Nissan IMx Concept (pictured) WILL become the Nissan LEAF SUV
The Nissan IMx Kuro Concept arrived at the Geneva Motor Show as an update on last year’s IMx concept, and a Nissan boss now makes it clear the IMx is a very clear look at the forthcoming Nissan LEAF SUV.
Having delivered the IMx Concept last year, Nissan has been back at the Geneva Motor Show with an updated version of the IMx – the IMX Kuro Concept – and along with it comes news that the IMx really is very close to a future production LEAF SUV.
Speaking to Autocar, Nissan’s European Design boss, Mamoru Aoki, said that the IMx is not just a concept car, but will arrive as a production model in the next couple of years, and that much of what we’ve seen will carry over to the production model.
Aoki seems particularly please by the IMx’s looks, which he says are neither masculine or heavy and have a light feel and sheer surfaces with real Japanese detail, and hinted that it could be so on the Zeitgeist when it arrives that it could be as game changing for Nissan as the Qashqai was when it arrived.
As a crossover / SUV with a new electric platform – Nissan’s new flat-floor EV platform – the IMx offers an interior much bigger than its exterior dimensions would suggest (rather like the Jaguar i-Pace) and with much more usable space. It also promises big leaps in connectivity, intelligence and autonomy.
All of which is very promising, but so too is the EV powertrain the IMx has, certainly in its Concept form.
It promises a 375 mile range on a single charge, a pair of electric motors – one on each axle for 4WD – and a very useful 429bhp and 520lb/ft of torque thanks, in no small part, to a high capacity battery which has been redesigned and re-engineered for increased density.
With the IMx now clearly heading towards production, it’s yet another challenge for Tesla to convince the world to buy a Model Y when (and if) it arrives.
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