Nissan celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Nissan Design Europe with the presentation of the "Concept 20-23" prototype

The Nissan Design Europe (NDE) based in London is celebrating its 20th anniversary, an event that even Makoto Uchida, president of Nissan, did not want to miss. Taking advantage of this celebration, Nissan has presented a spectacular urban sports prototype created by a team made up of the youngest members of the NDE, a reflection of the ideal model they would drive around their city.

This basic idea is how the Nissan Concept 20-23 was born, a small electric sports car that was unveiled on a barge moored near the NDE, in the Paddington Basin stretch of the Grand Union Canal. Recalling the past of Nissan’s so-called Pike cars such as the Be-1, Pao, Figaro and S-Cargo, the Concept 20-23 arrives to bring modernity and sportiness to the long tradition of these compacts.

Breaking down this prototype, first of all the name Concept 20-23 refers to the anniversary of the London NDE, and the number 23 has a double meaning: first, the current year and, second, the company itself through a play on words, since in Japanese the number 2 is pronounced “ni” and the number 3 is pronounced “san”. Now let’s take a closer look at this little car, whose modernity also draws inspiration from the world of online racing and Formula E itself.

Its front end is practically flat and clean across its upper part, forming a beautiful and perfect angle together with the bonnet, where the headlamps formed by two semicircles are also located, with the upper part sitting on the bonnet and the lower part on the highest part of the bumper. This friendly, almost smiling gaze of the Concept 20-23 contrasts with the lower section, with a central opening that gives way to a much more intimidating lower bumper area thanks to the huge air intakes that cool the brakes and aid aerodynamics.

This lower section is wide and blends perfectly with the muscular wheel arches with air channels, leaving no doubt that we are looking at something more than a simple city car, and which also serve to cover the large low-profile tyres. The curvature of the wheel arches ends in a very pronounced line against the door, and the rear wheel arches do the same, which also incorporate air channels and blend perfectly with the muscular rear end. From the side we can also see the discreet air intake located beneath the roof, through which the occupants can receive fresh air from outside.

The rear end does not lag behind and draws attention thanks to the large one-piece rear spoiler, carefully designed to favour aerodynamic downforce and, equally important, not to compromise visibility through the rear window. A little lower down, on the tailgate, the rear lights emerge with a design philosophy similar to the front ones, before giving way to the lower area where the elaborate and elegant rear diffuser is located. The whole ensemble is finished with the grey paint applied to its bodywork, a paint that has been given a textured finish that gives the impression of being carved from a single piece of metal.

The main objective of the Nissan Concept 20-23 is to demonstrate an exterior design exercise, but the designers also wanted to devote time to the interior, which we can access through the spectacular scissor-type doors, although access will not be easy because of the reinforcing bar installed right at the opening. Once inside, we find seats that are not very comfortable but provide perfect support and are upholstered in white, both separated by two metal bars that hold the centre console. The steering column is mounted on a carbon fibre support and ends in a steering wheel with controls and paddles for the multiple adjustments, which we can see on the two screens that display just the necessary information.