Nissan Shows a Refreshing Electric Concept Coupe

If the last generation of car enthusiasts grew-up with gasoline in their veins, Nissan thinks the next will likely have electrons pulsing through their circuits. This automaker’s innovative Mixim electric concept car was conceived to appeal to the computer generation with clean electric power and controls that mimic those of a game controller. Nissan clearly sees a disconnect with youthful buyers and the current X-Box crop of teenagers who text to communicate and have never known life without a personal computer.

Shiro Nakamura, Nissan Senior Vice President and Head of Design explains: “If the motor industry is going to survive beyond the next few years, we are going to have to work hard to attract future generations of drivers – people who currently find it difficult to love the car. Mixim is one way to do that. It combines a sociable three plus one interior with controls and visual projects that are familiar to the computer generation. And it uses environmentally friendly battery power.”

Mixim’s styling isn’t as far out as the Pivo2 bubble car shown in Tokyo, but it is a radical departure that blends elements of current Nissan production car styling with strong futuristic design cues. Think Nissan Versa gets a sci-fi makeover for TRON 2010. The hood line and nose, for example, hint Versa, but the pronounced, very rounded leading edge takes the eye in a different direction. Narrow HID headlights that extend rearward along the hood nearly to the A-pillar lend a fast and aggressive look. Three small diamond shaped driving lights in the transition from the front bumper area to the wheelwell add an interesting diversion.

Below the belt line, Mixim has rounded body lines, but from the top of the pronounced fenders up, those curves change to much sharper, more angular lines. The windshield has a fast profile that blends into a very unique roof. From the top of the windshield rearward the eye follows a strong downward diagonal roof line that yields triangular side windows. Triangular glass panels pointing the opposite direction are fitted in the roof to aide rear three quarter visability.

You can see a bit of the Versa Hatchback in the rear end styling as well, particularly the taillight treatment. The back end has that chopped-off theme that yields an aggressive, racy look. Mixim’s rear fenders are pronounced, delivering a broad-shouldered, somewhat muscular look, but unlike the front fender lines the rear fenders are angular with sharp edges. A pair of larger diamond shapes is chiseled into the door-to-rear-fender junction, carrying the front light treatment around to the side of the car. Even the rear wheelwell opening is distinctive. It is conventionally round in the front but ends in a straight downward diagonal line that follows the rear profile of the car. Flush alloy wheels are divided into three sections and are mounted with low profile, low rolling resistance tires.

Mixim’s signature design element is its door treatment. The side doors appear to open normally but actually hinge up and forward in a gull-wing fashion. With the doors open from the front, Mixim takes on a sort of sinister Darth Vader appearance, an interesting transition for a car that otherwise looks inviting from most angles. The door treatment allows easy access to an interior that is quite unique in its own right.

Inside, a single driver’s seat is mounted mid cabin, with passenger seats set back and to the rear in a layout Nissan calls “three plus one.” The dash and control layout is pure video game. Nissan designers devised a steering control – you can’t call it a wheel – that’s a cross between an aircraft front yoke and a gamer control. The steering system incorporates switches and other control functions for added versatility. Ahead of the steering control, a driver is greeted with a horizontal split screen virtual display to place all critical information well within line of sight.

Mixim is a pure, rechargeable electric car. A pair of Nissan’s electric motor/generator Super Motors is used – one for the front wheels and one for the rear – in an all-wheel-drive powertrain that’s engineered to deliver exciting performance. While no performance figures or projections are available, Nissan says the Mixim has “unusually rapid performance combined with a usefully extended range.” Compact lithium-ion batteries are used, but there are currently no details available on the source or specifications.

Nissan is quick to point out that there are currently no guarantees of the Mixim becoming a production vehicle, but it was developed as part of the Nissan Green Program so the door is open with sufficient interest.