Indeed, Nissan took the wildest, coolest virtual concept from over a year ago and built a real version of it. This is the Max-Out roadster concept, and it looks just as striking, if not more, in the real world.
It’s almost identical, keeping its retro-futuristic lighting grid pattern and wedge-shaped Y-shape. The wheel arches also have a gridded look, but are rounded, reminiscent of the tunnels that extend from the wheels into the interior of the car. Aside from the slatted headlights buried in the rectangular air intakes, the car doesn’t have much to do with modern Nissan design. The air intake exits the hood, presumably for aerodynamic purposes. Interestingly, the car is shown as left-hand drive.
Through a virtual presentation, Nissan said the Max-Out will be light-duty and all-wheel drive. It seems likely that any production model will use versions of the motor and battery used in the Ariya, as the technology was proposed for other virtual concepts.
So what does it mean for Nissan to build a physical version of the Max-Out? Well, it’s hard to say. The car will be showcased at a Nissan press conference titled “Nissan Future,” which will cover Nissan’s green technologies and focus group discussions. This seems to be mostly for an interesting display of activity. It’s entirely possible that they just wanted to pick the fanciest designs.
The Pollyanna side of us wants to think about the buzz about the car and Nissan wants to gain public opinion to build a case for it. Additionally, the design is also thought to be an idea Nissan could create for its larger electric plans. But we know sports cars are a tough segment, and we haven’t forgotten about being let down by the Nissan IDx. So this seems unlikely. Still, if any Nissan execs are reading, we want to make it clear we want this funky electric sports car.
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