Nissan teases widebody Nismo concept ahead of Tokyo Auto Salon

Following confirmation of the manual-equipped Fairlady Z Nismo MT, Nissan has confirmed several other new vehicles to be shown at its Tokyo Auto Salon stand from this Friday (January 9).

The first is a new ‘Nismo Concept Model’ that has been teased with a shadowy close-up image of its rear-end, hinting at a widebody design based on one of its production models.

While not officially confirmed, the tail-light design points to a wild version of the Japanese-market Nissan Note Aura hatchback, which is already available in a tamer Nismo street version.

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Until the Nismo concept is revealed and detailed at the Tokyo event, it’s unclear whether the modifications to the Note Aura will be purely cosmetic or performance-based as well.

In Japan, the Note Aura Nismo is available solely with Nissan’s e-Power series hybrid drivetrain, though the Nismo version introduced a Nismo-tuned dual-motor all-wheel drive version producing an extra 10kW of power and 50Nm of torque.

The Nissan Note Aura e-Power features a 60kW/103Nm 1.2-litre petrol engine under the bonnet, which doesn’t mechanically drive the wheels. Instead, as in all Nissan e-Power vehicles, it acts as a generator for the (100kW/300Nm) electric motor driving the front wheels, and in AWD variants there’s an additional e-motor at the rear.

In standard versions, the rear electric motor makes 50kW and 100Nm, where Nismo AWD versions offer 60kW/150Nm.

The widebody Nismo concept could signal the Japanese brand’s intentions to use the Note Aura and/or e-Power technology in motorsport – but we’ll have to wait until later this week to find out.