Nissan to Debut Compact Sports Coupe in Detroit

Would Azeal have Appeal with North America's Youth Market?

Nissan has long offered a "pocket rocket" among its compact lineup, but rather than a standalone model its Sentra SE-R is

The new Azeal concept will debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month. (Photo: Nissan Canada)

a high-performance version of its 4-door Sentra economy car.

This seems to be the case for the majority of its competitors too, at least in the small car category. Only Hyundai, with its Tiburon, Toyota, with its soon to be discontinued Celica, more or less replaced by the Scion tC in the U.S., Mitsubishi with its soon to be updated Eclipse, and Acura, which is considered to be a premium brand but nevertheless fights it out in the lower end of the segment with the RSX, offer anything in the entry-level sporty coupe segment.

Previously it was a hotly contested class, with less sporting but nevertheless sporty looking models such as the

The new concept looks to share styling cues from its fenders to its roofline with Nissan's award-winning 350Z sports car. (Photo: Nissan Canada)

Toyota Paseo, Mazda MX3 Precedia, Honda del Sol, sportier Honda CRX and Prelude, and the list goes on and on.

Nissan was once in this market too, although its 240SX was a tad larger than its new Azeal concept will be when it debuts at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month.

For all points and purposes the Azeal looks to be a miniaturized 350Z, at least from the artist's rendering Nissan included with the press release. The new concept looks to share styling cues from its fenders to its roofline with Nissan's award-winning flagship sports car.