[DC135i]

What do y'all think about the prospect of some direct competition?

Article in full:

Nissan is working on a successor to the highly successful 240SX coupe
June 7, 2008
HTLounge.net - Leftlanenews.com

You may have heard that Nissan is working on a successor to the highly successful 240SX coupe, but that’s not where the small RWD platform is going to end.

There’s news floating around that Infiniti’s upcoming premium sports car will be a coupe and it will be based on the same platform as the upcoming 240SX replacement.

As you may have noticed, Infiniti seems to have done away with all the FWD cars in its lineup, opting instead to only go rear-wheel or all-wheel-drive. As a result, it would not be fitting to base an Infiniti small premium car on the Sentra or the Versa. The 240SX successor, however, will be RWD and so it could be a perfect fit for a premium small car. There’s even word that it could be offered as a cabriolet at some point.

Power for the Nissan 240SX replacement will come from a variety of four-bangers, producing something in the neighborhood of 220 horsepower. The Infiniti-badged version may get treated to a V6, but it’s also likely that they’ll hop up a 2.0L four-cylinder for something around 300hp. Should the BMW 135i be worried?

[coco_m3]

no, cuz the 135i really has around 330bhp.
so im not worried.

Good Find.

[imported_LiveFast135i]

4 cylinders with 300 hp will give a stock 135i a lot of competition

[rcracer_tx]

If its anything like the old SR20 engine, im not concerned. that engine had no low end torque and will never be capable of the torque band the n54 has.

[Kris]

Nissan vs BMW? Nuff said.

[ptack]

The G37 is the competition, not a plain Nissan.

[imported_Katera]

Originally Posted by Kris

Nissan vs BMW? Nuff said.

lol exactly. It's not just 0-60 <although our 135i's kick ass mostly here>, but the OVERALL driving experience. Engine, steering, handling. Given the whole package BMW rules.

[Spook]

More choices are good.

[Jai2008]

I am not worried, I am pass the stage of just looking at HP #s and modifiability when choosing a car.
Future STI/EVO owners may consider this Nissan though.

[Nixon]

This is just like the Hyundai Coupe thread. Just like the Hyundai, of course there will be SOME folks who will cross-shop the 128i/135i with the new Nissan RWD coupe. And there will be folks who would really rather buy a 135i or a 128i that will end up buying the cheaper Nissan because it may offer better bang for the buck.

Depending upon what engines are offered in the US, it may compete more with 128i sales than the 135i, but it will compete at some level with the 1-series cars just due to the same RWD drive-train, 2-door configuration, and smaller/sportier size.

[ximpulsex]

A few things to think about...

The 240 was always the little brother to the 300ZX - making the new 240 more of a competitor to us would mean it would be more of a competitor to the G37/350ZX... And that isn't going to happen.

However...

The old SR20 and KA were pretty impressive engines overall and should not be laughed at as they are proven to put down some extremely impressive numbers and are not bad when it comes to overall handling performance.

Originally Posted by Kris

Nissan vs BMW? Nuff said.

Now, now...

BMW's are impressive cars, no question about it, but don't turn us into those owners - the ones that look down on any vehicle that isn't our own.

Is anyone laughing at the GT-R?

[mikeo]

This belongs in the General / Other Cars Talk sub-forum, so I'm moving it.

[imported_Katera]

It's funny, a few years ago I was comparing two cars. BMW 330i and Lexis is350. I loved the BMW handling, but the engine was just no match for the is350. All the reviews gave the win to the BMW, but they all mentioned how the engine was somewhat underpowered compared to the Lexus. I actually put money down on the Lexus, but I never really fell in love with the car so I canceled it.

If there was ever a complaint about the earlier 3's it was the lack of ponies...that my friends is now fixed. Hehehe. Sooooo glad I waited for the one.

p.s. The lexus is350 was 43k. Man am I glad I waited!

[Kris]

Originally Posted by ximpulsex

A few things to think about...

The 240 was always the little brother to the 300ZX - making the new 240 more of a competitor to us would mean it would be more of a competitor to the G37/350ZX... And that isn't going to happen.

However...

The old SR20 and KA were pretty impressive engines overall and should not be laughed at as they are proven to put down some extremely impressive numbers and are not bad when it comes to overall handling performance.


Now, now...

