Nissan Is Taking An Unconventional Approach To Performance With The New Aura Nismo RS Concept

Nissan has been on the hot seat over the past few years, for a variety of reasons. Between the company’s financial difficulties, failed merger discussions, and until recently, the rather mediocre and barely relevant mainstream models, the company’s management is scrambling for a viable way forward. On some fronts, it seems like the Japanese carmaker is recovering, but on others, I question the sanity behind Nissan’s latest decisions.

Recently, the brand showed us the Nissan Aura Nismo RS Concept - an aggressively styled hot hatchback, featuring all-wheel drive and a hybrid powertrain. At first glance, the system doesn’t sound inspiring, but can it prove to be the future of the company’s next-generation performance models? 

What the Aura Nismo RS Concept is motivated by

The new hot hatchback features Nissan's third-generation e-Power hybrid powertrain It revolves around a new, 1.5-liter, turbocharged, inline-three, which works surprisingly well in the Rogue. The difference here is that the internal-combustion engine does not have a mechanical connection to the wheels and serves only as a generator for the two electric motors - one for each axle for all-wheel-drive capabilities. 

The numbers are impressive nonetheless

The ICE generator develops 142 horsepower and 184 pound-feet (250 Nm). The front electric motor delivers 204 horsepower (150 kW) and around 243 pound-feet (330 Nm). The rear electric motor provides an additional 136 horsepower (100 kW) and around 144 pound-feet (195 Nm). 

All this makes for a combined system output of 340 horsepower and 387 pound-feet (525 Nm), making the Aura Nismo RS Concept more powerful than the likes of the Honda Civic Type-R and Toyota GR Corolla, which could get a larger engine in the near future. 

Hardly what enthusiasts want to hear

While the Aura Nismo RS offers instant electric torque and an all-wheel-drive level of grip, it may not be what enthusiasts want from a performance model. We have a fresh example of how this can backfire, with the Honda Prelude, which lacks all the necessary attributes fans look for in a sports car: a manual transmission, turbocharged engine, and no complex hybrid system. It doesn’t help that Nissan’s newly-unveiled hot hatchback tips the scales at 3,284 pounds (1,490 kg), which isn’t light for a car of this size.

Nissan already has production models with the e-Power hybrid setup for non-American markets. These include the Qashquai, Kicks, Note, and X-Trail. The latter is available in North America as the Rogue, but with different powertrain options, including a PHEV version, which is a rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander.

Meanwhile, Infiniti will go back to a more traditional approach - obvious differentiation from Nissan models to avoid a diluted lineup

Nissan’s approach is not on conventional propulsion. While some of the brand’s more mainstream models are already featuring the e-Power setup with the engine only serving as a power generator, Nissan’s luxury arm, Infiniti, is attempting a return to the glory days, where enthusiasts enjoyed attainable luxury performance models that offered a great alternative to the (usually) more maintenance-intensive German premium brands. 

In fact. Infiniti plans to launch new sedan models featuring up to 450 horsepower, rear-wheel drive, and a manual transmission. This will reportedly happen as soon as 2027, and Infiniti is already showing us some epic stuff, including a full-size performance SUV with a potent, twin-turbo V-6. 

Nissan is planning to expand its Nismo lineup, creating an opportunity for some exciting new models. But if the latest hot hatchback concept is anything to go by, I think a more conventional powertrain would be a much better solution. 

Driver-focused and electrified are two phrases that don’t go together when it comes to affordable performance models like the Aura Nismo RS. Would you be interested in a hot hatchback that doesn’t use the engine as the main driving unit? Let me know in the comments below.