Nissan Qazana 2010

Geneva wouldn't be Geneva without some sort of segment-busting super concept. And here it is: the Nissan Qazana. We were teased by Nissan about this one a while back, but now it's stopped the tickling and shown us the goods.

And it could just be the car to save Britain. Well, the car to save Nissan's Sunderland factory, anyway. There's really no underestimating the importance of the Qazana for the guys at the north east plant - if it does well, it'll be a job-saver.

Bit odd though, isn't it? It's a jacked-up five-door hatch, designed to slot somewhere between the ‘B' and ‘C' segment, so that's in between a Mini and a Qashqai (it could steal sales from both).

It takes the principle of an everyday runabout hatch and makes it much more interesting, simply by looking cool and funky and like nothing else you've ever really seen on the road.

Nissan suggest that up to 75 per cent of what we see here will make it into production. We'd like to think those suicide doors will survive the process, but conventional hinges are probably more likely.

Production will start early next year, so expect to see it on the road sometime in summer 2010.

NISSAN Qazana Concept (2010)

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Nissan Qazana teaser

Nissan has released today the first Nissan Qazana teaser image showing a headlight of the show car that will be premiered at this year's Geneva Motor Show. The Nissan Qazana previews a new compact model that will be built at the company's Sunderland plant from 2010. The company describes the Nissan Qazana as being a five-door small Crossover. The press release also mentions that the Nissan Qazana will feature suicide doors.

The Nissan Qazana has been designed in Britain and represents a 57 million pounds investment that will create around 1,100 jobs.

The Nissan Qazana price has not been announced yet.
Qazana Show Car

The star of the Nissan stand will be Qazana, a show car providing a good indication of the, as yet unnamed, compact car that will be produced at the Nissan Sunderland plant from 2010, safeguarding around 1,100 jobs.
Best described as a small Crossover, Qazana has been conceived to challenge conventional wisdom about what buyers of small five-door cars should expect.

The striking design is dominated by large, wide wheel arches and a lower shape which gives a feeling of strength, while the upper body is dynamic, assertive and sporty. Qazana is a five-door, with the rear doors opening forwards once the front doors have been opened, in the style of ‘suicide doors’.

Qazana will reinforce Nissan’s position as a Send through Y!M E-mail this
Nissan Qazana teaser Gallery: Nissan Qazana teaser
pioneer of Crossovers, building on the success of Qashqai and the recently introduced Qashqai+2.

Trial builds of the production car will begin in early 2010 before its introduction on the Micra/Note line. There it will take up manufacturing capacity created when production of the current version of Micra ends later that same year.

The new model has been designed and developed in the UK and represents around £57m of investment.

Its arrival takes the total investment by Nissan in the Sunderland plant to around £2.5b since 1984.

Trevor Mann, Nissan Senior Vice President for Manufacturing in Europe, commented: “The difficulties currently facing the car industry have been widely documented, and Nissan has not been immune. As a result we have had to make some difficult decisions, but the reason we have done so is to secure a long and positive future for the plant. Qazana points the way to that future and gives an indication of the unique and exciting car we will be producing in Sunderland next year.”

Mercedes-Benz Motorsports

Well, apparently Michael Schumacher’s neck injury is totally gone now and while he couldn’t make a comeback for Ferrari earlier this year, he is in good shape to race again in F1, this time for Mercedes GP. The new Mercedes team has also recently signed Malaysian oil company Petronas as the main sponsor for 2010 season. 40-year-old Schumi who has seven Drivers’ World Championships, 248 Grand Prix starts, 91 victories, 154 podium finishes and 68 pole positions in his resume, used to be a Ferrari made man. But now he is going to do his best to beat the old team! Although it’s hard for Ferrari fans to accept this, but it is really fantastic to have the best driver ever back on track. Good Luck big Schu!

Official Statements:

Michael Schumacher: “MERCEDES GP PETRONAS represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context. It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme. I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula 1 World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula 1 career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star.”

Nico Rosberg: “It is fantastic that Michael is returning to Formula One and will be my team-mate at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. It’s a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time. I’m sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed! It is also great news for our sport and the fans.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS: “I am delighted that we can confirm today that Michael will make his much-anticipated return to Formula One next year and drive for ourMERCEDES GP PETRONAS team. As seven- time World Champion, Michael’s outstanding record in Formula One speaks for itself and I am looking forward to working with him again. With the completion of our driver line-up, I believe that we now have the most exciting partnership in Formula One with Michael and Nico, who provide the perfect mix of talent, experience, speed and youth. We can now turn our full attention to the preparations for the new season and everyone atMERCEDES GP PETRONAS is extremely excited about the challenge ahead. With the investment and support in our team provided by Daimler, Aabar and our new title partner Petronas, and with two such exciting drivers, we have all of the building blocks in place to have another successful season in 2010.”

Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports: “In April 1991, when I had been in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport programme for just six months, Michael was standing beside me on the balcony one evening. Without the slightest doubt, he said in a low voice: “It’s about time that I got intoFormula 1″. Michael had just turned 22 years of age and four months later, he made his debut at Spa in a Jordan. Mercedes-Benz helped him to this point and the rest is history: seven World Championship titles, more than any racing driver, 91 Grand Prix wins, more than any racing driver. Michael has more of everything than every other driver. As part of theMercedes Junior Programme, Michael had raced in Group C sports cars and competed in a few DTM races. Ross Brawn, then our opponent at Jaguar, quickly realised Michael’s talent and they went on to win all seven of his Drivers’World Championship titles together at Benetton and Ferrari. Our sporting ambition has always been that Michael should drive again where his professional career had started and Michael knew that. We often joked about it after the races and discussed the prospect seriouslyseveral times during the last 14 years in Formula 1. It didn’t happen in 1995, it didn’t happen in 1998 and it didn’t happen in 2005. I am delighted that it will now happen in 2010. I am very much looking forward to working with Michael and everybody at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler extends a very warm welcome to our ‘apprentice’ of 19 years ago. That apprentice is now the most successful racing driver of all time.”

General Motors introduced the all-new GT2 class Corvette C6.R

Corvette C6.R GT2 - Click above for high-res image gallery

Back in August when General Motors introduced the all-new GT2 class Corvette C6.R, it ran downsized 6.0-liter version of the 7.0-liter V8 from the long-dominant GT1 car. At the launch, Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan told us the 6.0-liter was just an interim engine. With revised GT rules on tap for 2010, GM was already planning a brand-new engine for its race Vette.

Unlike the 6.0/7.0, which is a ground-up race engine that only shares basic architectural dimensions with the production small block, the 2010 C6.R's V8 is a new 5.5-liter unit that will indeed be derived from the production engine found in roadgoing Corvettes. In fact, the 5.5-liter race engine will be built at GM's Performance Build Center alongside ZR1 and Z06 V8s.

Fehan has confirmed that the 5.5 is running on the dyno and will make its race debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March. We don't have any additional details on the new engine yet, although we were told earlier that it is based on the next-generation production small-block, which we expect to see in the Corvette soon.

Mid-Ohio 2010: Corvette GT2 racing

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Honda Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT)

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You can always rely on the Japanese car makers to invent the craziest names. Honda didn’t disappoint at the 2009 Los Angeles auto show, with the new P-Nut concept car. That stands for Personal-Neo Urban Transport, in case you were wondering.

It’s quite a different kettle of fish (bag of nuts?) from last year’s striking supercar hybrid concept car shown a year ago almost to the day. The P-Nut is an urban weapon, with a 2+1 seating layout for a compact shape and a McLaren-esque central driving position.

It’s also rear-engined, to help with the miniaturised packaging, says Honda. The concept was designed in the company’s advanced design studio in the US, whose director Dave Marek said: ‘The P-Nut concept explores the packaging and design potential for a vehicle conceived exclusively around the city lifestyle.’

So no need for any motorway cruising ability then?

Exactly. Honda says the footprint of the P-Nut is similar to a city car: it’s a scant 3400mm long, 1750mm wide and 1439mm tall.

Although there is seating for three, you can fold away the two rear outboard seats to increase boot space when travelling one-up.

Honda P-Nut: the engineering bit

Although Honda hasn’t specified an exact powertrain (ie this concept car is in make-believe land), it suggests that the P-Nut could use an internal combustion engine, hybrid-electric power or a pure battery EV solution.

We reckon they should stick an engine in fast. This thing is rear-engined and rear drive. And we all know that the best Hondas of recent years, the NSX and S2000, all drove the back axle not the front. Game on, Honda.

Nissan Qazana will bring new era of design, love it or hate it reaction

2012 Nissan Qazana – Click above for high-res image gallery

By this point in the year it's not as easy to find worthy entries for Understatement of the Year – there is just so much competition – but a comment made about the Nissan Qazana certainly qualifies: a Nissan insider told UK-based Autocar that the gelatinous crossover "will split opinion."

And not only will you get your chance to buy one in 2012, statements by Nissan indicate that you'll have your chance to buy other cars that also look like it. Nissan's customer research appears to have also given the company every reason for believing "it will be a success," and that this will give the brand "a more attractive and emotional appeal in the future."

Nissan hasn't said what Qazana design features might be seen on other cars, and we don't know if we're ready to even think about that possibility. Europeans have three years to get ready for it, and we in the States have that time to prepare for an Altima that looks like Admiral Ackbar.

Geneva 2009: Nissan Qazana

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