The Nissan Silvia S15 is probably second to the Skyline in vehicles we really want and will never get. The craze of outfitting S13s and S14s with the S15 front end has sort of subsided here, but there’s no mistaking how gorgeous the Silvia S15 is. Now it’s been a while since we spotted something that made us raise our eyebrows for the better. We like to give kudos to creativity and cleverness when deserved and this Nissan Silvia S15 is a prime example of just that.

On the outside this purpose-built drift car is immaculate. The clean white shade is complemented with a subtle body kit, flared rear fenders and a crazy looking diffuser/splitter in the rear. The wheels are… unique, but not quite our cup of tea – but surprisingly suits the simplicity of the car well.

So what’s so unique about this car? Well take a peek on inside and you’ll see it’s been converted to left hand drive. Say… what? Converting cars from left hand drive to right hand drive is pretty common nowadays here in America; and even in Japan some enthusiasts do the opposite, making their cars left hand drive. What’s wildly insane about this build is the fact that Nissan Silvia S15s never came left in a hand drive version.

After our initial excitement wore off, we did a quick search and apparently there are some aspiring Silvia S15 owners that have tackled this conversion before. In fact there are ready-to-order dashes out there for this specific conversion. Who knew? We’re pretty sure Free Craft (the shop that built this S15 out in Japan) did most of the work themselves.

And to toss one more surprise at you, apparently there’s a Toyota Supra 2JZ under the hood. No photos of it yet, but this is definitely one ambitious Silvia S15 that we’re digging.

[Source: Nori Yaro]

GALLERY: Left Hand Drive Nissan Silvia S15

Recently we’ve heard several rumors about Nissan resurrecting its 240SX model, with each report becoming more credible. The latest comes from the folks at InsideLine, who say Nissan is in fact planning to bring back the 240 (known as the Silvia in Japan), which will be aimed at the younger and less affluent side of the market, but those who still want a proper rear-drive sports car.

The new model would aim to compete with everything from the Hyundai Genesis Coupe to Toyota’s upcoming FT-86 rear-drive sports car. We’ve also reported recently that both Volkswagen and Kia are planning vehicles for this segment of the market.

Based on a shorter version of  Nissan’s FR-L platform that is used for both the 370Z and Infiniti G, this sporty coupe would be rear drive, with four seats and use a turbocharged 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine. Power should be rated at roughly 200-hp. A non-turbocharged option will also be part of the plan, as a high-volume model. Weight is expected to be in the 2,800 lb range, giving the car a 0-60 mph time of six or seven seconds.

The design of the car is to be “loosely” based on the Foria Concept car (above). We certainly hope it is loose, as the Foria doesn’t hold a candle to the FT-86 in the style department – which is usually one area where Nissan excels.

If the project does get the go-ahead (which we sincerely hope it does), look for a new 240 (we hope they call it the Silvia) in 2011 or 2012.

GALLERY: Nissan Foria Concept

[Source: InsideLine]

Nissan is looking to turbochargers as a method to deliver high-output performance with low fuel-consumption in its future lineup of vehicles. Tetsuya Takahash, a top engineer at Nissan, made the exciting comments to the folks at MotorTrend.

While Nissan currently uses turbochargers in high performance vehicles like the GT-R, this new line of turbo cars would use turbochargers as a replacement for larger displacement engines. Most likely the first turbocharger powerplants would come to replace the 2.0-liter and smaller engines found in models like the Sentra and Versa.

Currently GM and Ford are looking to bring turbocharged four-cylinder engines (some as small as 1.4-liters) to market in an effort to meet increasingly stringent CAFE regulations.

But Takahash isn’t just talking about the fuel misers, as there is a strong possibility that Nissan would look to turbochargers combined with a smaller V6 engine to replace aging (although impressive) engines like the VQ35 and VQ37, which power models like the 350Z/370Z and G35/G37. Takahash is quite familiar with high-performance turbocharged engines, having been a part of the team that developed the amazing SR20DET that powered the Nissan 240SX (Silvia) in Japan.

Will the next-generation Z be twin-turbocharged?

[Source: MotorTrend]