Report: Forthcoming Nissan Murano convertible to be a two-door soft-top

Nissan had the guts to bring us the bizarrely styled Juke, which is getting some solid press for its performance, and now it's apparently set to follow that up with a convertible version of the Nissan Murano. Apparently getting ready for its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Nissan gave dealers a preview of the two-door, cloth-topped crossover and the reaction of one was, "kind of unusual." You don't say. The Murano droptop has been widely rumored for ages now, but it was never known whether the crossover would maintain the four-door arrangement of the hardtop. It appears that in the roofectomy process, Nissan will remove two doors, which leaves us thinking that the finished product might look something like a mutant Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible. Hopefully the basket-handle brace in the rendering at right won't be a structural necessity.

Speaking of the oft-rumored vehicle that few thought would come true, Nissan's VP of sales and marketing stated "there's a degree of bravery for us to bring out a car like that right now." The company isn't predicting sales volume numbers for this genre-busting crossover, but the hardtop Murano continues to be a solid seller for the Japanese brand. We wouldn't be at all surprised to find quite a few of them in beach cities wearing rental company plates. If you like what you see when it is revealed, the sale date is penciled in for sometime in 2011.

[Sources: Automotive News – sub. req. | Image: InsideLine]