Brian Won

LOS ANGELES, CALIF.—Nissan is in a bullish mood when it comes to the Sentra, and at this year’s LA Auto Show, the company took the wraps off the latest version of one if its best-sellers. It’s the Sentra NISMO, and it marks the fist time the brand has given the NISMO treatment to a core US Nissan model. For the uninitiated, NISMO is the company’s tuning division, best known for the very hottest versions of Skylines and GT-Rs. Those hand-built vehicles live in rarefied air, but the Sentra NISMO brings the performance sub-brand into the mainstream—expect to pay less than $25,000 for one when they hit the showrooms in January 2017.

Based on the recently revealed 2017 Nissan Sentra SR Turbo, the Sentra NISMO gets a host of exterior and interior cosmetic upgrades along with some engineering work to make the car more driver-focused. The styling tweaks to the front grille, side skirts, and rear give the car a more muscular look than lesser Sentras, but according to Brandon White, director of marketing for the Sentra, they also help reduce lift by 30 percent. On the inside the seats have been given an upgrade—better bolstering as well as the oh-so desirable NISMO logo stitching—as well as an alcantara steering wheel, but the more interesting changes are hidden from view.