Feb 26, 2013 02:25 PM EST
Nissan Makes High-Performance Nismo Division Into Global Brand

NIssan Motor Co. announced that the Nismo brand will now be the company's exclusive global brand for its motorsports and performance road cars.

The announcement, made Monday at a a ceremony for Nismo's new headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, also indicated that a fleet of Nismo brand cars would hit the road soon including the Juke Nismo, a crossover utility, and a Nismo version of the brand's iconic sports car, the 370Z.

The Juke Nismo will be available this sping and a revised 2014 370Z Nismo is planned for the summer, AutoWeek reported. A Nismo version of Nissan's high-performance supercar, the GT-R, will debut at a later date.

"It would be unthinkable for us to develop a range of Nismo road cars without including the GT-R," said Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, according to AutoWeek. "The standard production model is a global supercar and the GT-R's performance on track reflects the passion and talents of the Nismo team. The GT-R Nismo will be special, and I can't wait to drive it."

The GT-R has fans across the world and the Nismo president acknowledged them in a statement, without providing too much detail about the GT-R's specifics.

"We know that enthusiasts around the world will be itching to know more about the forthcoming GT-R Nismo," Nismo President Shoichi Miyatani said. "It's too early to share any details yet, but fans can be certain we'll be applying all of our motorsport expertise to creating a GT-R Nismo worthy of the name." 

Cars.com blog Kicking Tires reported the automaker plans to make the Nismo brand more affordable and accessible.

"For many would-be Nismo customers, the only way to experience a Nismo performance car has been through a game like Sony's Gran Turismo series," Simon Sproule, Nissan's corporate vice president for marketing and communications, said in a statement, according to Kicking Tires. "Now we can bring them into the family of Nissan owners with exciting, real Nismo cars created by a dedicated and experienced team that is fully linked to the digital world and well aware of what these new customers are looking for in a performance road car." 

Nismo is a a portmanteau of Nissan Motorsports. The company has roots dating back to the 1950s, but it was not incorporated to a brand until the mid-1980s. 

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