Nissan Ariya NISMO – Nissan’s first electric NISMO – UK price announced

The new electric Nissan Ariya Nismo – revealed at the start of the year – opens for pre-orders in the UK on 17 October.

The electric Nissan Ariya Nismo was revealed at the start of the year in Japan and confirmed for the UK in July as Nissan decided they needed a halo version of the Ariya to compete with some of the bonkers electric competition.

To make its performance statement, the Ariya Nismo is an Ariya e-4orce boosted to 429bhp with drive going to all four wheels powered by an 87kWh battery and good for 62mph in under 5.0 seconds and from 50-70mph in just 2.4 seconds which, Nissan is keen you know, is quicker than the R35 GT-R NISMO.

As you’d expect, there are lots of butch touches, a tweaked 4WD system with a 60:40 rear bias, reworked suspension, tweaked steering, improved throttle and steering responses and improved braking, as well as an interior much like the rest of the Ariya range but with splashes of red and Suede-like seats and Nismo logos.

We thought, when Nissan announced the Nismo for the UK, that it would arrive at around the £65k mark, but instead it’s just £1780 more than the Ariya e-4ORCE 87kWh Evolve at £56,620. Which, by today’s mad price levels, seems almost a bargain.

If you opt to phone your Nissan dealer to pre-order the Ariya Nismo (from tomorrow, 17 October), Nissan will throw in a £500 charging credit as well as an exclusive, 1-of-100 limited-edition Ariya NISMO artwork by Juan Alcalá Lara for the first 100 pre-orders.