Filed under: Concept Cars, Time Warp, Euro, Nissan
Design student dreams up a Datsun revival
Ever since the Datsun nameplate gave way to Nissan, some fans have wanted it back. The "Nissan 510" just doesn't have the same ring. Design student Benjamin Nawka agrees, and as his thesis project at Pforzheim University in Germany, he created the Datsun XLink as a way to fulfill unrequited Datsun-lover dreams.
Just as fantastic as the idea of the Datsun name coming back are the myriad of details the designer conjured up for his concept. Working at Nissan's Yulon Design Center in Taiwan, the Datsun of Dreams was given winglets for an aircraft touch, a coupe-like shape that conceals a four-place interior, a party animal nav system that's always on the lookout for things that might entertain you, and a two-mode diesel hybrid drivetrain spinning the wheels on a height adjustable chassis that's a nod to traveling on less-developed roads -- it is a "world car" afterall. While Nissan offered support for this design, we wouldn't get our hopes up for any actual return of the Datsun name, though this is the company that offered factory-restored Z-Cars back in the 1990s, so stranger things have happened.
Gallery: Nissan XLink
[Source: Car Body Design]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Nick 8:14PM (7/30/2008)
I couldn't care less if the Datsun plate was revived, but I suppose if it were, it could be handled as a youth-oriented offshoot brand like Scion is for Toyota, only focused more on cheap performance. A new Silvia/SX, a 510, and maybe a Fairlady/1500-style roadster (though that might not be brilliant as Mazda has that segment all but sewn up).
Regardless of all that, I recall when Nissan offered those factory-restored Z-cars a while back, and I would love to see that happen again, maybe for the 510 this time around. Lord knows there are more than enough 510s out there that need some love and attention, and perhaps Nissan could inject some modernization into them to prevent future cancerous rust this time around.
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Lad 1:00AM (7/31/2008)
I have a '70 240z for the street and a '73 with a turbo for the track; blows a lot of the new "nanny machines" into the weeds. If you find one in good shape, they get about 25mpg BTW, you better buy it because most of them are rusted away.
FSM 8:15PM (7/30/2008)
My first car was a 1981 Datsun station wagon. This car could definitely revive my love for Datsun.
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Mr K 8:26PM (7/30/2008)
I'd love to see something like this hit the market - sooner than later.
I remember the classic Datsun 120y ... that was a brilliant car & they really should look to revive the Datsun brand around that funky, younger person car.
This concept - looks great & I'd buy it - sadly it'd looking nothing like this when/if it ever went into production
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El Norte 9:23PM (7/30/2008)
"I remember the classic Datsun 120y ... that was a brilliant car & they really should look to revive the Datsun brand around that funky, younger person car."
Brilliant? Yikes... you must salivate at the other atrocious humpbacks that populated the roads in the mid seventies. These were cheap cars for the punter class and nothing more. Fond memories are revisionist, at best.
Mr K 1:14AM (7/31/2008)
okay maybe I should rephrase .. they were brilliant to drive on gravel roads and basically hammer the crap out of :)
Brilliant car for young teenagers in rural areas ... and so easy to tinker with etc.
Nick 2:13AM (7/31/2008)
You do realize those are renderings, and nothing actually had the crap hammered out of it, right? As for it being easy to "tinker" with, how do you figure a 2-mode hybrid diesel fits into that description? The thing will likely be hidden under so much plastic and overlapping design that it will be next to impossible to service yourself short of owning a hydraulic lift and 20 pounds of manuals with a degree in computer science. Great for rural kids...Right.
wagonphile 10:29AM (7/31/2008)
Nick: El Norte was speaking of the 120, not the new rendering. Nothing these days is fun or easy to "tinker with", and I'm not sure many cars withstand much of a beating (beyond maybe a truck or Wrangler) due to the fact that they are now engineered to fold up rather than withstand impact.
I'd love to see the Datsun name revived for an entry level brand of Nissan. A new Fairlady (baby Z), 510 (decontented 4-banger G35?) and 2000 roadster (Miata fighter) would be welcome entries into the market.
