Soon after releasing teaser images of the Gripz concept, Nissan has officially revealed the car at the Frankfurt motor show. Nissan has drawn inspiration from two main sources, the classic Datsun 240Z rally car that won the East African Safari Rally in 1971 and sports bicycles.
Stylistically, the Gripz concept incorporates a lot of Nissan’s latest design elements such as the V design under the badge on the front grille, and boomerang-shaped headlamps and tail-lights, also seen on the 370Z and the Juke. The carbon-fibre bonnet is a styling cue that seems to have been borrowed from the Datsun 240Z rally car. Along the flanks, the concept's silhouette is similar to the old 350Z's and the current 370Z, though the stance is more muscular now and it rides on 22-inch wheels. The concept trades the conventional wing mirrors for cameras mounted within the gill below the A-pillars. At the back, the car gets deep scallops in the body work and an unusual carbon-fibre element that incorporates a lip spoiler, another facet borrowed from the 240Z.
The Gripz concept features a B-pillar-less four-door layout with the front and rear doors opening in opposite directions. The cabin sees the use of carbon fibre, artificial leather and anodised or gloss-finish metal surfaces. The car features a simple rally-inspired three-spoke steering with bicycle-inspired graphics. The car gets a 2+2 layout with rear seats seemingly having been cut into a single-piece panel.
The Gripz concept is powered by a version of Nissan’s PureDrive Hybrid system, with a petrol motor acting as a range extender while electric motors power the four wheels. A production model to arise from the concept, though, would be based on Nissan’s forthcoming CMF AB platform – set to be used by the next Micra and Juke – and would get front-wheel or four-wheel-drive system, with a turbocharged petrol engine.
Philippe Klein, Nissan’s product planning chief, however, told our sister publication Autocar UK that the current 370Z was still a success in international markets and the company saw no urgency in launching a replacement.