If there’s one thing the car world needs right now, it’s more affordable fun cars. The cheapest car I’d categorize as “fun” on sale right now is the 2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata, a car that costs $31,665. Inexpensive by modern standards, but by no means cheap. Nissan is even worse when it comes to accessible performance. It’s only sports car, the Z, starts at $44,165.
Enter Pinnacle Nissan, a dealership located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Noticing a gap in the lower end of the market, it has decided to develop an accessible, exciting car of its own based on the Sentra, and offer it as a dealer-installed package.
Called the Nissan Sentra Special Edition Rally Sport (SE RS), it builds upon the company’s cheapest car, the Sentra, and adds a bit of flair in the form of cosmetic upgrades and a few mechanical improvements, all for just over 30 grand. It’s exactly the type of cheap fun the market needs right now, and it looks awesome.
Here’s Exactly What the SE RS Gets You
The Sentra SE RS was developed by none other than Nick Scherr, better known online as NISMO Nick. If you’re a loyal reader of The Autopian, you’ve certainly heard his name before. He’s the guy who came up with that awesome one-off Xterra for SEMA last year, and the guy who bought up a bunch of Zs to help get them to prospective owners for MSRP, back when dealers were slapping the cars with huge markups.
According to Pinnacle, the SE RS was developed in “the spirit of the early-2000s tuner era.” The changes start on the outside with some sweet red, black, and grey striped graphics along the sides of the car, finishing off in a checkered flag pattern. The front valence and the side skirts get splashes of red, too, as does the rear diffuser area.
This isn’t just a cosmetic package. The SE RS gets some real, actual mechanical changes that improve performance, like a set of NISMO-branded lightweight wheels painted in black, backed by a coil-over suspension system. The naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine is untouched save for a NISMO cat-back exhaust. Yes, that means it still makes the same 149 horsepower as before, and it’s still connected to a continuously variable automatic transmission, getting power to the front wheels. But at least it’ll sound a bit rowdier, and you won’t lose out on the Sentra’s fantastic 40-mpg EPA highway mpg rating.
What’s The Price?
Pinnacle Nissan is asking $6,995 for the package, which includes the parts and the installation. Add that to the base price of a Sentra—$23,845 including destination—and you get a grand total of $30,840. Not bad, considering the average transaction price for a new car is over $50,000.
While it’s true that you can spend $700 more and get a Miata, the Mazda doesn’t have rear seats, a truly usable trunk, or even a metal roof. At least with the Sentra, you can actually use it as a normal car when you’re not carving up your favorite back roads. The SE RS’s closest competitor, to me, is the Honda Civic Si. Sure, it’s a bit bigger and definitely quicker, but it’s also nearly two grand more expensive. And if you’re really on a budget, that’s a big gap.
A representative for Pinnacle says the SE RS is already available to order from the dealership, and that the price of the package can be rolled into any financing deal, meaning you wouldn’t have to pay for it outright when you take delivery. Unlike some dealers, which limit these types of products to just a few units, the dealership plans to build as many as people want.
What Does Nissan Think About All Of This?
When dealers offer standalone packages like this, I’m always curious to know how the company itself will respond, seeing as how its products are essentially being modified by middlemen before they reach the customer. In this case, because Pinnicale is using official NISMO parts, Nissan USA seems cool with it. Here’s what a representative told me when I asked for a comment:
“Dealer-developed vehicle packages utilizing NISMO parts are independent initiatives and do not represent official Nissan NISMO models. We recognize some dealers create such offerings to meet local customer interest, and we value the passion that customers continue to show for the Nissan and NISMO brands.
Who knows—if Pinnacle sells enough of these SE RS models, Nissan might take notice and add it to the nationwide lineup. Either way, Pinnicale is planning to build three even more interesting vehicles for SEMA in November: Two custom Pathfinders and a Sentra with a turbocharged engine and a manual transmission. Seeing as how you can no longer get a Sentra with a stick, that last one is what I’m most excited for.
Top graphic image: Pinnacle Nissan
Yes! I d call it the Yenko Sentra.
The LOL edition.