Nissan European design boss Matthew Weaver has reimagined the first-generation Nissan Silvia as a modern electric car.
Unveiled at the 1964 Tokyo motor show, the original CSP311 Silvia launched a nameplate that would, decades later, include the S13 and S14 generations (sold in the U.S. as the Nissan 240SX) of drifting and tuning fame. However, the CSP311 is rare, and many Nissan employees have never seen one in person, the automaker noted in a press release.
“The Silvia was ahead of its time, in a very quiet understated way,” Weaver said in a statement. “By redesigning this car for the future, we wanted to pay homage to that heritage.”
Nissan Silvia EV concept
Weaver and his team kept the CSP311’s most distinguishing features, such as the line connecting the upper and lower body, the sharp cut line above the wheel arches, and the pointed front end. However, because it’s an EV, the modern Silvia concept has a much smaller grille, in line with the lower cooling requirements of an electric car.
This is purely a design study, and it’s unclear if we’ll even see the reimagined Silvia at a public auto show (remember those?) or in dealer showrooms. However, Nissan isn’t against retro styling, as the 2023 Z demonstrates.
Nissan is also getting more serious about electric cars, but instead of a sports car, its next EV will be the Ariya crossover. Nissan is targeting more than 300 miles of range and a sub-$40,000 base price for the Ariya, which is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in early 2022.
