To celebrate the 20th birthday From the Nissan Design Europe (NDE) facility in London, Makoto Uchida, President and CEO of Nissan, visited NDE to present a new urban electric concept. The car was called Nissan Concept 20-23 .
The presentation of the new Concept 20-23 took place on a floating barge moored directly outside the NDE in the Paddington Basin stretch of the Grand Union Canal, which is an integral part of the unique landscape around the NDE that makes it such a unique and inspiring place. .
Nissan Concept 20-23
The Nissan Concept 20-23 designed by a team that includes some of the youngest members of NDE, with the simple brief of designing a car – without restrictions – that they want to drive around the streets of the city where they work.
name Concept 20-23 reflects NDE’s 20-year position in central London, as well as the company’s traditional number 2 (ni) 3 (san) and the current year. It also continues a long Nissan tradition of bringing fun to the world of hatchbacks and city cars. Along with the legacy of Nissan’s so-called Pike cars, such as the Be-1, Pao, Figaro and S-Cargo, the Concept 20-23 brings a 21st century twist a this tradition of small cars.
Talking about Concept 20-23 At its launch in London, Alfonso Albaisa, senior vice president of global design at Nissan, said: “The young team here at NDE was given a simple brief: to design a fun electric city car that you want to drive every day in London. The Concept 20-23 they designed is a compact hatchback strongly influenced by the world of online racing. “I like the story it tells about how the worlds of modern urban living , online gaming and zero-emission mobility intersect.”
The modern touch of this small car reflects the world of online racing and Nissan’s participation in Formula E. The basic 3-door hatchback body style of Concept 20-23 It features extreme aerodynamic add-ons at the front and rear, with deep skirts that direct airflow from the front of the car, through the brake cooling opening and out through the hole behind the wheels.
The front of the car consists of a plane from which it angles above the hood, which gives the front an unexpectedly clean surface. Here are located the headlights, with a distinctive appearance formed by a thin upper and lower semicircle and enhanced by a sharp beam of light thanks to LED technology. The turn signal is part of the same semi-circular LED unit.
They gave him in front of the Concept 20-23 a friendly appearance, among the complex forms that govern the air passage.
From the side, the muscularity of the car comes from the widened wheel arches that wrap large wheels with low profile tires. The ends of the front and rear wheel arches have holes to reduce the pressure that creates air resistance in the tire.
The curvature of the wheel arches ends abruptly at the level of the lower door, where angular intersections frame the air outlet behind the front wheel. And the same angular grooves in the rear wheel arches allow airflow to cool the rear brakes. Extended skirts hug the side of the car’s underbody.
At the rear, a large single-piece spoiler emerges harmoniously from the roof rail, with end plates that curve from vertical near the C-pillar to an angled horizontal element that creates downforce. Rear visibility is not compromised by the rear spoiler, avoiding a common problem faced by sports cars with rear spoilers.
Like the front, each of the rear lights consists of a thin upper and lower LED semicircle in contrast to the square shapes of the lower part, which is defined by the fierce functional shapes of the airflow management. and increasing the production of downforce as air escapes from the bottom. the car. The overall width of the car is emphasized by a horizontal bar at the bottom that appears as a gentle smile that defines the contour of the rear hatchback.
A thin air intake is integrated into the car’s roof, where it meets the windshield header, providing ventilation to the occupants while they enjoy the car’s performance. Concept 20-23.
The gray exterior paint has a textured finish, giving the impression of being carved from a single piece of metal, reflecting the gritty environment in which it was designed. The company number, 23, can be seen on the rear three-quarters of the car.
Even the car model Concept 20-23 This is an exterior model only, the team of interior designers created an interior that reflects the extremely sporty nature of the exterior. First, access is via two scissor doors that open upwards from the base of the A-pillar.
A reinforcement bar runs across the door openings covered with foam padding to protect the elbows, requiring the driver and passenger to climb over it to reach their seats. The two deep bucket seats offer firm support, but not at the expense of comfort. They are upholstered in an almost white finish, with a large headrest reminiscent of racing cars.
Once in position, the driver is greeted by a tall, extended steering column that culminates in a rectangular sports steering wheel adorned with numerous controls and adjustments. Paddles for adjusting the performance of the electric drivetrain and additional switches are within easy reach behind the steering wheel.
The steering column is supported by a carbon fiber bracket which itself is bolted into position from the base of the large open opening that forms the center console.
Between the two riders, two metal beams hold the center console in position and are bolted to the “spine” of the car that emerges from the ground. A fire extinguisher is mounted under two support bars.
The interior is a futuristic interpretation of the basic functionality of a racing car. with only a few screens showing important information with minimal distractions, a reflection of where real racing cars, such as Nissan’s Formula E entrant, inspire the online racing simulator setup.
To sum up the Concept 20-23 Alfonso Albaisa said: “It’s a fitting celebration of 20 years of ECM where bold ideas take shape and come to life!”
