If you like cars, you know the Nissan Silviaalthough it was not sold in Europe. It was one of the most popular coupés of the Japanese brand, but disappeared in 2002, until now without a successor, although that could change.
Nissan’s global product boss has admitted that there is a possibility of resurrecting the Nissan Silvia, as Honda has done with the Prelude. It would be sold worldwide and it would be the prelude to the Nissan GT-R.
Coupes may not be as dead as we thought
Over the last few years, a paradox has emerged in the automobile industry: while cars with a body coupé (two or three doors) have practically disappeared (outside the supercar league), SUVs are constantly being launched that manufacturers call coupés, although in reality they have five-door bodies, and the word “coupé” has become a marketing tool to evoke (often false) sportiness.
While the streets of the world have been filled with these misnamed SUV coupes, brands have been busy killing off the real coupes, to the point that there are not even two-door compact and utility vehicles left. But, just when the coupe format is on the verge of its extinctionit seems that some manufacturers have decided to avoid this by returning to this type of car.
This is not the case of Audi, which has just killed its coupés, but it is the case of other brands, such as Toyota, which brought back the Toyota Supra, and Honda, which has decided to resurrect the Honda Prelude more than 20 years later and has done so respecting the original format, not like Ford with the Ford Capri or Mitsubishi with the Misubishi Eclipse Cross.
The Honda Prelude comes back and does so with a coupe body and sporty style, something that has been very popular among motor enthusiasts and has highlighted two things: that there are many of us who miss this type of car and, above all, that there are many drivers interested in buying relatively affordable coupés, like decades ago.
Well, it seems that Nissan has taken note of Honda’s move and could be the next to bring back a legendary coupe, specifically one that was a rival to the Honda Prelude: the Nissan Silvia.
The Silvia is an institution in Japan and the US, and although it wasn’t sold in Europe (it came as the 200 SX and 240 SX), it is very popular with enthusiasts, largely thanks to video games such as Gran Turismo. Its last generation was the so-called S15 and it disappeared in 2002, 22 years ago, but it could be back soon.
This was acknowledged by Ivan Espinosa, vice president of Nissan’s global product strategy planning division, in an interview with the media Top Gear. The Nissan executive spoke about the possibility of building a sports car cheaper than the GT-R to serve as a springboard for younger customers.
“A crazy idea would be something like a new Silvia positioned below the GT-R with enough power at a suitable price that customers find attractive. And there are plenty of Silvia fans everywhere. As soon as I say the name, people start nodding. This is my dream.”
When asked about the chances of seeing a next-generation Silvia one day, Espinosa did not flatly deny it, as is often the case with these types of questions:
“The possibilities are there, but in the end it is a business, so I need to find ways to make these kinds of proposals interesting for the company. Sometimes cars like this have some difficulties because the audience is not that big, but it can work if we find the right idea that can be used worldwide.”
“We can’t do these products regionally or as one-offs because it just doesn’t make sense. But there is a possibility. It will be a challenge, but it’s my job to find ways to do things like this because I think it will be great for the customers and the brand, and if I can get the right formula in place, we could make it work.”
This means that the hypothetical future Nissan Silvia would follow in the footsteps of the Honda Prelude and would be sold worldwide, unlike what is happening now with the Nissan Z, which has not reached Europe, at least for now, unfortunately.
If Espinosa’s idea ends up taking shape, it would be another step towards avoiding the extinction of coupés. Mercedes-Benz has killed the C-Class Coupé and the E-Class Coupé, but it has pulled the CLE out of its hat; Ford has launched a new generation of the Mustang, the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ are highly valued among purists and have sold very quickly, the Honda Prelude is being resurrected and Nissan is not closing the doors to a new Silvia, so all is not lost.
Source: www.motorpasion.com
