The SEMA show in Las Vegas is coming up, and this massive industry event has given automakers an excuse to build wildly modified versions of real production cars. Nissan is joining the party with something called the Sentra Spec V concept, but there’s an asterisk for now. In an age of easily-generated slop, someone pulling the levers seems to have published images of this concept car with some anomalies. Let’s take a look.
While there may have been a Sentra Nismo available to buy as recently as 2019, that thing only offered 188 horsepower. To get a properly hot Sentra, you’re going to have to go back somewhere between 2012 and 1991 depending on your definition of hot. 2012 for the final year of the 200-horsepower Renault Megane-related SE-R Spec-V, 2006 for the final year of its predecessor, and 1991 for the first year of the original SE-R. The one that started it all.
On paper, a Sentra with a 300-horsepower two-liter turbocharged engine, a manual gearbox with a limited-slip differential, GT-R Recaro seats, massive Brembo brakes, and the requisite suspension mods sounds enormously tantalizing. Although it’s a one-off in its current form, it sounds a vision of what a Sentra fettled to fight the Honda Civic Type R and Hyundai Elantra N would be like. There’s just one problem: The photos Nissan’s released of it appear to, at the very least, have AI-generated components. Huh?
Motor 1 was the first outlet to point out that something is off with these press photos, and the front-three-quarter shot above reveals something strange. Look at that C-pillar treatment. That’s not the current Sentra’s C-pillar treatment, and the trailing edge of the rear door glass is completely the wrong shape.
Above is closer to what the greenhouse and C-Pillar are supposed to look like, but what’s going on with the front emblem?
It should say “Nissan” but it just doesn’t. Instead, it looks like a series of mutated scribbles have replaced the text everyone expects to be there.
Next up, here’s the profile shot Nissan provided, and there’s something obviously wrong here. That quarter window on the C-Pillar isn’t actually a window on a real Sentra, but instead just a piece of black plastic trim. Nevertheless, it’s rendered as actual glass here, with a transparent section and frit for bonding it to the C-pillar and all.
Also, what is going on with the lug nut situation? All of them aren’t the same size or indeed, equidistant around each lug circle.
Around back, that C-pillar applique continues to erroneously be rendered as an actual window, but there’s another bit of weirdness here. The Sentra Spec V concept supposedly comes on Yokohama Advan AD09 tires, but that’s not the tread pattern of the AD09 displayed in this photo. An AD09 has two wiggly circumferential grooves, while these tires have three straight ones and completely different lateral grooves.
Moving to the interior: what’s going on with the Sparco logos on the passenger harness’s shoulder belts, along with the safety labelling further down on the harnesses? Those aren’t the right logos, and the text is completely illegible. These weren’t ultra-low-resolution images here, so fuzzy appearances of familiar letters should be discernible if these images were completely real.
At least the engine shot looks legit – at first glance. But upon closer inspection, the text on the brake fluid reservoir cap has been reduced to mush that sure looks like an artifact of AI. What gives?
Needless to say, I’ve reached out to Nissan for comment on the matter, and will update this as soon as I hear more. Building something cool for SEMA is great, but releasing slop like this undermines the whole project by casting doubt on how much of this is legitimate. Also, you’d expect a project like this with a custom Bomex body kit to be built in CAD these days, so why not use those renderings for exterior teasers? Answers on a postcard…
Top graphic images: Nissan; DepositPhotos.com
Big AI energy.
Didn’t Nissan close a number of design offices along with turning to more AI in design as part of its (latest) restructuring.
So not surprising?
I hope all the calls they get to schedule test drives are from AI.
Well, if you were to ask me which car manufacturer would pull something like this, my first guess would certainly be Nissan.
On a sorta unrelated, kinda related note – I recently noticed that Suzuki ads (yup, somehow the brand is still alive here in Europe) use CGI models instead of real cars, at least for the videos.
Which on one hand shouldn’t be that surprising: after all, it’s easier – and probably cheaper – to make a CGI model running with some nice scenery in the background than actually shooting the ad IRL.
Then again, if the ad agency has to use CGI to make the car look good…it just feels cheap and sloppy.
Someday the books they write about this era are going to be fascinating. Assuming books haven’t been banned by then.
Why would the AI write books?
Because AI #1 asked AI #2 to determine a new book that humans will buy and read, and AI #2 determined humans would want to read about how AI was born. AI #2 reported this to AI #1 who then told AI #3 to go write the book. AI #3 then put the book up on Amazon, which was purchased by Consumer AIs on behalf of their owners based on their vast consumer habits data.
I can’t wait for the future!
Wow… their use of AI is almost as insane as running 300hp through a CVT and calling it sporty.
I’ll have you know that Nissans have been doing big power CVTs for a long time! People were boosting their Altima Coupes 20 years ago!
(Don’t confuse “doing big power for a long time” with “the cars with big power lasted for a long time”. They didn’t. The transmissions exploded very quickly).
They forgot the obligatory donut spare…
According to the original Nissan press release, this thing is headed for SEMA. If the physical concept is identical to those images (slop aside), then this is just business in 2026.
I don’t understand why they would use AI since they already have designers on the payroll but, hey, in an insane world, a sane man must appear insane, right?
Side note, the plastic on the C-Pillar is accurate. This was a cost-saving measure for 2026 and forward.
AI is a dumb move, but if they are really making a 300HP Sentra that’s pretty cool.
Note how in the low rear-quarter shot the front and rear wheels are at the same odd angle?
And why would Recaro seats use Sparco belts?
Next you’re gonna tell me they have no intentions of making this…..pshaw
at least back in the day they’d use the “it’s a design exercise” line to let us down easy rather than say “yah, you rubes, there’s no way this is being made”. Is it still a design exercise if AI just makes it?
It’s an exercise, but not a vigourous exercise.
Exercise in the same sense as riding an emoto on a bike trail is exercise.