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QASHQAI - NISSAN’S NEW TAKE ON THE CROSSOVER
At a glance
• Four-wheel-drive Crossover concept unveiled today at the Geneva Motor show
• Compact for the city and robust for the great outdoors
• Advanced electronic all-wheel drive and good ground clearance
• Rear hinged back doors and…
• … no B-pillar for superb access to passenger compartment without compromising strength
• Unique side-hinged seats maximise interior space
• First project from newly-established Nissan Design Europe
Nissan believes the end could be in sight for conventional cars in the compact sector of the market. And if the market share of the traditional hatchback is indeed numbered, its place might well be taken by striking crossover vehicles designed to live a dual life… vehicles like the Nissan Qashqai.
"Qashqai is a bold new design that pioneers a new sector of the market. Aimed at a young pre-family buyer, Qashqai is a dual-role compact crossover concept: during the week it is a tough city dweller at home on the mean streets, but at the weekend it heads for the hills for freedom and adventure."
Shiro Nakamura, Senior Vice President, Design Division, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
First from NDE
Qashqai is the first concept car to have been developed by Nissan’s recently-opened design studio in London, England. Nissan Design Europe (NDE) is one of the company’s design ‘think-tanks’ dedicated to developing future generations of advanced designs for European markets
Qashqai, unveiled today at the Geneva Motor Show, is ample proof that Nissan’s multi-cultural design team is thinking ‘out-of-the-box’. Unlike anything on the roads today, Qashqai combines the sleek lines of a sporting hatchback with the attitude and authenticity of a serious 4x4.
Escape
Named after a desert-dwelling nomadic tribe living near the Zagros mountains in South Western Iran, Qashqai is seen by Satoru Tai, Vice President, Nissan Design Europe, as an Urban Nomad. "It is aimed at young professional people who enjoy living and working in the city during the week but who want to escape at the weekend."
Arch graphic roof
Among its striking features are the swooping coupé-like roof, high waist-line and the aerofoil shape of the side glass. The arch graphic of the roof line has become a recurring Nissan design theme and can be found on many Nissan production cars including Primera, Micra and 350Z as well as on a number of design concepts.
Qashqai’s four-wheel drive underpinnings are obvious from the ample ground clearance, tall body and huge wheels. The concept is 1570mm tall, 1860mm wide and 4310mm long. It sits on a wheelbase of 2650mm. Its four-wheel drive credentials include 237mm ground clearance and compact overhangs front and rear – 854mm and 806mm respectively.
The wheels – 20 inches in diameter – were made especially for Qashqai by Michelin and feature the French company’s unique PAX run-flat system.
Rear-hinged back doors
But it’s the unique design features that set the concept apart. While the front doors open conventionally, the back doors are rear-hinged… and both open to virtually 90 degrees. As there is no central B-pillar, when both side doors are opened simultaneously access to and from the passenger compartment is much easier than in a conventional car.
There is, however, another reason for adopting this unusual layout. Securely fastened to a central monorail – a solid aluminium chassis backbone designed to ensure the concept enjoys uncompromised structural rigidity despite the lack of B-pillars – are four individual seats.
Unique folding seats
Those on the passenger side of the vehicle not only have backrests that fold, clamshell-style, onto the seat base, but are also cantilevered so that they can be stowed upright, flush with the central chassis backbone.
This, in turn, leaves ample space to store a mountain bike within the passenger compartment – with an obstruction-free side-loading zone, the bike is simply picked up and slotted into place with nothing having first to be dismantled.
Qashqai also has a conventional luggage compartment at the rear of the car but, again, there’s a novel opening arrangement for the rear hatch.
Split tailgate
The split tailgate features a glazed upper ‘bubble’ and metal lower panel. For loading small items, the glass panel can be opened independently and the luggage slotted into the boot.
But for loading larger items, the centrally hinged bottom panel moves forward and then down, to slide out of the way underneath the tail of the car. Once again this allows much easier access to the load area: with a conventional split tailgate, it is necessary to stretch uncomfortably across the lowered portion to reach and remove a suitcase.
Secure storage
The boot area also houses a special ‘strong box’ allowing valuables to be locked safely away when the car is left unattended.
Other notable exterior features include the lights. The vertical rear lights run up and over to the tailgate to accentuate its tall stance, while at first glance there don’t appear to be any lights at the front at all.
‘Invisible’ headlamps
In fact, the headlamp clusters – they incorporate the turn indicators and fog lamps as well as the LED headlamps themselves – echo the striking rectangular style as featured on the 350Z, but are covered in a newly developed ‘clear-ink’ paint that matches the car’s body colour but becomes invisible once a light is shone through.
At the front, the familiar three-section Nissan grille features a sporting mesh effect deep within the apertures.
Glazed roof
The airiness of the cabin is thanks to the twin full-length glazed roof panels above both pairs of seats. The central section houses a roof console with controls, interior lighting and ventilation outlets and extra storage space.
The interior of the concept also underlines the dual role to be played by Qashqai. The asymmetric interior design envelops the driver to create a sporty environment, but the passenger side of the car is more open to give a feeling of freedom and space.
Car of the future?
Satoru Tai says: "Qashqai is a serious design study which shows one direction future Nissan’s vehicles could take. It is aimed at young people who are not constrained by convention; it’s a car that can adapt to its environment just as quickly as they can."
Street language
One final feature of Qashqai’s interior design pays homage to its birthplace and underlines its urban roots. NDE’s home near the Grand Union Canal in London’s Paddington is a unique building called the Rotunda. Constructed from reinforced concrete in 1966, its original role was as a maintenance depot for British Rail.
So striking was the design that it won an Architectural Design Project Award in 1966 and the Concrete Society’s Award three years later and it is now considered one of the most important buildings of the post-war British Modern movement. As a result it carries a Grade II* listing from British Heritage.
Although derelict when taken over by Nissan Design Europe, because of the architectural listing many of the features had to be retained during the building’s make-over… including some period graffiti daubed on the walls.
And this graffiti inspired the motif to be found on the bold slash of colour that rings the passenger’s side of the cockpit. Predominately red, the fabric covered panel that runs clockwise from the centre of the dashboard to the centre of the rear door has a very unusual pattern developed from the wit and wisdom of London’s youth…
Nissan Qashqai concept
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