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]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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"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." For those wanting electric drive, but with no access to home charging (most everyone who rents), this system would now make (nearly-) EV ownership a possibility. Fuel costs, emissions, and engine noise, running a very small engine at constant speed, would be minimal.
Does anyone know what the MPG rating is for this car?