You don’t have to be an automotive historian to spot the resemblance between Nissan’s IDx Freeflow concept and the iconic KGC10 coupe (external photo link) of the early 1970s, albeit with a modern and diminutive twist, plus influences from other (Datsun) two-doors from the firm’s sporty past.
They represent everything an enthusiast is looking for when starting out with a small budget: retro-inspired looks that actually hark back to an actual cult car, rear-wheel drive fun, compact dimensions (4.1 meters or 161.4 inches in length) and low fuel bills that always count too.
Nissan brought the IDx Freeflow to the Tokyo motor show in two flavors: with and without NISMO bits bolted on. Either would make for a fantastic little sports car, even if they did tone down the look in production form and kept the silly idea of only giving it a CVT gearbox, though we strongly wished they reconsidered on the latter (if they want to be taken seriously).
The NISMO variant shown would obviously be the more desirable of the two, with its fender flares that make it a full 10 cm (4 inches) wider, big wheels and side-exiting exhausts. Its power plant would also be of greater capacity and power than that of the non-NISMO variant which would get its power from a sub 1.5-liter engine, whereas the racier one would get a direct-injected turbocharged 1.6-liter.
In other words, if this is Nissan’s way of asking if they should make these cars, then my answer is a definite yes!
By Andrei Nedelea
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