We’re living during the revival of the Japanese sports car right now, and it’s only going to continue into the sports car EV era. As you may have heard, Nissan may have begun the development of the R36 GT-R, not as a hybrid, but as a pure electric sports car. As Godzilla is likely to play supercar games with the Taycan Turbo, Nissan may need a lower-level EV sports car such as… the Silvia S16.
It’s only wishful thinking, but Toyota, Honda and Mazda are all interested in revivals of their most iconic sports car nameplates. If you grew up in the 1990s but never got to experience the magic of an RX-7 or an S2000, they might return in EV format to suit your mature driver needs. Even a Celica EV has been rumored.
Where does that leave the Silvia? Well, Nissan unfortunately has too many classic nameplates worth saving. We count ourselves lucky to even have the 2023 Nissan Z with its retro-modern styling and cool twin-turbo setup.
The Silvia is seen as an affordable drift car platform in most corners of the world. However, the recent events of the S15 modified with a Liberty Walk Silhouette body kit suggest it’s also a collectible without having to be driven hard.
But Nissan is reluctant to bring the Sivia back. In America, about 3/4 of all the 240SX customers were women. They stopped selling them in 1998, by which time consumers were already more interested in practical vehicles like SUVs.
However, that’s not the full story of the Nissan Silvia, and we’re not talking about the ones that were made in Japan until 2002. Nissan may have briefly considered a resurrection project with the arrival of the IDX concept but decided against developing such a vehicle without a platform partner.
The first Silvia was hand-made in 1965
This next concept is not from Nissan but might get the Silvia-loving community excited. It’s a 3D design study by the talented Hakosan Design, the Silvia 2025. As the name suggests, this is placed three years into the future and adopts the proportions of a classic sports car.
While you might look at this and see a resemblance to the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante or the Lancia Stratos, it’s actually a homage to the original model from the 1960s. More specifically, the 1965 Silvia was a small coupe styled by BMW 507 designer Albrecht von Goertz. It was entirely hand-made with just 554 examples produced by 1968.
Hakosan’s 2025 Silvia keeps the original proportions but wraps them in aggressive, streamlined clothing to create a concept that might win Pebble Beach. The only flat surfaces on this beauty are the door mirrors and the Kammback-style rear end.
Stunning looks are accompanied by an electric powertrain with AWD and up to 650 horsepower. Of course, it’s purely theoretical, but Nissan clearly has the capabilities to make 400-horsepower EVs, since that’s how much grunt a top-end Ariya crossover offers.
