Shiro Nakamura withdraws from Nissan after 17 years. He was head of brand design and most recently leader of the entire group. He is now replaced by Alfonso Albaisa, who leaves Infiniti.
It was Carlos Ghosn, the executive director of the Renault Nissan Alliance, who brought Shiro Nakamura to Nissan in 1999, leaving Isuzu. Nakamura quickly became a key player in changing the Japanese brand's course. It was under his supervision that we got cars that made the mark in the industry, like the Nissan Qashqai or the “Godzilla” GT-R. He was also the one who brought us the radical Juke, Cube and the electric Leaf. More recently, he has overseen a little bit of everything within the Nissan group, from low-cost Datsun to Infiniti.In a way of saying goodbye, Shiro Nakamura, now 66, in an interview with Autocar during the last Geneva Motor Show, referred to the future of Nissan and the passing of witness of the projects that were in his charge.
The future of the Nissan Qashqai
According to Nakamura, the next generation will be an even bigger challenge, because it has to evolve, but without losing what makes the Qashqai a Qashqai. The Japanese crossover is still the absolute market leader, so there's no need to reinvent it. Nakamura says it's not just a matter of protecting their strengths, they will have to go further.
Geneva was precisely the stage for the presentation of the restyling of this model, still supervised by Nakamura. In other words, the successor will only be presented in two or three years. According to the designer, the new model is practically finished, that is, the design is practically “frozen”.
As for the interior, where the Nissan Qashqai has come in for some criticism, Nakamura says that's where we'll see the biggest changes. It will be the interior that will reflect technological innovations, and the most visible highlight will be the growing size of the screens.
The revamped Qashqai received ProPilot, Nissan's technology for autonomous vehicles. It is currently at level one, but the successor will integrate more roles that will place it at level two. So the design of the HMI (Human Machine Interface or Human Machine Interface) is being designed from scratch taking into account the greater role that autonomous driving will play in the future.
Expect an interior with more and more advanced functions, but we won't see more buttons than the current ones. The increase in the screen's dimensions will not only allow it to contain more information, it also suggests that access to new functions can be achieved exclusively through its use.
The new Nissan Juke
Moving on to the brand's other successful crossover, which we had already looked into in more detail, the Juke successor should be known later this year. According to Nakamura, “The Nissan Juke has to maintain its distinction and funkiness. We tried our best to maintain its peculiarity. We'll take a big step with design, but it will continue to be recognized as a Juke. The key elements must remain like the face character or proportions. Small cars are easier, they can be quite aggressive.”
Will there be a new “Godzilla”?
There has been much speculation about a successor to the Nissan GT-R, and the topic of discussion often revolves around next-gen hybridization. However, from Nakamura's statements, it seems that the more correct question would be “is there really a successor?”. The current model, despite the annual evolutions, celebrates this year its 10th anniversary since it was introduced. The latest update saw the GT-R get a new and much needed interior.
Nakamura refers to the GT-R as a Porsche 911, that is, a continuous evolution. If a new one comes along, it has to be better at everything. Only when it is not possible to improve the current model will they move towards a complete renovation, and according to the designer, the GT-R is not aging yet. At the moment all GT-Rs continue to sell well.
Another model in doubt: the successor to the 370Z
More or less affordable sports cars have not had an easy life. It is difficult to financially justify developing a new coupé or roadster from scratch when sales volumes are often so small. To get around this situation, partnerships were established between several manufacturers: Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ, Mazda MX-5/Fiat 124 Spider and the future BMW Z5/Toyota Supra are the best example of this reality.
Whether or not Nissan will move towards a similar business model, we don't know. Nakamura also has nothing to add about a possible successor to the Z. According to the designer, it is currently difficult to find the correct concept. The market is small for two-seat coupés, and only Porsche seems to find enough customers. There are already many proposals for a successor to Z, but these are more “what if…” exercises than serious proposals for a successor.
Perhaps a new approach is needed. Nissan Bladeglider?
“Bladeglider is just an experiment, not planned for production. Even if we can produce the right number of units at the right price, I don't know if the market is big enough. However, it's an interesting car – a real three-seater,” says Shiro Nakamura.
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For those unfamiliar with the Nissan Bladeglider, this is a study for an electric sports car. Developed as a hypothetical road model of the phenomenal Deltawing, the Bladeglider has its delta shape (when viewed from above) as its main feature. In other words, the front is much narrower than the rear.Two Bladeglider prototypes have already been designed, with the latest iteration to be known during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The model allows for the transport of three occupants, with a central driving position, à la McLaren F1.
Speaking of electrics, the Nissan Leaf will be joined by more models
Here, Nakamura has no doubts: “There will be many types of electric vehicles in the future. The Leaf is more of a model, not a brand." As such, we will not only see more electric models at Nissan, but Infiniti will have them as well. Firstly, the new Leaf will be introduced in 2018, promptly followed by another model, of different typology.
City dwellers are the ideal vehicles for an electric powertrain, but we are unlikely to see any such models anytime soon. Nakamura assumes that he would like to bring one of the Japanese kei cars to Europe, but that is not possible due to different regulations. According to him, a kei car would make an excellent city. In the future, if Nissan has a city car, Nakamura admits it could be an electric one.
The designer also refers to Nismo. Qashqai Nismo on the horizon?
Shiro Nakamura is of the opinion that the opportunity exists for a full range of models under the Nismo brand. Even a Qashqai Nismo could be equated, but there would have to be a complete overhaul of the crossover: engine and suspension would have to offer another level of performance and skills. It cannot be reduced to just cosmetic changes. At the moment, Nismo has versions of the GT-R, 370Z and Juke, as well as Pulsar.Shiro Nakamura's successor is Alfonso Albaisa, who now takes the reins as creative director of Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun. Until now, Albaisa held the position of design director at Infiniti. His former position is now occupied by Karim Habib from BMW.