Archive for Nissan

Apparently these are leaked photos of the 2009 Nissan Murano, which is the second generation since the first generation Murano was released back in 2003. Some called it the spaceship SUV because of its futuristic looks.

Fast forwards a few years and its time for a full model change, and the new Murano still has the old Murano’s general shape, but the front grille is alot more aggressive, and overly edgy with large chrome bars. The interior is quite different, looking less like a SUV-ized 350Z interior now. UPDATE: Added a shot of the rear after the jump.

Check out a photo of the interior after the jump with larger resolution available.

Click here to read the rest of 2009 Nissan Murano photos leaked

Click to enlarge

Probably the closest you’ll ever get to a real life Optimus Prime is the Nissan NV200 concept. Aimed at small business professionals that are constantly on the move, it portrays a rugged image on the outside but keeps things safe and in place on the inside. The NV200 first appeared at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, but it was only display again at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.

At the heart of the interior is a rolling job site featuring a patented sliding cargo pod which houses a unique pod that can smartly accommodate a variety of business needs. The pod is divided into customizable trays and boxes for efficient storage of profession-specific equipment, materials, work gear and apparel.

The end of the pod facing the inside of the van - it forms a bulkhead behind the front seats when the pod is not deployed - has hanging space for dry clothes. It also houses a small refrigerator, an extending sink unit and first aid kit. The NV200’s tanks hold enough water to supply a shower, fitted on the outside of the pod, to allow for example, diving equipment to be washed after use.

The example used, as per the pictures in this post, is that of an oceanic photographer. Power for the computer, shower, ‘fridge and other electrical fixtures comes from a small generator housed within the van. This, in turn, is charged by solar panels situated on the roof of the pod.

When the pod is deployed, the solar panels are directly exposed to daylight. But even when the pod is pushed back into the van, the panels line up beneath the skylight. In this way, power can be generated in daylight hours whether the vehicle is stationary or not.

The pod is latched inside the shell of the load area when the van is being driven. But upon arrival at its destination, it slides out rearwards to allow easy access to the storage zones. Deployed via hydraulic rams, it will sit securely on integrated ‘drop-down’ legs when fully extended.

From the outside, the Nissan NV200 doesn’t stray from the looks of a contemporary van with a usefully long 2820mm wheelbase and is 1840mm tall. All we need for it now is to transform into a kick-ass robot.

Click here to read the rest of TOKYO 2007 LIVE: Nissan NV200 Concept

We’re only a few days away from the official public unveiling of the 2009 Nissan GT-R, but a few motoring magazines have already had their go at Nissan’s at long last attempt at the successor to the venerable R34 Skyline GT-R.

Nissan aims the car at the likes of the the Porsche 911 Turbo - nearly every manufacturer of a new “supercar” seems to have the 911 Turbo as the holy grail of benchmarks, an example is the recent Audi R8. AutoWeek magazine has a test drive report online and even compares the new GT-R with a 911 Turbo in a mini shootout of sorts, as a 911 Turbo had been provided by Nissan on the track day.

According to AutoWeek, the new engine is called the VR38 and sits slightly behind the front axle, with two of its 6 cylinders before the front axle and the other four behind it. The VR38 engine sends power to a GR6 twin-clutch 6-speed gearbox at the rear transaxle through a carbon fiber propellor shaft. Another shaft runs from the gearbox at the transaxle to the front axle for the front wheels. We now officially have shift times for this gearbox - 200ms. In comparison, Volkswagen’s DSG does upshifts in 8ms but unanticipated shifts that have not been preselected by the DSG can take up to 400ms.

The car uses Nissan’s new PM platform, or Prime Midship platform, which uses a combination of polypropylene, carbon composite and the usual metals used in a car chassis for its construction.

To read their account of 3 laps with the new Nissan GT-R around the Nurburgring, click here.

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Unlike many concept cars which most of the time pay 99% of attention to the exterior and settle for some futuristic-shaped dash for the interior, the Nissan Intima Concept puts focus on an attractive, hospitable and relaxing interior according to Nissan’s “Modern Living Concept”. The interior has been designed for people who love refined and elegant interiors - yours truly included - whether traveling alone or with a partner.

“We designed the Intima as a car that expresses the interior attractiveness Nissan proposes in the Modern Living Concept. The inspiration came from imagining a situation where a person who has accumulated many life experiences and successes now wants to spend his or her own time, or time together as a couple, in an elegant environment,” says Nissan’s Product Chief Designer Kinichi Saito.

The instrument panel padding is made to appear to float in between the wood grain panels, and the center console incorporates a wave-like pattern. Arm rests and assist grips are chunky to give the passengers a feeling of comfort, something Nissan has already done with the interior of the Nissan Latio.

Ambient lighting provided by the instrument panel, center console, door trim and ceiling, and door assist grips (these feature a blue-green acrylic material and gives off a soft light). The interior is cooled by a four-zone climate control system which provides comfortable cooling for all passengers through the use of infrared sensors. It also uses a natural grape seed polyphenol filter that neutralizes pollen and other allergens.

The front passenger seat can swivel 80 degrees to the outside to welcome the passenger into the car or provide a “first class” send off to whatever destination he or she is going to. The interior is large but feels even larger thanks to a large glass roof which flows continuously from the windscreen onwards.

