The CarGurus Blog

Still on a high from their recent success with the redesigned Altima, Nissan is set to introduce an Altima coupe for 2008. The Altima coupe made its debut at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show and is scheduled to go on sale mid-2007. Nissan hopes the coupe will ride on the coattails of the best-selling sedan and attract a younger buyer to the brand.

The Altima has never had a coupe in its lineup. In fact, Nissan, which has a number of different coupes in its history, hasn’t offered a coupe since the late ‘90s, when the 200 and 240SX were discontinued. The Z doesn’t count—it’s in a totally different league from likely Altima coupe competitors, like the Honda Accord.

The Altima coupe is noticeably different in appearance from its big brother; while the Altima still looks like a bread and butter sedan, the coupe has long, sloping lines and is significantly shorter. Inside, Nissan has included all kinds of nifty gadgets, like Bluetooth connectivity, a rear-view camera, an “Intelligent Key” system, and a navigation screen.

The coupe will share the same four-cylinder and V6 engine options as the sedan, but there are mutterings that a souped-up version may appear near the end of next year.

Read more about the 2008 at Car and Driver’s Web site: http://www.caranddriver.com/autoshows/12022/2008-nissan-altima-coupe.html

How the Altima coupe fits into Nissan’s financial picture: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=avCCcKIY9MNo&refer=japan

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