The next Nissan to receive some performance tweaks from in-house tuner Nismo is likely to be the Sentra.

A partially camouflaged Sentra prototype wearing a sporty body kit has been spotted testing in the United States and is thought to be a new Sentra Nismo.

The prototype, photos of which can be seen on Automotive News (subscription required), appears similar to Nissan’s Sentra Nismo concept unveiled at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show. The concept also packed a 240-horsepower turbocharged 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine, a 6-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential, and hopefully we'll see these on the production version.

Rival offerings already on sale

With a new Honda Civic Si just around the corner and other compacts such as the Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] Focus and Volkswagen Jetta already available with performance offerings, Nissan could do with a hotter version of its Sentra. After all the standard Sentra comes with a sedate 130 hp.

It’s possible the Sentra Nismo will be shown at this year’s L.A. Auto Show, scheduled for late November.

For more on the Nissan Sentra, read the in-depth reviews over at The Car Connection.

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