OT: Introducing the Nissan Sports Concept

[WookieOnRitalin]

Actual Pics Below:

 

[WookieOnRitalin]

Here's a link to an article about it:

http://www.freshalloy.com/site/cars/nissan/2005/nsc-hatch/home.shtml

Terry Heick, Editor in Chief says:
Honda says the hatch is dead, but Nissan thinks otherwise. Thank God for Nissan, eh?

Considering hatchbacks got the sport compact market started, with legends like the Civic Si, Volkswagen GTi, Dodge Omni GLH-S, and even less well-known jewels like the Corolla FX16, it has been amazing to see the market mature and walk away from it as a genre. Combining useful utility (as utility is wont to be) and often exceptional aesthetics, the hatchback may be a quiet market, but the potential is always thereeven for a schizophrenic US market.

Enter the new Nissan Sport Concept. On the heels of Azeal concept comes the Sport, hoping to fend off the sophomore slump. Though mechanicals are still a mystery (with not a small amount of naivet, I am holding my breath for a VVL engine), the creased panels and wedged shape just look right. The Japanese Domestic Market Nissan Pulsar GTi-R was obviously an inspiration for the Sport Concept, with similar shape, proportions, and overall feel. Lets hope the drivetrain continues that trend. And that Nissan, of all people, can help reinvent the hatchback for the US market. Having shown a remarkable feel for the US as a market so far, chances are very, very good.

Noel Saw, Founder says:
After tackling the truck market in a big way, Nissan is set to deliver a direct onslaught on Toyota's Scion brand. First it was the Nissan Azeal, now it's a new "hot hatch" code-named the Sport Concept. It's evident that Nissan Technical Center in Japan spearheaded the design with recognizable Murano themes. We wouldn't be surprised if a Renault designer on loan to Nissan threw in a few ideas from their popular European hatchback line up. We admire the clean front fender and big lower intake grilles. And the wheels are gorgeous but probably won't make it to production but if it does Nissan will certainly get a few brownie points from hard core wheel conseurs. We also love the smooth hard slab side and those side skirts are neato.s

Nissan isn't indicating what kind of mechanicals or powertrain it will contain, but let's guess it will have the QR25DE inline 4 found in many Nissans. Our wildest dreams come true would include a VQ35DE (280 hp) mated to an AWD system but then again who'd buy a 350Z then if that was available.

Bring it on Nissan and we wanted it this yesterday!

 

[Option]

Did anyone else notice the boost guage under the speedometer?


Wow, depending on the drivetrain/motor, I'd buy that in a heartbeat! Will we ever see something like this produced? My realistic guess is probably not. While this doesn't look too far off from a manufacturable model (compared to most concept cars) I highly doubt we will see anything close to this car. Nissan has now produced 4 small concept cars since the begining of 2004 and has stated that they are looking to introduce a new model that will fall below the sentra in their model lineup. Why is that a bad thing? Well, I highly doubt a car designed to be the entry level model (ie the absolute low end model avalable) is going to sport 20 inch rims, leather sport seats, radical exterior styling, large color display with built in phone/navi/auto temp control, turbocharged motor etc etc. This car is too radical and has too many features to start at the bottom of the lineup. The Mazda 3 and Scion TC are praised for their increadible bang-for-the-buck value and long list of standard high-end features but even these models fall into a higher price bracket and fail to offer anything close to the level of features as this Nissan concept.

 

[Option]

Oops, Looks like I spoke too soon. after doing a little more reseach, I found that I was mistaken. While Nissan IS planning on creating a new entry-level model for around 13K to compete with Scion, the Sport Concept was not built for this role. Instead, it appears that Nissan is going to produce something close to the Sport Concept as a new mid-level model for 2007.



Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">NEW YORK Nissan North America Inc. says it will bring a model to market next year based on the Sport Concept small car, shown last week...


A company spokeswoman says the B-platform model will be a derivative of the Sport and should go on sale in mid-2006, around the same time a new Sentra makes its debut
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

You can read more about it here

Also, there's some interesting technical information/speculation found here. If you're too lazy to read it, these are the main points of interest from the article:



Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">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.


...and will be powered by a high-revving four-cylinder engine developing in excess of 200bhp...It won't be four-wheel drive, instead offering traction to the front wheels only.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


I hope they're mistaken about it only being offered as FWD.

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[CharlieDigital]

Pics I took from NYIAS; more here:

http://forums.freshalloy.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=67943957&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

 

[03mazspeedproto]

all i can say is that is SICK and i wish i hadnt bought the tC..... but then again... i love my tc!

 

[Lord_Nycon]

That is probably the worst looking concept I have ever seen.

 

[m_long84]

I'm not a real big fan of hatches, but I really like that one. The curves are nice and aggressive but not too aggressive and I like the interior. Performance looks like it would be decent. It should be a decent contender in upcoming years for the sport compact market.

 

[genericuser]

yeah I snapped a pic of it too

 

[Roywhitep5]

it looks like something out of i-rowboat

 

[M=SP^2]

It looks real good in person...the Nissan rep had no clue about engine specs or which wheels the power will go to.

 

[wannabe]

eh, im not in love...kinda blah..

 

[wannabe]

i was playing GT4 last night, and i realized this looks a lot like the Nissan Micra in that game. i will try to find some pics.

 

[eting_pro5]

Sean or Charlie, did either of you get any pictures of the models of the two Scion concepts?