Nissan teases new Micra with jaw-dropping concept

Commissioned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nissan’s London design studio, the 20-23 concept offers a tantalising taste of the next EV Micra.

With previous iterations of the Micra bearing a striking resemblance to frogs, it’s fair to say it has never been the last word in style, performance, or let’s be honest here, cool.  

That’s why we nearly spat out our coffee when we first clapped eyes on the new 20-23 concept. Wow, it’s a looker.  

Penned by NDE (Nissan Design Europe) the 20-23 was created with a simple brief in mind: ‘Design a car - with no constraints - which they would like to drive on the streets of the city where they work.’ 

But hang on a minute, that looks a bit like the recently previewed Alpine A290 EV hot hatch? That’s because both cars actually share the same CMF-BEV platform. That means the Nissan will also be a fully-electric vehicle – likely utilising the same 268bhp motor in its fastest guise.

The far sportier design is likely a calculated move to shift the Micra upmarket, and this would make strong business sense as electric vehicles are still more expensive to produce than their ICE counterparts. 

Nissan says the styling isn’t all aggressive, though. The head and taillights apparently suggest a “soft smile.” Although we think it’s probably more of a smirk, as this Micra knows how much cooler it is than its grocery-getting ancestors. 

While it’s not yet clear which tyres Nissan will choose to spec on the new Micra, it would be logical to surmise that it might use the high-performance Michelin Pilot Sport EV rubber of its Alpine A290 sister model. Afterall, with looks like those, it’s likely to pack a punch, so it will need superb traction at all four corners.  

But there is one obvious underlying question in all this scissor-doored madness: is this the real world, or is this just fantasy? Well, we aren’t sure. If it’s anything like previous concepts then you can expect the production car to borrow many of the major design cues, and water-down some of the more eccentric inclusions to comply with various regulations and laws.  

We can’t wait to see what Honda’s new jet-powered- Jazz is going to look like. Only kidding, but if this Micra concept sets the new standard for superminis, then who knows?  

Hero image credit:  Nissan