'There's a lot of Silvia fans everywhere': Nissan product boss considering Silvia or 200SX revival as a sub-GT-R sports car to potentially rival the Toyota GR86 and Mazda MX-5 - report

Sports car revivals are coming thick and fast from Japan with Nissan the latest carmaker to entertain a new model. 

Like the Z and GT-R, Nissan's latest rebirth comes from an enthusiast favourite: Silvia. Australians might know the Silvia sports cars, generations 'S13’ to ‘S15’, better as the 180SX and 200SX. 

“A far-fetched idea would be something like a new Silvia positioned (beneath the GT-R) with good enough power at the right price that customers find attractive,” Nissan Vice President Global Product Strategy Ivan Espinosa told TopGear. 

“And there’s a lot of Silvia fans everywhere. As soon as I say the name, people start nodding. This is my dream.”

The question is, what shape would a new Silvia/200SX take? All that Mr Espinosa let slip is that it would be sub-GT-R which could mean it sits between the halo and new Z but that doesn’t match Silvia's typical positioning.

Previously, the Silvia was positioned as an entry-level sports car, at least in Australia. It used a turbocharged four-cylinder engine (including infamous ‘SR20' in A14 and A15 guises) and sold for between $40-45K in the early 2000s. 

If Nissan is to keep in line with the history books, the new Silvia would end up being a rival for the Toyota GR86, Subaru BRZ and Mazda MX-5 … but that’s only if the project comes to fruition. 

As for motivation, the Silvia discussion came separately to Nissan and Nismo’s electric future so it is a safe bet that, if it is reborn, a Silvia will use some kind of combustion engine, potentially developing around 200kW.

“The chances are there, but in the end, it’s a business, so I need to find ways to make this sort of proposal interesting to the company. Sometimes cars like this do struggle a bit because the audience isn’t that big, but it can work if we find the right idea that can be run everywhere in the world.

Nissan Silvia design sketch

“We cannot do these products regionally or as one-offs because it just doesn’t make sense. But there is a chance. It’ll be a challenge, but it’s my job to find ways to do stuff like this because I think it’ll be great for customers and the brand, and if I can put the right formula in place we could make it work,” Espinosa told TopGear. 

And the best formula according to sales figures is the GR86 and BRZ one. Last year, 2717 of the affordable 2+2 sports coupes found homes compared to 653 convertible MX-5s, 449 of Nissan’s dearer V6 Zs and 276 Toyota Supras. 

Mr Espinosa did not mention partnering with other brands but Toyota has proven that is probably the best way to make sports cars happen. Nissan is in an Alliance with Renault, which has its Alpine sports car arm but it is an unlikely pairing.