Nissan unveils electric concept car to mark 20th anniversary of London design studio

• New Nissan 20-23 Concept car designed at Nissan Design Europe (NDE) unveiled by CEO Makoto Uchida to celebrate studio’s 20 years in London
• Sporty urban electric concept car revealed outdoors on barge directly opposite NDE, reflecting its location in the heart of London
• Inspired by Nissan’s Formula E participation, as well as online simulator racing 

To celebrate the 20^th anniversary of Nissan Design Europe (NDE) being located in London, Makoto Uchida, Nissan’s President and Chief Executive Officer, visited NDE to unveil an all-new sporty urban electric concept car, the Nissan Concept 20-23.

The unveil of the new Concept 20-23 took place on a floating barge moored directly outside NDE on the Paddington Basin stretch of the Grand Union canal.

The Nissan Concept 20-23 was designed by a team including some the younger members of NDE, with the simple brief to design a car – with no constraints – that they would like to drive on the streets of the city where they work.

The Concept 20-23 name reflects 20 years of NDE’s position in the heart of London, as well as the company’s traditional number 2 (ni) 3 (san) and the current year. 

Speaking about the Concept 20-23 at its unveil in London, Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan’s Senior Vice President for global design, said:

“The young team here at NDE was given a simple brief: design a fun electric city car that you’d like to drive every day in London. The 20-23 Concept that they designed is a compact hatchback which is strongly influenced by the online racing world. I love the story it tells about how the worlds of modern city living, online gaming and zero emissions mobility intersect.”

The nose of the car consists of a flat plane from which angles up to the top of the hood. This is where the front headlights are positioned, with their distinctive appearance consisting of a thin upper and lower semi-circle and enhanced by a sharp beam thanks to LED technology. The turn signal is part of the same semi-circle LED unit.

The curvature of the wheel arches finish abruptly at the level of the lower door where angular intersections frame the air outlet behind the front wheel.  And the same angular slits on the rear wheel arches allow the airflow to cool the rear brakes. The extended skirts hug the body side on the lower portion of the car.

Like the front, each of the rear lights consists of a thin upper and lower semi-circle LED which contrasts with the squared off forms of the lower portion which is defined by fiercely functional shapes to manage the airflow and to maximise the creation of downforce as the air escapes from under the car. The full width of the car is emphasised by a horizontal bar below what looks like a soft smile that defines the outline of rear hatchback.

The exterior grey paint has a textured finish, giving the impression of being hewn from a single piece of metal, reflecting the gritty environment it was designed to inhabit. The company number – 23 – features on the car’s rear three-quarters.

While the Concept 20-23 car model is an exterior model only, the team of interior designers created an interior that reflects the extremely sporty nature of the exterior. First of all, entry is by two scissor doors which hinge upwards from the base of the A-pillar.

The interior is a futuristic interpretation of a racing car’s bare functionality with just a couple of screens displaying vital information with minimal distractions – a reflection of where real racing cars – such as Nissan’s Formula E entrant – inspire online racing simulator set-ups.