2013 Altima Coupe & Beyond

[Ranga14]

It looks like the coupe is here to stay... and re design for 2014...

We can expect two other variants of the Nissan Altima to appear over the next few years. For one, Nissan tells us that the current Altima coupe will go on sale unchanged for 2013, which might mean a redesigned version of the two-door will arrive a year or so from now. In addition, we're told we can expect a hybrid version at some point in the future. Nissan has already shown off its new supercharged hybrid drivetrain in Japan, and it's a solid bet that setup will appear in an Altima within the next year or two. Given the lofty fuel-economy predictions for the current non-hybrid model, we're sure any new Altima hybrid will be extremely economical.

Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows ... z1r0qQj5Ai

[mmkeller]

Hopefully it will be RWD. I believe Nissan is re-evaluating the design so they can compete with the Subaru and Toyota RWDs coupes that just came out. If this is the case I wonder if they can call it an Altima?????????
btw the new sedan looks great but I hate the split gauges.

[AlexM.]

I wonder if the Maxima is getting redesigned, because this looks just like it

[tuhj0k4r]

since they're keeping the coupe, i wonder if they'll make it a dual intake & exhaust like the 370z and maybe nismo parts

[Ranga14]

I doubt it... It really sounds like there won't be any major changes to the internals with the v6 staying the same on the sedan and the 2.5 only getting a small boost of 7hp.

[Kanard]

That's lame, IMO. Why not update all at the same time!? they need to, cause they only re freshed the front ends.. lazy arses.. lol

[Ranga14]

lol, they redid the body and made it so the 2.5 gets up to 38mpg on the highway, pretty damn good, plus there's a newer better CVT.

[andyhenault]

They can't update it all at once because they can't afford the R&D. It also allows Nissan to keep things interesting year after year, instead of one big a** year and then 4 lame ones.

[Ranga14]

Well, the previous revision had a boost in 25hp for the v6. Would have been nice to see that here!

[Mr.HacKeR]

I hope the 2014 coupe wouldn't have the ugly front end of the 2013 sedan..
Since everyone is getting "greener", imagine they only offer 1 engine.. I4 turbo charged! that would be awesome!

[Ranga14]

I hope the 2014 coupe wouldn't have the ugly front end of the 2013 sedan..
Since everyone is getting "greener", imagine they only offer 1 engine.. I4 turbo charged! that would be awesome!

I highly doubt they would change the platform just for the coupe. That article talked about how Nissan decided against going the turbo/supercharged route.

[RicerX]

I'm pretty sure that once the stickies are updated, it will include "NEVER MENTION THE IDEA OF NISSAN MAKING THE ALTIMA COUPE A RWD."

There are three options for RWD - do your own conversion, buy a 370Z, or buy an Infiniti G coupe. The Altima is not now and never will be a sports car. Therefore, it will never be a RWD. AWD one day? More likely than RWD, but not likely overall unless there is some sudden demand from a safety standpoint in the car market.

The idea of Nissan making the Altima Coupe a RWD is about as dead a horse as the idea of Fedor Emelianenko getting signed to the UFC.

[RicerX]

That's lame, IMO. Why not update all at the same time!? they need to, cause they only re freshed the front ends.. lazy arses.. lol

They're following the same cycle they did with the debut of the AC. The 4th gen sedan came out in 2007, then AC in 2008. Lots of logistics behind this, especially since the Altima Sedan is basically Nissan's fleet vehicle. They need to ensure they can meet initial demand of the body style change upon release. Also, from a marketing standpoint, they would potentially lose the Altima Coupe behind the buzz of the new Altima Sedan if they released both at the same time (lots more people in the market for the sedan over the coupe, including major corporations and rental car companies).

[RicerX]

Well, the previous revision had a boost in 25hp for the v6. Would have been nice to see that here!

I would anticipate no major powertrain changes until the mid-cycle refresh (say two model years in like with the 4th gen sedan/1st gen coupe even though they were only cosmetic updates) due to further R&D/production on the upcoming in-house hybrid powertrain (the last Altima Hybrid sedan was built using Toyota's system, the upcoming system is fully engineered by Nissan). With the fuel economy standards putting pressure on car companies, I would also anticipate that the V6 will eventually be killed off altogether and replaced with something different such as a forced induction 4 cylinder.

It is clear that Nissan's main focus as a car company is to further innovate alternative energy use and fuel economy. The Altima may very well get sucked into this, leaving Nissan to have a fleet of people movers that are extremely fuel efficient with a few niche vehicles such as the Z, GT-R, and NV line.