New Nissan 20-23 concept: bonkers electric hot-hatch revealed
September 25, 2023 by Nick Lette van Oostvoorne
Car changing is a big deal
This bonkers-looking thing is the new Nissan 20-23 concept, and it’s an all-electric hot hatch built to celebrate 90 years of Nissan. Read on for all you need to know…
- New Nissan 20-23 concept revealed
- Electric hot hatch with wild design
- Futuristic interior
- Celebrates 90 years of Nissan…
- … and 20 years of Nissan Design Europe
- Styling could inspire future Micra replacement
This is the Nissan 20-23 Concept car. It’s a small electric hot hatch that’s designed to pack a huge visual punch.
Why has Nissan made this 20-23 Concept? The Japanese brand is celebrating its 90th birthday this year, and its European design studio (based in London) is turning 20.
New Nissan 20-23 design
The Nissan 20-23 Concept has a very strong retro vibe mixed with plenty of futuristic features.
Nissan said it was inspired by the cutesy Figaro, the retro Pao station wagon and the pun-tastic S-Cargo van with its snail-like silhouette. Essentially, it wants this new concept to be more fun than function.
That’ll explain the ground-hugging front splitter, the flared wheel arches with saw-tooth air vents, the chunky box-like side skirts and the massive rear wing.
The proportions of this new concept are fairly similar to the Alpine A290 ꞵ concept. Although if you look past the racing-car aerodynamics, this Nissan has a much rounder, more ‘60s vibe than the ‘80s-inspired boxy Alpine.
New Nissan 20-23 interior
If you thought the Nissan 20-23’s exterior looked a bit off-the-wall, just check out the interior.
The dashboard is made up of a huge oval ring with bars stretching off towards the front bumper. It looks a little like staring into hyperspace from the front of the Millenium Falcon.
The steering wheel looks like something Hans Solo would be very familiar with, too; there are buttons and switches galore and it sports two handles instead of a circular rim. Think of the Tesla yoke with a more Apollo space-program vibe…
Not enough for you? Well, Nissan has added a couple of Lamborghini-style scissor doors for good measure. Who doesn’t want Lambo doors on a hatchback?
New Nissan 20-23 motors and batteries
Nissan hasn’t confirmed any details about what’s powering the 20-23 concept – only that it’s definitely an electric car.
Nissan’s CEO Makoto Uchida took the new car’s unveiling as an opportunity to repeat the bold statement that every new car it reveals for sale in Europe from now on will be electric.
He went on to say that Nissan is committed to researching and developing solid-state battery technologies. These, he said, could help reduce the cost of future EV batteries and cut their total charging time by a third.
Will you be able to buy a Nissan 20-23?
Sadly not, at least not in its current form. This crazy-looking concept could preview design features you’ll see on a future Nissan Micra replacement.
That new small hatchback was teased back in 2022, and you can see that at least the headlight design is similar to the 20-23’s. We’ll find how many styling cues will be carried over at some point in 2025, although don’t expect to see any huge wings and lairy bodykits on the new Micra… Shame.
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