Nick 3:25PM (7/31/2008)
Yeah my mistake. My reading comprehension last night obviously failed hard, and I apologize.
MajorGeek 8:36PM (7/30/2008)
While this design would change a lot, if it ever came to market, IMHO the designer is brilliant. You have a great design with over the top aspects all over it. This is where great looking cars come from. For example, remember when Dodge first showed the Viper to the public? It was 1989, you know K car time. The Viper had no top, side exhaust, huge cuts in the sides, gigantic tires, ridiculous sized motor for the time and more, or to quote Edmunds
"sleek, ludicrously impractical, blatantly provocative and ridiculously fast "
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/MediaNav/articleId=119146/firstNav=Gallery/photoId=34787
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A.N.E. 9:07PM (7/30/2008)
Yuck.
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Franz 9:29PM (7/30/2008)
I think it would be cool if they revived the Datsun nameplate, and marketed it pretty much like Toyota did with the Scion brand. They could keep the lineup fun & cheap, and brought back classic nameplates like the 510 & the 1500-2000 Roadster. I'll always have a thing for old Datsuns. Way back when, my dad used to have a 100A sedan and a 510, and I've always wanted a 510 and a Z for myself. I want too many cars though...
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Alfredo Hernandez 9:49PM (7/30/2008)
the back of this car looks just like the genesis coupe.
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geo.stewart 9:54PM (7/30/2008)
I thought Dodge or Pontiac did this car several years ago. Rageous or something?
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Casper 10:20PM (7/30/2008)
I echo Nick's comments that reviving the Datsun name would inject some youthful authenticity into the Nissan range quite well.
As for this particular design. I'll pass. It looks far too French to be considered a Datsun. I know Nissan and Renault are in the sack with each other but this is the kind of design I'd expect from Renault or PSA.
For a Datsun revival it'd need to also reference the 70's designs or really forge out something new all together.
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Nick 11:20PM (7/30/2008)
Glad to see I'm not alone in thinking that about the Datsun=Scion relationship.
As for this "concept", something I completely forgot to comment on in my original post, I too think it looks like something that should have rolled out of Renault's or Peugeot's design studio. There is definitely nothing "Nissan" about it, or for that matter, -positively- nothing "Datsun" about it, either.
A big, chunky, futuristic looking CUV-style vehicle is about as un-Datsun as you could get, next to a full-on SUV or minivan. If the Datsun name is to be revived, it would definitely have to draw on the great vehicles that have worn the badge in the past, such as the Fairlady, 510, and the 240Z. Note that all of those are small, sporty, and no-frills vehicles, rather than some bloated option-heavy beast that this thing looks to be.
J M C 3 10:29PM (7/30/2008)
Some of these student designers need to hear the truth about their horrible designs instead of being coddled.
Ultimately a solid critique would be the best thing a friend or instructor could do.
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hydrogenvodka 11:20PM (7/30/2008)
What? Some haters should start studying or reading from time to time. This, I think, has a new proposition to be heard and taken seriously.
There's always some unconfort when adapting to new design languages. I think we shall overcome it.
J M C 3 3:08AM (7/31/2008)
Hate?Wah,wah.
I'd hate to be a back seat passenger in this four door coupe.
So that's the first glaring mistake.
No headroom (forget that,no room)at all.That ,to me indicates a basic lack of understanding.It's really a two seater
As a two seater It's wheelbase is also way too long,unless it's mid-engine.
The hood is too high to see out of.
The rear winglets are blind spots.
The front end esthetic is also awful.Because it has a big black bumper as a focal point.No grill?
Anyway.that's just a real world critique
s13hybrid 9:49AM (7/31/2008)
I have to agree with J M C 3. This concept, although it may look cool on paper, is so far fetched that there is no reason to even get excited about it. It will never see the light of day in this form, there are so many things that would need to be changed in order for it to be driveable. I mean I can draw up something that looks cool on paper, but will never be real, so who cares.
The only thing I can take seriously about this design is the revival of the datsun nameplate. Which (like said before) would be a great competition for Scion, and something Nissan needs (they lack a fun small car, or any cheap sports coupes).