With striking side skirts...

With striking side skirts and wild wings, it"s the missing link in the firm"s eagerly awaited small family car range. Nissan top brass have long hinted that there was a third model on the way, to sit alongside the Qashqai soft-roader and Tone compact-MPV, both of which are earmarked to start production in 2006. And the Sport Concept is it - the road-going version will replace the three-door variant of the current Almera from late next year.

The car also proves Nissan is aiming for a dramatic change of image with the last of its new trio. The Tone"s practical interior and traditional hatchback styling mean it will take most sales, while the Qashqai is set to cater for those buyers who crave both individuality and "lifestyle" flexibility. That"s left the design team with a fairly free brief for how it develops this final model.

One insider told us: "Nissan is following a very different design path to the past. The 350Z and Murano SUV have shown people what the company is capable of, and those influences are set to spread across the brand"s more mainstream models. Both driver involvement and visual appeal will appear in every future Nissan."

Inside, the Sport Concept is close to production trim - the general layout of the dashboard and the curved centre tunnel will remain the same. The central console will use the same orange backlighting and colour screen that"s visible in our pictures. The cabin is very similar to that of the Nissan Tiida, a five-door family hatch on sale in America. It won"t come to Europe as bosses don"t want it to steal sales from the Tone.

Key to the newcomer"s appeal will be a performance version, which is set to go head-to-head with rivals such as the Honda Civic Type R, Vauxhall Astra VXR and Ford"s Focus ST. Building on the sporting image of the 350Z, it should be a proper performance car. It"s based on a chassis designed to offer similar levels of grip and driver involvement to that of the coupнѓ©, and will be powered by a high-revving four-cylinder engine developing in excess of 200bhp.

As well as harking back to the popular Almera GTi, the Sport Concept could well rejuvenate the GTi-R badge, which has not been used since the Nissan Sunny version was withdrawn in 1994. Unlike that car, it won"t be four-wheel drive, instead offering traction to the front wheels only.

As well as the hot model, less dramatic versions of the Sport Concept are expected to be sold in the UK, although the car"s name has yet to be revealed. The Almera badge could remain, but a new name is being considered to avoid association with the uninspiring current model. Following news of the arrival of Volkswagen"s sporty Golf GTD, and the availability of acclaimed diesel engines from partner Renault, there"s speculation a hot oil-burner would arrive later.

Whatever happens, it"s likely Nissan will follow a similar trend to that established by Vauxhall with its recently launched Astra Sport Hatch - in that the three-door model will not be sold in entry-level trim with a small engine, but only made available in higher, performance-oriented specifications.