It’s official, the Nissan IDx is dead, as Pierre Loing, vice president of product planning for Nissan->ke62 North America, has confirmed that there just isn’t a business case for a production version of the concept car.->ke169

The Nissan IDx has been a bit of an on-and-off concept car, as initial reports indicated that the concept’s warm reception would likely result in a production version of the rear-driven, four-cylinder sports coupe.->ke141 A later report claimed that the Japanese automaker had de-emphasized the model.

The latest report stems from a conversation between The Truth About Cars and Loing. During this chat, Loing said, “IDX is an interesting project; a show car that received good reception. But, to go from concept to production, the reality always kicks in.” The reality that Loing is speaking of is that the bean counters need to make sure the model will result in at least a little profit.

Apparently, after much consideration, Nissan decided that profiting from the IDx simply isn’t a reality. The big issue is that the small, rear-wheel-drive coupe doesn’t have a chassis to call its own. Developing a new chassis for such a low-volume vehicle wouldn’t make business sense for Nissan, and the 370Z’s->ke3043 platform isn’t scalable down to the size the IDx needs.

Despite the fact that the IDx may be dead, its retro looks could live on in a performance-oriented, front-wheel-drive coupe. Sure, its proportions would be very different, but the Datsun->ke4307 510-like styling cues could see their way to said performance coupe.

Considering the fact that the Nissan-Renault alliance is no stranger to performance front-wheel-drive cars, this wouldn’t be a difficult undertaking.

Continue reading for the full story.

Why it matters

Honestly, it is no surprise to see that the IDx is DOA, given the brand’s current product line and lack of a small, rear-wheel-drive platform. Fortunately, Nissan does realize that the design of the IDx is what likely drew the most interest. The Datsun 510 has developed quite the cult following and modern takes on retro styling have never been more popular than they are today, just look at the 2016 Camaro, the 2015 Mustang, and the 2015 Challenger for examples of retro styling with a modern twist.

Riding on both the popularity of the IDx and the demand for retro-inspired looks, a front-wheel-drive car with some of the styling cues of the IDx has the potential to be a massive success. The only problem now is whether Nissan's bean counters will allow the automaker to build it or not.

Nissan IDx Nismo

Read our full review here.

Nissan IDx Freeflow

Read our full review here.