It's not often that concept cars get a chance to hit the streets, but if your name is Jay Leno people are willing to make concessions. The concept car in question is Nissan's IDx concept, revealed out of the blue at last year's Tokyo Motor Show.

Rumors had persisted of a front-engined, rear-drive Nissan to rival the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ, and the IDx was Nissan's answer to those rumors--a three-box, front-engined, rear-drive coupe aimed at the lower end of the market. Stylingevokes that of the popular Datsun 510 of the 1970s, but there's more than a hint of Nissan's "Hakosuka" GT-R of the late 1960s in the Nismo variant.

It's the Nismo that Leno gets to drive, but not before a chat with Giovanni Arroba, Nissan's Creative Design Manager. Arroba walks Leno through some of the IDx Nismo's design elements, from the anodized finish on the roof rails, BRE-style graphics and front airdam, through the bolt-on-style fenders, to the car's carbon-fiber rear end. Leno revels in the car's distinctive Japanese styling, which stands apart from anything Nissan currently sells.

Out on the road the fragile concept isn't pushed too hard and there's no traditional burnout here. There is an accidentally-opened door though, which brings understandable panic to Arroba's face--an eventual production IDx might be priced at a reasonable level but concept cars typically cost a fortune to produce. In Nismo trim, the concept uses a 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, though it remains to be seen what Nissan will drop in any production version. Sadly, some of that styling may be toned down too, and the concept's rear-view cameras--positioned in fender-mounted mirrors--are also unlikely to survive. Still, that's a sacrifice we're willing to make for a proper production version from Nissan...

Company doesn't think they could sell enough to justify production

Nissan Chief Planning Officer Andy Palmer previously said the company would "definitely" build one of their IDx concepts but now it appears the company is changing their tune.

In an interview with Wards Auto, Nissan North America Vice President of Product Planning Pierre Loing said creating a production IDX might worth the hassle. As he explained, “It’s not easy" to create an affordable rear-wheel drive sports because the volumes wouldn't make sense unless you also use the platform for something else.. He went on to say "Frankly to do a platform for 50,000 or 60,000 [units] a year – it’s not worth it."

Loing said the company is still debating a production version of the IDx but it definitely won't arrive by 2016 - assuming it is green-lighted in the first place.

Nissan exec says the IDx might not be worth building

Model could eventually see production

Nissan North American Vice President of Product Planning Pierre Liong recently said a production version of the IDx concept might not be "worth it" but Nissan's Corporate Vice President of Product Planning has now rebuffed his statements.

Talking to CarAdvice, Keno Kato said the model is "under preparation and development" but is still a 50/50 shot until it is officially green-lighted. Kato went on to suggest that Liong doesn't know what's he talking about because he is "under me" and Andy Palmer "is my boss" and has already said "we definitely will do one" of the iDX concepts.

Despite confirming that a production model is still under consideration, Kato said the biggest problem is deciding on which platform to use. Kato went on to say the model must be affordable because the Toyota 86 is "expensive enough to reject young people to access."