Nissan AZEAL Concept

Nissan Debuts AZEAL Coupe Concept

DETROIT (Jan 9, 2005) – Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today unveiled the dynamic AZEAL Coupe Concept, which is designed to be an affordable, performance-oriented entry-level coupe with the style and personality to match the lifestyles of its young, active target buyers. Also sharing the stage was the 2005 lineup of Nissan full-size and mid-size trucks and SUVs built on the strong foundation of Nissan’s advanced F-Alpha platform.

“On stage in Detroit, we saw a glimpse of the future with the AZEAL Coupe Concept design exploration and also the current Nissan vision with the truck and SUV family lineup – including the Titan and Armada and the all-new 2005 Nissan Pathfinder, Frontier and Xterra,” said Mark McNabb, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division.

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The Nissan AZEAL Coupe Concept is a fresh interpretation of the classic sports coupe. The essence of the AZEAL is its clean, straightforward, agile exterior combined with a modern, driver-oriented, highly interactive interior.

AZEAL features an aggressive body design with wide fender flares, short overhangs and a sharply sloped rear roofline with integrated active airfoil. The interior combines a dark, industrial metallic instrument panel appearance contrasted by Wasabi Chartreuse fabric seats and an open greenhouse with glass-panel roof.

The AZEAL design exercise is the first concept car created by Nissan Design America’s (NDA) new studio in Farmington Hills, Mich.

“The idea behind the AZEAL is that an entry-level vehicle doesn’t have to look entry-level. Though AZEAL has the compact dimensions of a small coupe, it projects a much larger presence in terms of style, personality and desirability,” said Bruce Campbell, vice president, design, NDA.

The front-wheel drive AZEAL utilizes a turbocharged version of Nissan’s 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. It rides on 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with a unique sandblasted and painted surface treatment.

F-Alpha Family
Just two years ago at the 2003 North American International Auto Show, Nissan unveiled its first full-size pickup. In a shot heard around the domestic truck industry, Nissan’s new full-size Titan pickup was exactly that – conforming to the definition of “titan” as a thing of great size and power. And, by every measurement of current competitive pickups, it certainly qualified as “full-size.”

Today, on the same stage, the Nissan Titan again took the spotlight, only this time with company – the four other Nissan full-size and mid-size trucks and SUVs that now share Titan’s innovative F-Alpha truck platform: Armada, Pathfinder, Frontier and Xterra. Three of the five, Pathfinder, Frontier and Xterra, have been completely redesigned for the 2005 model year.

“With every model in our lineup either all-new or completely redesigned in the past 18 months, we believe that Nissan has the newest, most advanced line of trucks and SUVs of any major auto manufacturer,” said McNabb. “The F-Alpha platform was designed for the Titan and Armada applications and adopted for use with the mid-size Pathfinder, Frontier and Xterra – giving them the benefit of full-size ruggedness and strength.”

The fully boxed, all-steel ladder frame was created with wide applications in mind, not only in size of vehicle but in allowing the use of V8 and V6 engines and solid axle/leaf spring (Titan, Frontier, Xterra) or coil-spring independent (Armada, Pathfinder) rear suspensions. Frame-rail thickness, as well as overall dimensions, vary as appropriate for their specific segment applications but the F-Alpha floor layout, packaging and underfloor layouts are similar on all five vehicles.

All three of the new 2005 vehicles, Pathfinder, Frontier and Xterra, feature a new 4.0-liter V6 engine, advanced off-road systems and roomier interiors. Pathfinder went on sale in September, Frontier in late December and Xterra is scheduled to go on sale at Nissan dealers nationwide in February 2005.

Titan, which is on track to sell over 90,000 units in Nissan’s current fiscal year, is in a league of its own when it comes to capability and innovation – bringing a fresh alternative in the full-size truck category.
The full-size Armada is another full-size success story. Its bold, adventurous design defines the segment in terms of power, spaciousness and features. In the month of December, with sales in the full-size utility segment down, Armada recorded its best sale month ever.

“When truck and SUV buyers think adventure, they now think Nissan,” said McNabb. “It all builds off a single-minded philosophy of offering the most powerful, most capable and most innovative vehicles in the industry – a philosophy made a reality with the foundation provided by the F-Alpha platform.”

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Nice looking car.

I personally find the whole front end of this car ugly and without grace, and the profile is rather... bulbous.

This is a really nice looking car. The design is a little out there in places but I'm sure they'll clean that up before they release it. Fortunately I'll be looking for a set of wheels in a little while and I think this would be right up my alley.