We’ve got some bad news for lovers of cheap, lightweight, rear-wheel drive sports cars – Nissan has officially given up on building a production version of their rear-drive IDx concept (pictured), which would have competed with the Mazda MX-5 and Toyota 86.
Nissan’s senior vice president, and chief creative officer Shiro Nakamura said the idea to add a third sports car (the others being the 370Z and GT-R) to the company’s lineup had been shelved for now due to the cost of developing a new platform. “You need a proper platform because it has to be light and small and also affordable,” Nakamura said. “In reality that is not easy to find. It also has to be rear-wheel drive – if we make it front-wheel drive it would be cheating. It is expensive and we are struggling.”
When asked about the potential for Nissan to use the Renault Alpine platform, he dismissed that idea, as well. “We are not a mid-engined car company. We don’t have the same heritage as Alpine,” he said.
Nakamura did have some good news for sports car fans though, confirming that the 370Z and GT-R will always be a permanent part of Nissan’s lineup. So even though both of those cars might be getting a little long in the tooth, fans can at least rest easy that they won’t be cancelled any time soon.