Today at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show, Nissan unveiled a blocky concept that is neither a new Z car nor a GT-R. It’s called the Xmotion Concept, pronounced “cross motion” and not “ex-motion” because Nissan makes the rules now.
Few automakers have run away from their sporting past more quickly and with more abandon than Nissan, all in pursuit of crossover volume sales and aggressive Star Wars branding. To that end, here is something else that continues this proud march toward un-fun.
The concept seats six and has three rows, which a new Z or GT-R surely could not. It has “tool-inspired” wheels and all-terrain tires that “coexist as one piece, with the tire tread physically laminated over the 21-inch aluminum-alloy wheels.” Are there advantages to this? Perhaps.
There are seven digital screens inside, with the infotainment system controllable by gestures and eye movements. But, as this is a concept, we probably won’t ever get to test this out for ourselves, so we are left with taking Nissan’s word for it. Also, the concept has a “digital room mirror” in the ceiling. A new Z or GT-R probably won’t have something like that.
The inside is red and minimalistic and weird. filled with triangle cut-outs in the seats. Kind of like a nightclub. The doors swing out like a closet or wardrobe. But instead of revealing some nice garments, you get some seats.
There was no word on what powers the Xmotion Concept, maybe because there isn’t an engine that drives it. Nissan most likely won’t build this thing, as it is a design exercise, which, good!
Maybe we’ll get a new Z or GT-R instead.