{"id":239632,"date":"2023-09-25T13:19:36","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T13:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/?p=239632"},"modified":"2023-09-25T13:19:36","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T13:19:36","slug":"nissan-concept-20-23-extreme-ev-city-car-inspired-by-online-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/car-reviews\/nissan-concept-20-23-extreme-ev-city-car-inspired-by-online-gaming\/","title":{"rendered":"Nissan Concept 20-23: extreme EV city car inspired by online gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"
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To\u00a0celebrate 20 years of its Nissan Design Europe (NDE) studio based in London, Nissan has revealed this wild new Concept 20-23 car, potentially previewing a future all-electric hot hatch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Typically focused on global and European market projects, NDE was responsible for the design of sales hits such as the Qashqai and Juke, forming a critical part of the manufacturer\u2019s global design team. The Nissan Concept 20-23, however, is a moment of freedom for its designers, and combines the Japanese brand\u2019s heritage when it comes to small hatchbacks, with a vision of the ultimate urban car of the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s a pure design concept \u2013 for now \u2013 it\u2019s obvious this celebratory one-off is inspired by Nissan\u2019s forthcoming all-electric Micra, which will share its underpinnings with the new Renault 5 due next year. Elements such as the oversized circular lighting signature and the car\u2019s basic silhouette are clearly drawn from the next production Micra hatchback, which should follow the R5 in 2024. However, the Concept 20-23\u2019s design is much more experimental, with big aerodynamic elements and lots of extreme details.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Taking inspiration from Nissan\u2019s Formula E racer, the concept has only two doors in comparison with the future production car\u2019s four, allowing the brand\u2019s designers to create two large air intakes out of the rear window openings. These flow into a wraparound rear screen, that is detached from the roof-mounted rear wing finished in a contrasting black colour (along with the roof), when compared with the lighter finish for the body work.<\/p>\n
The rear end features two large circular lighting elements, which reference those we\u2019ll see on the production Micra, joined by a thin trim line that sits above a simple \u2018NISSAN\u2019 script. These elements reveal how Nissan could integrate these new design and lighting graphics into the tailgate and rear glass. The lower bumper is pure concept, though, with large openings and more aerodynamic elements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The flared bodywork and lower bumpers and sills feature intensive air-management elements, including Porsche 911 GT3 RS-style vents on the wheel arches that relieve pressure within the wheel wells. The circular front lights and slim horizontal lamps mark the first time we\u2019ve seen this design language being developed for the production Micra, and these features sit above an intake underscored by a light bar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nissan has revealed images of the Concept 20-23\u2019s interior, which is full of concept car-like theatre, including a yoke-style steering wheel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Between the two seats sits a small, hollow centre console with some physical switchgear, plus a further panel of switches mounted to the left of the steering wheel. The oval-shaped void on the dashboard could point towards a potential design theme for the production Micra, but in this form it\u2019s purely for show.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nissan\u2019s Senior Vice President for global design, Alfonso Albaisa, said: \u201cThe young team here at NDE was given a simple brief: design a fun electric city car that you\u2019d like to drive every day in London. The 20-23 Concept is a compact hatchback which is strongly influenced by online racing. I love the story it tells about how the worlds of modern city living, online gaming and zero emissions mobility intersect.\u201d<\/p>\n
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While Nissan says the Concept 20-30 is a pure show car, there could be potential for a Nismo-tuned Micra EV production car in the future. Renault\u2019s high-performance sister brand Alpine will offer a hot hatch based on the R5 EV and has already shown its A290 beta concept. A Micra Nismo EV would join a growing class of small electric hot hatches including the aforementioned Alpine, VW\u2019s ID.2 GTI and Skoda\u2019s hot baby EV that we know are all in the works.<\/p>\n
Click here for our list of the best electric cars on sale right now…<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n