The interior of the concept is far less obviously related to anything that will reach showrooms, being designed as a “futuristic interpretation of a racing car’s bare functionality”.
The driver and passenger must climb over foam-covered brace bars to access their deep bucket seats and, in place of a steering wheel, the driver grips a yoke-style device hosting an array of switches and buttons, with paddles located behind it to adjust the performance of the electric motors and regenerative brakes.
The spartan cabin, complete with fire extinguisher, exposed metalwork and “just a couple of screens for vital information”, says Nissan, is expected to evolve into a more spacious and comfort-focused set-up for the final production car, but a slew of recent Nissan concepts (as well as the Ariya SUV) major on minimalism inside, so it is likely that the Micra’s replacement will follow suit.
Nissan has given few details of its smallest electric car (not least its name, which may not be Micra), but being based on the CMF-BEV platform means it will have a multi-link rear axle and a series of lightweighting measures including a battery pack split into four space-efficient modules and EV motors that include the power converter and power-management box.
The model will be built alongside the Renault 5 at the French car maker’s ElectriCity production hub in northern France, no doubt using the same 134bhp front-mounted motor and offering the same 250-mile range as its sibling. It will also target the same price point of around £20,000.
