Nissan have announced the release of a new all-electric vehicle next year, but the styling of the car has yet to be finalized. Now, Nissan’s chief designer Shiro Nakamura has come out and provided a rendered speculation of the EV’s styling.

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The new Nissan EV will shock viewers with its appearance, Nakamura claims, adding that this is a purposeful design to make sure the public knows that this is an all-electric car and not just a hybrid. The car will be avoiding the wedge-shape adopted by the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight and instead will let bespoke EV features make it distinguishable.

One of the more striking features is the car’s grille-less front, the electric drive-train doesn’t really need a grille but it still looks weird. Since there is no bulky engine up front, the car will also have a very low bonnet-line to aid aerodynamics and give it a bold appearance. The final ’subtle’ clue to car’s electric status is a recharging plug that will be visible on its nose, leaving no doubt about the power source.

While the car won’t be as constrained in its design as conventional vehicles, its designers still had to sit it on an existing Nissan platform. Because of this, the designers couldn’t fully exploit the design possibilities presented by the electric car, but this has also helped them keep costs of development down.

This fact will change in the future as Nissan develops specific platforms for electric vehicles and lets its designers work from scratch. For now, Nissan is hoping that its new design will be bold enough to stand out in the upcoming crowd of electric vehicles.

There is little doubt the Nissan EV will stand out but it may not be for the right reasons.
Source: Car and SUV-New Zealand