Nissan Sport Concept: First Look

By Motoring Channel Staff - 29/03/2005

The Nissan Sport Concept, which made its public world debut at the 2005 New York International Auto Show, is the latest concept car aimed at the elusive 'youth' market.

Car manufacturers of all persuasions are scrambling to entice young, first car buyers on board, many of them believing brand loyalty is a big issue among customers, with the theory being the earlier they sign up, the more future sales will be (potentially) made.

But another crucial factor for young car buyers is price, and many of the youth-oriented vehicles of the last five years have failed because they are too costly.

Nissan's new 'performance-youth concept' vehicle, which follows the Nissan Actic and Nissan AZEAL concepts, is called the Sport Concept, and in addition to an edgy, highly stylised exterior, one of its main selling points will be its low cost.

The fancy looking 3-door hatchback has a futuristic-looking 2+2 seat interior, offering the look and feel of a low-slung sports car, yet with an affordable price tag, which the Japanese company believes will entice buyers entering the new car market for the first time.

"The story behind the development of the Sport Concept, AZEAL and Actic is that Nissan is thinking big about the small car segment," said Jack Collins, vice president for product planning at Nissan North America.

Collins continued: "With these three design explorations, we're focusing on how we can bring Nissan's heritage of innovation, sportiness and driving pleasure to a category of vehicles that traditionally lack design excitement and strong visual appeal."

With cars such as the sporty 350Z already in its stable, not to mention the ageing, but highly revered turbocharged Skyline models, Nissan is already recognised by many younger drivers as a strong brand, who are often referred to as the 'Gran Turismo' or 'Video Game' buying demographic.

Though this description isn't always accurate, it seems to have stuck.

"The Nissan Sport Concept ... is first and foremost a showcase of future thinking, yet it is also a car that would be right at home in Nissan showrooms in the not-too-distant future," mused Collins, hinting that a real-world production model is not an impossibility.

"Nissan has a strong global lineup of compact enthusiast vehicles, including the March (Micra), Cube, Tiida, Note and Sentra SE-R, and, in the Nissan 350Z, one of the world's most desirable sports cars. The new Nissan Sport Concept fuses the best of both worlds," said Collins.

According to Nissan, the exterior of the Sport Concept combines shapes and forms that are both geometrical and mechanical in feel, creating a sense of acceleration and kinetic energy.

True or not, from where we sit the look is very futuristic and the pearl white paint job works well, showing off the car's cleverly combined sharp angles and smooth curves.

Solid wheel arches, not necessarily over-flared, together with short front and rear overhangs give the Sport Concept a hot hatch profile, while the front and rear apron cutouts lend it a motorsport edge.

The body construction utilises both metal and carbon-fibre composite components, though if Nissan wants to make the car affordable, as it claims, the exotic materials will have to be ditched for production.

The 20-inch 6-spoke aluminium-alloy wheels feature a machined and lustrous paint finish surface treatment, but again are purely for the benefit of the eye-catching show car displayed in New York.

"The Nissan Sport Concept may be small dimensionally but it is large in its dynamic energy - aggressive, highly functional and definitely street-wise," said Collins.

The interior of the Sport Concept is designed to seat four adults comfortably, yet with an emphasis on the front two seats. Every element of the cockpit exists to enhance the vehicle's engaging driving experience, says the Nissan literature, and with deep, body-wrapping front bucket seats covered in leather and with integrated 4-point seat belts, the theme of a real drivers cockpit looks to be more than just pure hyperbole.

The instrument panel includes an integrated tachometer and gauges with a distinctive center cluster, while a three-spoke steering wheel and "solid-appearance center" console, whatever that is, round out the driver-oriented cabin.

Independent rear bucket seats, like Holden's Monaro, offer true 2+2 seating with integrated 4-point seat belts, and in keeping with the performance theme, rear passengers can grab onto centre console-mounted support grips, and what would a car aimed at young drivers be without a number of techy blue speaker satellites and a subwoofer located in the rear parcel shelf?

"The Nissan Sport Concept is as close to performance art for the street as you can get - modern, cool, ready to run," said Jack Collins at the New York Motor Show. "When it comes to the next wave of small car design, a SHIFT_ is about to be made. And Nissan is making it."

But will car makers ever truly be able to target the hard-to-define youth demographic? Nissan seems to be closer than any other marque at present with its Sport Concept, where the only factor to be determined is power output (here's hoping for a turbo straight six -- an homage to the Skyline), but like with any other consumer product - and sometimes moreso with cars - tastes are invariably diverse between individuals, let alone generations.