This Nissan Dealer Will Build the Sentra Nismo Fans Have Been Craving

The all-new Nissan Sentra seriously impressed us when we took it for a first drive in Phoenix late last year. In its design and how it feels on the road, it exceeds the expectations created by its low starting price of just $22,600. If there’s anything to complain about, it’s that the sole 149-horsepower engine doesn’t live up to the rest of the package. There’s no modern Sentra Nismo to satiate enthusiasts—a Sentra Nismo was last on sale for the 2019 model year—but one Arizona dealer is taking matters into its own hands and working on a Nismo-inspired Sentra. It’ll come with a host of Nismo-inspired accessories to completely transform the compact sedan.

A More Attainable Nissan Nismo

If you want a Nismo-badged Nissan straight from the factory, you’re limited to the Z Nismo (fun, but not practical) and the Armada Nismo (powerful, but essentially a tanker on wheels). Nick Raymond Scherr, a Nissan fan and salesman who goes by the name of Nismo Nick on social media, shared the plan to create the Sentra SE RS (Special Edition Rally Sport) with Pinnacle Nissan. Scherr previously defended inflated dealer markups of the Nissan Z.

The concept pays tribute to the early-2000s tuner era, and will be designed as a turn-key build. Assembly of the sporty sedan will take place at Pinnacle Nissan and it will be offered for sale directly. The SE RS will be based on the stock Sentra RS trim, already the sportiest of the standard trims.

This dealership-built package will come with the following extras:

• Nismo coilovers
• Nismo LM-RS6 wheels
• Nismo cat-back exhaust
• Nismo-inspired striping
• Custom interior finishes and badging

In a sketch of the SE RS shared by Scherr, we can see how just a few changes—including black/red striping, a spoiler, and a lowered suspension—create a sedan that looks even sharper than the Honda Civic Si.

A Turbocharged Sentra Is Coming, Too

Scherr promised something even more exciting later this year, with plans to develop a turbocharged Sentra with a six-speed manual gearbox. That’s a world apart from the standard Sentra, which makes do with only a naturally aspirated engine and nothing else but a continuously variable transmission—hardly a combination that gets anyone’s blood pumping. Scherr didn’t say what outputs he’s after, but even another 50 hp would bring the Sentra up to par with the Civic Si, and the manual swap should make all the difference to the driving experience.

“I’m going to build the cars the enthusiasts want and have been asking for for a long time,” said Scherr.

In 2024, the Nissan Z finally started outselling the Toyota GR Supra, so there’s clearly still a market for high-performance Nissans. The Japanese marque also plans to expand the Nismo brand between now and 2028, so who knows, a new Sentra Nismo from the factory may come to fruition. Even if that doesn’t happen, true fans of the brand like Scherr are around to remind us of the brand’s sporting heritage with new builds like the Sentra SE RS.

Related: Nissan Plans Major Expansion of Its Nismo Performance Brand