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Nissan has brought along an all-electric IMs concept car to the Detroit motor show that seeks to breathe new life into the idea of a four-door saloon. With four-door sales shrinking in key markets such as the US and Europe, Nissan reckons that the MIS' mix of saloon styling with SUV height and practicality could be a winner.
Underneath the IMs' rather crisp styling is a flat-floor chassis with an integrated battery pack and compact electric motors mounted front and rear. The doors - front-hinged at the front and rear-hinged at the rear - don't need a central pillar, so all four open up to reveal a massive cabin, which Nissan says is easier to get in and out of, thanks to those doors. There's a long-wheelbase, and the seating position has been raised-up to try and give the IMs a flavour of an SUV-esque driving position.
Those wheels are massive 22-inch items, which allow Nissan's designers to give the IMs a traditional(ish) saloon-style body in the right proportions, in spite of it actually being SUV-style tall. "There are two distinct breakthroughs in the design of the Nissan IMs," said Satoru Tai, executive design director for Nissan. "First, the exterior's fresh proportions, simple shape and dynamic movement are very clean, yet powerful and emotional. Second, the landscape projection theme of the interior is sophisticated, spacious, inviting, interactive and seamless, with a unique passenger seating layout. The IMs exterior signals that the driver and passengers are about to experience something entirely new once inside."
"The impression of the IMs' overall proportions is clearly different from current sport-back sedan designs," said Giovanny Arroba, program design director at Nissan. "With these new proportions, there are zero trade-offs in terms of packaging, including front and rear headroom and legroom, cargo space and visibility."
Keeping the cabin airy and bright are a full-length glass roof, very thin roof pillars, and flush side glass. The doors don't have handles, emphasising the clean lines.
At the front, there's flush-fit, carefully hidden lights, and cameras for wing mirrors, which fold flush into the body when the IMs is in autonomous mode (of course it has and autonomous mode...). The lights at the front are also integrated into a full-width lighting strip under the leading edge of the bonnet, when sends pulses of light from side-to-side to indicate which driving mode the IMs is in, and which proves that Nissan's designers watched lots of Knight Rider when they were kids.
Etched into the roof are patterns, picked out in gold, which is inspired by the traditional Japanese Asanoha pattern. Meanwhile the liquid-finish paint job is meant to suggest *checks notes* "an imaginary mineral on the Moon."
Inside, the seats are so comfortable that Nissan has called them 'Zero Gravity' seats, while the car supposedly boasts an exceptional ride quality thanks to clever air suspension. "With the elevated seating position and the car's excellent performance, the driver can take full advantage of multilayered technology, from the air suspension to the intuitive controls, to the information displays," said Arroba. "But just as easily, the IMs can transform from an engaging driver's car to a fully autonomous vehicle, allowing the driver to engage in conversation with passengers, catch up on work or just enjoy the numerous entertainment options."
If you've got just one rear seat passenger, then they can sit in the centre 'Premier' seat, leaving the two outboard seats to fold away into the back. There's also lots of gold detailing throughout, reflecting the patterns on the roof, and carpeting with a "shock diamond" pattern. "We wanted to create an environment that's more like stepping into a luxury movie theater than an ordinary passenger sedan," Arroba explained. "The interior graphics are the result of Nissan designers' respect for the company's Japanese heritage, and while the overall design here may not follow convention, we wanted it to feel techy, with the promise that its occupants are about to experience something new."
Will the IMs ever make it to production? Well, Nissan still makes big saloons for markets such as the US and China, so maybe this gives an indication of what a future Maxima or Sentra might look like. For Europe? Rather less likely...