have your regular Juke (in all its associated trim levels), the Juke NISMO, the Juke-R and now the Juke NISMO RS.

The standard Juke, Juke NISMO and Juke NISMO RS are those that are or will be found at your local dealership while the Juke-R is the highly limited production, half a million dollar Frankenstein project that sees the transplant of a GT-R driveline into the standard chassis.  The normal Juke comes with 188hp while the NISMO version saw a bump to 197hp along with a host of suspension and body tweaks to make it stand out.

The NISMO RS to be introduced in LA will take its performance to another level beyond that of the "plain"  NISMO but not anywhere near that of the Juke-R.  Though details are scant, an increase in power to significantly beyond 200hp (in theory to match that of the Mazdaspeed 3 which puts out some 263hp) along with an upgraded cooling system, suspension and aero designs are all likely.  In my dreams they would kit it out like a true stage rally car but I'm betting they still focus on the street handling nature of the platform.  At the very least they hopefully offer a manual transmission to be paired with the AWD version as in the NISMO (non-RS) model the manual transmission is only available with the FWD model leaving anyone wanting AWD relegated to letting a computer row the gates.

Unconfirmed by Nissan is what the second NISMO model will be at the LA Auto Show.  Some say a NISMO GT-R...I say it is a Nissan Versa hatchback with the NISMO label since they already offer a Nissan Pulsar (Versa here in the States) SSS elsewhere in the world and doing some minor tweaks to that version would easily give NISMO another model to its "performance" lineup.  This version would contain the same 1.6L turbo engine seen in the Juke, leading to all sorts of high hp possibilities for the small hatchback.

Nissan Pulsar SSS Specs and Release...

As we have previously predicted here, the Nissan Pulsar (Versa Note here in the US) in Australia is the first to receive confirmation of the hopped up version of the hot hatch.

The Pulsar will receive the "SSS" badging and is lauded by the initial article as being a decent competitor for the VW Golf GTI Polo (not the same as the US Golf).  While carrying a tad more HP than the Polo at 188 it does sport slightly less torque at 177 ft. lb.  Under the hood of this Nissan with be a turbo 1.6L vs. the NA 1.8L in the regular version of the Pulsar/Versa.  This engine matches EXACTLY the specs on the 1.6L turbo seen in the Juke and it is a safe bet that the SSS will be housing the same MR16DDT mill.  Knowing that the Juke engine has seen its HP pushed to 197 in the NISMO version of that CUV means that there is even more performance to be had out of this SSS particularly given the Pulsar will be about 600 pounds less than the Juke. The SSS will come standard...with a standard.  If you're a moron you can pay an additional $2500 or so for the privilege of having a computer do the shifting with an available CVT. 

These measurements should translate well to the US--if it comes here--which I can't forsee it not.  Likley dubbed the Versa Note NISMO I'm guessing, this will represent Nissan's entry into the performance end of the B-segment along with the Ford Fiesta.  I would anticipate Nissan USA announcing its arrival here in Q3 of this year and at dealerships by the end of '13 to Q1 of '14.

Oh, and the photo above is NOT of the SSS which I'm sure will come with more body cladding and such that always seems to come along with "performance" models...

Nissan Pulsar SSS announced...

Impul Aftermarket Kitted Nissan Versa Note

The Japanese aftermarket company that only produces aftermarket products for Nissans has released a number of items for the Nissan Note which is known as the Nissan Versa Note here in the US.

Available will be upgraded shocks and springs, brakes, stainless steel exhaust, full body aero kit, spoiler and more.

I might skip on the faux chrome vents but the functional items??  Not bad for what might be a nice little hot hatch if they release an SSS or NISMO version.

Impul releases line of Versa Note upgrades...