Prices for hot Nissan Ariya Nismo announced … red sill strip light included
Executives ‘confident’ the tuning and pricing will make it a success
Nissan will be taking orders for its tuned Ariya Nismo electric crossover from this Thursday (October 17), it has announced, and said that prices will start from £56,620 on the road — a hike of just under £6,000 over the most affordable all-wheel-drive Ariya e-4orce and £1,780 more than the upmarket Ariya e-4orce 87kWh Evolve.
What are buyers paying the extra for? Quite a significant overhaul inside, outside and underneath, according to Nissan’s sports division.
The power has been hiked by more than 100bhp, from 302bhp to 429bhp, with revised control systems that make it a more rear-biased set-up, swapping from deploying 60 per cent of the torque (twisting force) at the front to 60 per cent at the rear.
The extra performance means 0-62mph takes 5sec exactly, which is half a second quicker than a Tesla Model Y Performance and just three tenths slower than a smaller Volkswagen Golf R.
Nismo also improved the high speed performance characteristics, with 42 per cent quicker acceleration from 50mph to 70mph; in fact the Ariya Nismo is quicker than the R35 GT-R Nismo between these speeds.
To improve high performance efficiency, Nismo gave the Ariya aerodynamic upgrades including a new front splitter, specific wheels, an extended and widened rear diffuser and a GT3 racing car-inspired rear spoiler. Nissan says the changes manage to increase downforce without increasing aerodynamic drag.
Handling and stability have been improved, too, with a modified front anti-roll bar, springs, struts and dampers, as well as tweaked dynamics software to control how much power is fed to each wheel while cornering.
A tuned anti-lock braking system and bespoke Michelin PilotSport EV tyres, drivers should feel more confident on the brakes, and stopping distances have decreased by eight per cent when compared with the regular Ariya e-4orce.
Inside, Nismo red touches abound, including contrast stitching, a steering wheel centre line and and LED strip lighting running the width of the dashboard. You’re also reminded that this is not a regular Ariya with a Nismo emblem placed next to red-lit “ignition” button.
The exterior is clearly marked out as “Nismo” not just with the more aggressive aero treatment but also the illuminated red sill light that wraps around the front splitter and runs down the sides of the car and round to a Formula E-style central light built into the diffuser, and is used one the road car for its fog light.
A Nismo spokesperson said they were confident that this much sportier version of the Ariya will be a success because of the way it looks, its “sharp ride and handling” and “best in class performance”.
The Nissan Ariya Nismo goes on sale from October 17, with the first customer cars delivered from the end of January 2025. Nissan says early buyers will receive exclusive benefits, including £500 of free charging, and the first 100 will receive a limited-edition artwork by Juan AlcaláLara, the graphic artist and illustrator responsible for Nismo’s Formula E art.
Related articles
- If you were interested in the Nissan Ariya Nismo you might like to read our first drive review of the 2014 Nissan GT-R Nismo
- Also check out our review of the regular Nissan Ariya
- And here’s our review of a rival, the Skoda Enyaq iV vRS
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