Nissan is making minivans cool again with a futuristic, rose-gold living room on wheels
Nissan unveiled a flashy minivan concept just in time for the Japan Mobility Show.
The electric Hyper Tourer looks straight out of 2050 with its sharp angles and odd shape.
It features swiveling seats, an LED screen in the floor, and mind-reading capabilities.
If you ask Nissan, road trips of the future will take place in shiny, self-driving minivans that read your brain waves to create the perfect ambiance for your mood.
An autonomous, hyper-intelligent minivan sounds like the beginnings of a "Black Mirror" episode. But hey, if it means I can kick back and pound Fritos with two hands instead of one, I'm willing to accept the consequences.
The Hyper Tourer is one of several electric concept vehicles Nissan is trotting out at this year's Japan Mobility Show, where the country's automakers are showing they're serious about the EV revolution after years on the sidelines.
Check out the Hyper Tourer:
The Hyper Tourer is just a design study. It's unlikely that anything resembling it will actually make it to production.
Still, it's fun to gawk at and provides a glimpse into how Nissan thinks we'll all move around in the future.
This sort of design could make minivans cool again. Although the Kia Carnival is already doing that.
The Hyper Tourer looks straight out of 2050 and features lots of sharp angles, a steeply raked windshield, and sliding doors.
A slim light strip runs the entire circumference of the van.
Its wheels are done up in an intricate Japanese pattern called "kumiko," which is also carried throughout the interior.
The interior is spacious and lounge-like, thanks to smart packaging of components and high-density solid state batteries. (Those don't really exist yet.)
One of the big benefits of electric cars is that they can provide more interior space. The absence of a bulky engine, transmission, and gas tank frees up room for front trunks, flat floors, and the like.
The front seats can swivel around to face the rears. But the Hyper Tourer also offers a steering wheel, pedals, and a wall-to-wall screen for human drivers.
A spine spanning the length of the cabin provides some cupholders.
And the floor is made of an LED screen that displays "imagery of a riverbed and the sky, helping creating a relaxing space where digital and nature are fused," Nissan says.
Some more details on that mind-reading feature, from Nissan: "An innovative AI system can monitor your biometric signs—including brain waves, heart rate, breathing and perspiration—and automatically select complementary music and adjust the lighting to fit your mood."
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