While admittedly a bit of a stretch, the prospect of a more dynamic next-gen Maxima with bodylines inspired by the GT-R is too exciting to pass up.
What you see placed above are some pictures snapped by Motor Authority at a recent Nissan event. The pictures seem to capture what appears to be a full-size Nissan sedan with angular bodylines and a fastback rear end, a la the fabled GT-R.
The next picture shows the front end, which, though similar to the Nissan Resonance concept, has its own distinctive style. Granted, I think the profile is a lot more striking than the front fascia but I’ll give Nissan some design credit. At least it looks far better than the current Maxima.
Speaking of the current Maxima, it was last redesigned in 2008. That makes it well ready for a new generation – or at least a refresh. Could the GT-R styling mean that the new Maxima could leave the front-wheel drive set up in the scrap bin and go rear-wheel drive? Yes, it could. Is that likely? Probably not. Infiniti has generally been Nissan’s foray into rear-wheel drive, while Nissans retains a more banal front-drive setup.
If we had our druthers, though, Nissan would send the next-gen Maxima after the Chevy SS sedan for relatively affordable rear-drive sedan dominance. Wouldn’t that be a fun battle?
Regardless of what this mystery sedan becomes – or doesn’t. It should be on full display at the Detroit Auto Show next January. That is, if there’s still a Detroit by then. We’ll have to wait and see.
Photo credit: Motor Authority
