Some questions have been asked about the future of Nissan’s passenger cars and an answer may have come from the young designers at the company’s London-based Nissan Design Europe (NDE) that recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.
This saw the unveiling of an all-new sporty urban electric concept car called Nissan Concept 20-23 that was designed by a team including some the younger members of NDE, with the simple brief to design a car – with no constraints – which they would like to drive on the streets of the city where they work.
The Concept 20-23 name reflects 20 years of NDE’s position in the heart of London, as well as the company’s traditional number 2 (ni) 3 (san) and the current year.
With the heritage of Nissan’s so-called Pike cars, such as the Be-1, Pao, Figaro and S-Cargo, Concept 20-23 brings a 21st century twist to this small-car tradition.
Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan’s Senior Vice President for global design, says: “The 20-23 Concept is a compact hatchback which is strongly influenced by the online racing world. I love the story it tells about how the worlds of modern city living, online gaming and zero emissions mobility intersect.”
The basic 3-door hatchback body-style features extreme aerodynamic front and rear, with deep skirts which direct the airflow away from the front of the car, through apertures to cool the brakes and out through vents just behind the front wheels.
The nose of the car consists of a flat plane from which angles up to the top of the hood, giving the front an unexpectedly clean surface. This is where the front headlights are positioned, with their distinctive appearance consisting of a thin upper and lower semi-circle and enhanced by a sharp beam thanks to LED technology. The turn signal is part of the same semi-circle LED unit.
At the rear, a large single-piece spoiler emerges from the roof rail, with endplates which curve from the near vertical close to the c-pillar over to the angled horizontal element which generates the downforce. Rear visibility isn’t compromised by the rear spoiler, avoiding a common problem that sports cars with rear spoilers face.
While the Concept 20-23 car model is an exterior model only, the team of interior designers created an interior that reflects the extremely sporty nature of the exterior. First of all, entry is by two scissor doors which hinge upwards from the base of the A-pillar.
Once in position, the driver is greeted by a long extended steering column which culminates in a rectangular sports steering wheel festooned with multiple controls and adjustments. Paddles to adjust the electric powertrain performance and additional switches are within fingertip reach behind the wheel.
The steering column is supported by a carbon-fibre mount which is itself bolted into position from the base of the large, open aperture which makes up the centre console.
“It’s a fitting celebration of 20 years of NDE where bold ideas have taken shape and come to life,” says Abaisa.
Colin Windell – proudly CHANGECARS
