During a live-streamed event at the Tokyo Auto Salon, Nissan pulled the sheet back on an Ariya Nismo battery-electric crossover. As you’d expect, this Nismo-badged Nissan has more power, styling changes, and some interesting aero manipulation.
With standard e-4orce all-wheel drive, the Nissan Ariya Nismo will be available with the smaller 66-kWh battery, rated at 362 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque. That’s a 27-hp bump, up from 335 hp and 389 lb-ft in non-Nismo dress.
But there’s also an available 91-kWh battery that throws 429 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque to the wheels with its dual-motor drive system. That’s a 40-hp bump over the non-Nismo e-4orce model. It’s worth noting that the torque figures are basically unchanged with the Nismo modifications.
Taking a note from the world of motorsports, the engineers at the Japanese automaker threw a double diffuser at the rear of the Aryia. Sure, you’re probably not going to take this to the Suzuka Circuit anytime soon, but it’s interesting to see Nissan lean into sports car aero on a battery-electric crossover.
The Ariya Nismo rides on a set of 20-inch alloy wheels, which are controlled by a retuned suspension. Nissan didn’t say exactly how different the suspension was from the standard Ariya, but you can probably expect it to be firmer.
The big question is if this is coming to America, and there isn’t an answer for that yet. It’s not unheard of for Nissan to keep some special Nismo models away from the US streets, like the Leaf Nismo. Still, with Nissan’s push for electrification, the Ariya Nismo really comes down to a coin flip.
Adding a performance variant to the Ariya could help its sales figures in the United States. In 2023, Nissan sold 13,464 Ariya EVs, putting it well behind the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, VW ID.4, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and even the BMW iX.
If the Ariya Nismo does come stateside, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a hefty premium over the current base e-4orce’s $48,555 sticker price.