All in all, apparently they paid so much attention on the interior that they ran out of design hours and decided to nick the exterior from a Mercedes Benz CLS.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of TOKYO PREVIEW: Nissan Intima Concept

Shots of the Nissan GT-R are now being circulated around the net thanks to AutoWeek who decided to break the embargo following a previous leak of the production car’s exterior on Motortrend magazine’s December cover.

The Motortrend cover quotes some specs: 0 to 100km/h is achieved in 3.5 seconds, and a quarter mile drag in 11.7 seconds, with top speed maxing out at 310km/h. The car will cost under US$80,000. UPDATE: Edmunds Inside Line has more specs of the car - the twin turbocharged 3.8 liter V6 engine will be putting out 473 horsepower and 588Nm of torque, though there is no indication of what engine speeds these figures achieved. Still, looking at the tachometer you can tell this engine isn’t a screamer. This engine will be mated to a GR6 dual-clutch six-speed transmission with leather-wrapped aluminum paddle shifters - no manual is planned at the moment.

The interior kind of reminds me of an Audi but definitely looks the business, acres and acres of premium-looking black and aluminium trim. The bootspace looks rather decent and the gas shocks do not intrude into the space.

More shots after the jump.

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Nissan GT-R to come with 3.8 liter turbo V6

Click here to read the rest of Nissan GT-R Press Photos and Details Leaked!

We will be able to see the final production version of the Nissan GT-R at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show next week, though many argue that we’ve already seen the production version with the GT-R PROTO shown previously.

While we have an idea what it will look like, specs have been not much but rumours so far, but AN reports that the new sports car will be powered by a 3.8 liter twin turbo V6 sending power through all four wheels with an all-wheel drive system, a GT-R trademark.

Given the modern performance turbocharged engine’s usual 100 to 150 horsepower to liter ratio, expect the new Nissan GT-R to be putting out over 400 horsepower.

It will come in a few colour options: three different shades of silver, white pearl, red and black. There will also be a GT-R Black Edition and a GT-R Premium Edition, other than the normal standard version which starts at US$66,500. The Premium Edition is expected to cost US$72,000.

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Nissan will be displaying an updated version of their Nissan Pivo concept, rather straightforwardly called the Nissan Pivo 2 concept.

It continues with the original Pivo’s fully rotating cabin design which makes the concept of reversing your car obsolete. The Pivo 2 adds In-Wheel 3D motors for the car’s four wheels. These wheels can turn 90 degrees to allow the Pivo 2 to move sideways like a crab as well as the normal forward and reverse movement.

The little robot thing you will see in the photos after the jump is what Nissan calls a Robotic Agent, which can communicate to you everything from basic vehicle functions through to the nearest available parking and can have conversations with you in Japanese and English.

For readers who are in Japan, you can see the Pivo 2 displayed before the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show on the 13th and 14th of October 2007 at the Nissan Ginza Gallery in Chuo-ku, Tokyo from 10am to 8pm.

More images and a video (thanks to LittleFire85) can be viewed after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Nissan Pivo 2 to debut at Tokyo 2007

Earlier we learned that a new 7-seater MPV by Nissan called the Livina will be available in Edaran Tan Chong Motor showrooms by the second half of this year. We’re pretty much right smack in the middle of the second half right now, and a few badgeless Nissan Livina MPVs has already been spotted making it’s rounds around KL. Have a look at a rear shot of a dark red Nissan Livina shown above thanks to reader Steven.

The Livina should be very promising as it would offer us another monocoque car chassis-based 7-seater MPV at under RM100,000 prices. This space is currently occupied by the Naza Citra, though reportedly there is some special deal right now involving Hyundai Trajet MPVs being sold for under RM100k.

Read more on the Nissan Livina in the linked post below to find out why a monocoque-based people transporter has certain advantages over body-on-frame constructed designs like the Toyota Avanza.

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This strange thing is the Nissan Mixim, a 3-seater microcar that will make it’s debut at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show next month. The Nissan Mixim is an electric vehicle with a 1+2 seating arrangement accessible via gullwing doors on either sides of the car.

The 950kg car is powered by two “Super Motors” as Nissan calls them, each powering an axle, effectively making the car all-wheel drive.

More pictures after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Nissan Mixim Concept Electric Car

We will be getting two variants of the Nissan Livina MPV here in Malaysia, according to a report by The Edge last week. The Nissan Livina will be available in Malaysia in locally assembled form with engine capacities of both 1.6 and 1.8 liters, and both models will be priced with an under-RM100,000 price tag. These engine capacities are similar to the options for the recently launched Nissan Latio - the HR16DE and the MR18DE.

Edaran Tan Chong Motor hopes to attract middle-income customers - this will put the Nissan Livina smack in the middle of the mid-sized lower segment MPV market. That would put it somewhat in competition with the Toyota Avanza, the Suzuki ER-V and the larger Toyota Innova. However, the Nissan Livina promises a better, more comfortable drive as it is based on a monocoque car chassis.

More information on the 7-seater Nissan Livina can be obtained in the related posts:

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Nissan Livina to arrive in 2nd half of 2007

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