Nissan's IDX Came Very Close To Happening - There Just Wasn't Anywhere To Make It

We adored the Nissan IDX concept when it was first revealed back in 2014. A boxy, rear-wheel drive Datsun 510 homage - how can you not love that?

Despite then-Nissan boss Andy Palmer pledging to put either the Nismo or Freeflow version of the car in production, it never happened. All these years on, someone claiming to be a former Nissan employee - who confirmed their identity to US publication The Drive - revealed on Reddit just how close the car came to being made, and why it never happened.

The engineer says that Nissan “legitimately had plans to produce” the IDX, but there were a few issues that killed off any chance of it reaching showrooms.

One major issue was where Nissan would build it. The one place that might have worked would have been the Tochigi plant, since it was already set up to make rear-wheel drive vehicles. However, the necessary capacity at the factory - which makes the 370Z, the JDM Skyline and the GT-R - wasn’t there.

At least, not without significant investment, which wouldn’t have been worth it given the kind of narrow profit margins and low sales associated with sports cars. Perhaps if Nissan wasn’t already making the 370Z, which at the time wasn’t so far into its production life, there would have been space in the range for the IDX.

In the end, the odds were sadly stacked against the IDX. But hey, at least it got to star in Fast and Furious 8.