Nissan Launches Punchier E-Powered Note Nismo S for Japan

Nissan’s performance arm, Nismo, is wetting its beak on electrified powertrains. Last week, the company launched the Note e-Power Nismo S — upping the model’s performance output by roughly 25 percent. Sold in Japan since December of 2016, the Note e-Power Nismo offered 109 horsepower and 187 lb-ft. The new Nismo S brings those specs to 134 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, which Nissan attributes to a tweaked inverter, modified vehicle control module, increased electrical output and an improved reduction drive.

While it’s likely never going to come to North America, there’s a good reason for it to remain on your radar. Nissan is aiming for 1 million sales of fully electric and e-Power vehicles annually by 2022. It’s also going to expand its e-Power system to Infiniti in 2021 and intends to start sending them in our general direction.

We’ve discussed how e-Power works in the past. But, if you need a refresher, a gasoline motor is used to generate energy, which is stored in a relatively small battery and sent through an inverter to the electric motor. That electric motor is responsible for driving the wheels, leaving its gas engine to function as a full-time range extender — much like on the Chevrolet Volt.

The upshot is that the engine can hum along at its most efficient speed and be engineered to be as quiet as possible. But Nissan hasn’t incorporated any kind of external charging port to the e-Power formula, meaning you can’t recharge its vehicles in your garage overnight. Not that there would be much point, since Nissan’s sequential hybrid system uses such a small battery.

For the Note e-Power things are no different. Owners will have to gas it up like any traditional car, allowing for the 1.2-liter three cylinder to power the svelte 1.5-kilowatt-hour energy cell. However, reintegrative braking also cycles in a little extra juice while on the road.

The Nismo variants also add performance-inspired additions, like special seats, tuned suspensions, Yokohama DNA.S tires with 16-inch aluminum wheels, custom exhaust, aluminum pedals, unique front stabilizer, custom bumper, digital tuning, some structural enhancements, and sport-tuned steering. The Nismo S simply bumps up the output and incorporates auto-leveling LED headlamps.

[Images: Nissan]