Unless you're a fan of Japanese cars or tuning, the Nissan Silvia is probably a model you don't know. However, the model has been very successful in its home country of Japan. In fact, Nissan is considering bringing back this legendary car to its lineup.
There is currently little information on the subject, but several rumors suggest that the model could replace both the GT-R and the Z.
An Electrified Car
A senior executive of the brand was recently asked about this in an interview with TopGear Magazine. It was mentioned that Nissan is exploring the possibility of reintroducing the Silvia to the market as a sports car, which would be electrified in some way. However, it's not yet known if it will be fully electric or just feature some form of mild hybridization.
A Wait is Needed
In this interview, it was revealed that the concept of the new Silvia could be unveiled by the end of the decade. In short, the Z and GT-R won't be replaced anytime soon if that's truly the plan.
The new Silvia could also simply fit between the Z and the GT-R with significant performance levels.
A Long-Standing History
Even though the Nissan Silvia has never been sold in Canada, it remains popular nonetheless. Many units have been imported, especially by customization enthusiasts. The first Nissan Silvia was introduced in 1965. At the time, it was called the 200SX or 240SX. These models have built a solid reputation in the drifting world.
The last generation of Silvia arrived on the market in 1999, and production ended in 2002. Unfortunately, Nissan had to make the difficult decision to reduce its number of different platforms at the time, which led to the end of the Silvia.
Several sports cars have left the market in recent years. Think of the Chevrolet Camaro, the Dodge Challenger, or the Infiniti Q60, to name a few. All of this is to say that Nissan seems to have carefully planned the return of the Silvia, which could benefit from a lack of competition in its segment when it arrives on the market.
Jean-Sébastien Poudrier
