Frankfurt LIVE: Nissan Gripz concept
The Gripz is Nissan\'s vision of a sporty crossover.
Nissan has unveiled its sporty Gripz crossover concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Nissan says the Gripz was inspired by the company's iconic 240Z sports car from the 1970s.
Designed by teams in Europe and Japan, the Gripz is Nissan's vision of what a future sporty compact crossover might look like. About an inch shorter than the Nissan Juke, the Gripz marries the body of a sporty coupe with the high-ride of a traditional utility vehicle. Nissan says it used its Safari Rally-winning 240Z as inspiration for the Gripz.
The front end of the Gripz features Nissan's signature V-motion grille and boomerang-shaped headlights. Embedded within those front lamps are cameras that can record and even live stream the view ahead.
In profile the Gripz is more coupe than crossover thanks to a sharply-raked rear hatch inspired by the Z. Helping with its sporty vibe, the Gripz features a pair of reverse-opening half rear doors, similar to the setup used on the Mazda RX-8.
The rear of the Gripz gets a set of boomerang-shaped taillamp that mimic the car's front lights, a ducktail spoiler and a pair of exhaust outlets. The Gripz rides on a set of three-spoke 22-inch wheels shod in rubber specially designed by Bridgestone.
Inside the four-seater Gripz features an interior inspired by racing bicycles. As a result the Gripz has plenty of exposed tubes and thinly-padded bucket seats.
The Gripz concept is powered by Nissan's Pure Drive e-Power hybrid drive system. Consisting of a gas engine and the same electric motor found in the Nissan Leaf, Nissan says the Gripz is good for 107 horsepower and 187 lb-ft of torque. Nissan didn't breach the topic of drive wheels, but with a name like Gripz, it's assumed that the concept is all-wheel drive.
Nissan says the Gripz was not designed as a replacement for the current Juke, but we'd wager several of the concept's design cues will make it into Nissan's next-generation small SUV.
Live images by Ronan Glon.
