Nissan has released the first official image of the 2013 Nissan Altima in a teaser video in advance of its international debut at the New York Auto Show in April. The video shows only an overhead view with lighting that highlights its curving flanks.
The Altima will reflect Nissan’s new styling direction, with much softer curves as on the Maxima, although it appears that Nissan is retreating from the dramatic arrowhead headlights on the 370Z and Maxima with more subdued lamp clusters. The grille appears to follow the inverted trapezoid shape of the recent Versa sedan, but the taillights and trunk mimic the larger Maxima and spy shots point to a very coupe-like roofline as on the Hyundai Sonata and Volkswagen CC.
The Altima is Nissan’s bestselling sedan, though it is overshadowed in its segment by fresher models from its rivals, like the Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Malibu and Volkswagen Passat. This Altima is expected to arrive on an all-new platform, though with only minor updates to powertrain, with 4-cylinder and V6 options and likely improvements to one of the better CVTs in the business.
Many sources also indicate that Nissan will roll out a new in-house-developed hybrid in the Altima after the brief run of the Toyota-sourced hybrid in the current generation. This new hybrid system pairs a supercharged 2.5-litre 4-cylinder with electric motor and battery that should match the output of the current 3.5-litre V6, which makes an impressive 260 hp.
The Nissan Altima is built in Smyrna, Tennessee and Canton, Mississippi and will go on sale this summer.
