According to a newsletter put out by Fox Marketing, Nissan are aiming to bring their new front engined/rear drive sports competitor to the recently rumored Subaru/Toyota collab to market in the ‘latter half’ of 2010 and beat Toyota to the punch. Nissan have acknowledged the lack of an entry level sports car to appeal to younger buyers and this new FR based coupe is being designed with “enjoyable handling” in mind to keep them from turning to other manufacturers.

The size of the car closely resembles the previous S15 Silvia, the new FR coupe’s dimensions being 4350mm in length, 1750mm in width and with a wheelbase identical to the new Fairlady/350 Z platform. As with the Toyota/Subaru sports car, the new Nissan compact FR sports coupe will attempt to keep weight at a minimum, although the extent of which is unknown at present. It’s possible that a 2.0L NA engine with a higher output will power the compact FR sports car range, with totally new 1.6L or 1.8L direct injection turbo engines also being considered for the task. The smaller capacity turbo engines are looking favorable at this point, largely due to the inclusion of Nissan’s VCR (Variable Compression Ratio) Piston-Crank System which will improve fuel economy – like that of a small capacity NA engine around town – and also provide high power when needed.

The VCR equipped 1.6L  turbo engine was mentioned along with the Roundbox concept at last years Tokyo Motor Show so it  could very well make it into the compact FR sports coupe. Best Car calculates that around 150ps will be available in high compression mode, with anything up to 225ps in low compression turbocharged mode.

Thanks to Brian at Fox Marketing and a nod to 7Tune.com