BMW's are impressive cars, no question about it, but don't turn us into those owners - the ones that look down on any vehicle that isn't our own.

Is anyone laughing at the GT-R?

The original post was about a comparison, its my feeling Nissan don't make one. None of there cars can compare, sure some are quicker, some are faster but none offer the whole package for the same price.

I'm not looking down on the brand at all, but they don't compete.

Comparing the new GTR? Well that's like comparing a Mini Cooper to a Porsche 997 Turbo - if you are going to talk about a car that is 100% different, then at least compare it with similar cars.

The GTR is an impressive car in it's own right, but there are alot of other cars in the same price bracket I'd rather own. Sure the GTR might be faster than the said Porsche, but Ill take the Porsche any day. Just cause its faster about the 'ring don't make it an overall good car.

[adrean8j]

All of this discussion is all well and good but I must say that it seems to me that Nissan is really trying to step up their "game", so to speak, and get on par with the bimmers of the world. As a matter of fact Nissan is just about the only Japanese manufacturer I would consider purchasing from.

[MastaMind]

Originally Posted by Kris

The original post was about a comparison, its my feeling Nissan don't make one. None of there cars can compare, sure some are quicker, some are faster but none offer the whole package for the same price.

I'm not looking down on the brand at all, but they don't compete.

Comparing the new GTR? Well that's like comparing a Mini Cooper to a Porsche 997 Turbo - if you are going to talk about a car that is 100% different, then at least compare it with similar cars.

The GTR is an impressive car in it's own right, but there are alot of other cars in the same price bracket I'd rather own. Sure the GTR might be faster than the said Porsche, but Ill take the Porsche any day. Just cause its faster about the 'ring don't make it an overall good car.

I disagree 100%, as would many unbiased enthusiasts. They compete very well, especially when the overall value is considered.

[mtla4]

Originally Posted by Kris

Nissan vs BMW? Nuff said.

...care to share why.....I work too hard just to blindly give my money away because it has a BMW badge or any other badge thats why Bmw can do anything and people will still buy them.

[Brandon26pdx]

The upcomming 370Z will be the stiffest competition for the 135i. Rumors suggest the 3.7 liter tuned to 345 hp, and it should be a bit smaller/lighter than the current Z.

Actually I question the validity of the whole article. There's been rumors of a new 240 or Infiniti 1-series fighter floating around for awhile now. It's one of those deals i'll believe when the spyshots start showing up.
I wouldn't count on anything for a least a few years if it is true.

[adrean8j]

IMHO opinion the Infiniti G37 coupe is the only car currently even close (ok the RX-8 but it is a bit underpowered) to being like the 135i in terms of fit and finish and over-all muscle. A turbo-charged G37(or even twin-turbo...there are applications) with it's VQ 6 cylinder would make any 135i work hard. Both cars are 2+2 coupes and fit within a similar price range (35k-45k) What do you all think?

[Kris]

Originally Posted by mtla4

...care to share why.....I work too hard just to blindly give my money away because it has a BMW badge or any other badge thats why Bmw can do anything and people will still buy them.

Every Nissan Ive been in suffers in the refinement and especially quality department. They are noisy on the road, usually underpowered and ugly inside. Theres always a much nicer quality element to a BMW over a Nissan - at least here in Australia

[adrean8j]

Originally Posted by Kris

Every Nissan Ive been in suffers in the refinement and especially quality department. They are noisy on the road, usually underpowered and ugly inside. Theres always a much nicer quality element to a BMW over a Nissan - at least here in Australia

Yes this is true to a certain extent...but compare price to quality. For the price Nissan's are good quality. Whereas for the price BMW's better be good quality. See the difference? For bang for buck Nissan IS stepping their game up, and that can only mean good things for us as car buyers in the future. Why? Because competition will make marques like BMW continually improve and bring us the best versus small incremental upgrades. Case in point...how long the E36 reigned supreme with very little updates done to it over its life cycle....no one could even compete with it...when everyone finally caught up BMW drops the hammer and improves...so everyone plays catch up again...but these other marques are getting faster and better at it.

[Kris]

When it comes to bang for bucket in this range, price is not a concern for me. I'm happy to spend up to say $90,000 (AUD) for a quality car - if Nissan made one in the same bracket then I'd compare it but I'd bet my left leg they never would.

The 135 has one of the best bangs for buck in a long time.