Wednesday 25 December 2013

Nissan IDx Freeflow and IDx Nismo Concepts at 2013 Tokyo Show

It’s a brave man who can come out with barrels blazing and say that he thinks buyers of the Scion FR-S or Subaru BRZ are having a ‘midlife crisis’. That’s exactly what Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer said recently when referring to two of the hottest, most affordable sports cars to venture forth from Japan in a decade. So can Nissan do any better? It thinks so. “You’ll see our answer to the midlife crisis at the Tokyo Motor Show. Except it won’t be for a midlife crisis,” added Palmer. “It’ll be aimed at young and middle aged types alike.” In a marketplace where Generation Z is losing interest in cars and car culture, Nissan is trying to reignite some interest and passion back into motoring with a new two door, rear wheel drive concept car, the IDx.

Nissan designers say that customer paradigms are changing significantly, warranting change. Trying to appeal to digital natives who value IT and social media networks as the new communication tools of the 21st Century is the key, says one designer. The car has to be stylish, offer the right combination of social networking tools including Bluetooth, internet and navigation connectivity and drive well. But Nissan’s product planners realized that these features were not enough to create a car that catches the eye as well as the heart. So Nissan decided to delve back into its rich heritage of sports cars and race cars to find inspiration. As chief designer Satoru Tai says, “we are talking about models like the Datsun 1600, Skyline and Laurel from the 1960s and 70s. That is where we sourced our inspiration. We conceived the IDx through direct interaction with Generation Z who seek a compact, minimalistic sedan-shaped coupe.” Boasting a low and wide stance, Tai tells us that the IDx is actually a little shorter in wheelbase than the FR-S and BRZ so colourfully described by Palmer.

A look at the IDx’s silhouette reveals these design slants. As the former owner of a Datsun 1600, this writer can definitely see some 1600 influence in the IDx’s side profile. And while this design is fresh and new but with retro hints for young buyers, the overall design seems all too familiar yet appealing for buyers in their 40s who grew up watching 1600s and Skylines appear on the roads. Tai went on to say that one other aspect of this concept that we thought important for young and mid-aged buyers alike would be a rear-wheel drive platform. Nissan was being tight-lipped about the powertrain, but one engineer suggested that a naturally aspirated 1.6 liter engine generating around 140-150hp would most probably find its way into the IDx’s engine bay. To pluck at the heartstrings of all those who long for the “new,” but with a touch of nostalgia, Nissan also unveiled an IDx Nismo version draped in the company’s traditional racing colors and featuring bigger wheels, along with racier body styling and interior appointments.

There was a time when customer surveys and interaction with the public were regarded as dangerous. "The customer doesn't know what he wants--we have to tell him!" Nissan believes that modern social media connections render that conventional wisdom obsolete, and the IDx concepts are proffered as proof. They were designed from their inception in interactive collaboration with a group of 100 Gen-Z teenagers. They were not random teens, but car-loving ones, as evidenced by their encouragement of design themes evocative of the Datsun 510 (I don't know a teen that could pick a "Dime" out of a lineup). They reportedly identified the 510 as an icon of the brand, especially when adorned with Peter Brock racing stripes. The other key attributes demanded by this group were comprehensive connectivity (naturally) and a high degree of customization. Toward that end, the car features a spaceframe architecture with lightweight body panels that can be swapped for different looks. Different headlamp designs are plug-and-play interchangeable. While the teens apparently did not demand rear wheel drive, that's what Palmer sees when he looks at the IDx, and he asserts it is easily buildable on modified existing architecture, though he declined to specify. The auto show stand had a display case showing die-cast models of the IDx in two sizes, if that can be interpreted as an intent to render 1:1 scale versions. Palmer declined to confirm any production plans, other than to say that if green-lighted today it would be three to four years out. Start the letter-writing campaign today.

Source: Al Ain Japan



No comments:

Post a Comment