Nissan is planning a hardcore off-roading X-Trail for the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon. The Salon is the Japanese equivalent of the US Special Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) show and is home to all sorts of weird and wonderful concepts and special models.
Off-road flavour
The X-Trail Crawler concept is based on the production X-Trail SUV, and Nissan says that the concept gets a "boosted off-road flavour and gear toughness." The exterior styling will be ramped up with inspiration from the: "world of rock-crawling, running through steep and rough terrain" while inside the boot will be a dedicated tool and equipment compartment. The blacked-out image we have so far doesn't tell us much, but there is definitely a large roof rack with a bank of LED spotlights, and those are always cool...
Also appearing on Nissan's stand at the Salon will be the third-generation e-4ORCE 04 Formula E racing car, which will get a special body wrap featuring the iconic cheery blossom flower which is, of course, something of a Japanese national symbol.
Emergency batteries
Nissan will also show off a special disaster-relief vehicle based on the Caravan commercial vehicle, which features multiple sets of emergency battery packs made from recycled Nissan Leaf electric car batteries under the 'Portable Battery from Leaf' brand. The idea is that vehicles like this 'Disaster Support Mobile-Hub' can rapidly get into areas hit by earthquakes or extreme weather, and provide power for houses or for emergency accommodation.
There's more than that, too - how about a concept based on the Roox kei-car with a denim-clad interior? Or a customised previous-generation Micra (called the March in Japan) which gets a revived interior and exterior - specially designed for use by a pastry chef apparently - and designed to: "explore a new way of cherishing used cars."
Sportier X-Trail
Nissan will be showing off its Autech sporting sub-brand too, which will be bringing along a modified Nissan Serena minivan which gets a sporty bodykit and an interior that converts into beds, while there's also an Autech X-Trail featuring extra sporty and 'premium' add-ons.
Finally, there's some forbidden fruit (from an Irish point of view anyway...). There's an updated Nissan GT-R NISMO for the show, featuring: "racing technology, polished aerodynamics, and tuned suspension while delivering improved cornering performance thanks to added front mechanical limited slip differentials."
Next to the GT-R will be a Fairlady sports coupe, or Nissan Z as it's more commonly known outside Japan, with a tweaked V6 engine giving 420hp and 520Nm of torque, as well as - be still our beating hearts - an improved manual gearbox thanks to: "improved gearshift response and durability."
Finally, there's a Skyline NISMO, a sporty four-door saloon (whose lineage stretches right back to the 1960s and the original GT-Rs) which gets the NISMO treatment (NISMO being a contraction of Nissan Motorsport, and which is Nissan's own sporty AMG-style skunkworks) which will feature "aerodynamics and chassis technologies that utilise NISMO's unique racing technology."