The Nissan Hyper Punk is easily the edgiest of four EV concepts the automaker will formally reveal at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo next week. The body looks like it emerged from an origami studio. But the Hyper Punk concept could easily find a fit in Japanese manga – or, as it turns out, the Fortnite online game.
The Nissan Hyper Punk concept gets its own manga character, Yuki.
With the Japan Mobility Show coming up fast, Nissan has dropped images about the fourth and last of the edgy EV concepts set to make their debut in Tokyo next week – and as the name might suggest, the Nissan Hyper Punk looks like it might have been driven off the set of the sci-fi classic, Blade Runner.
Like much of the art and design that’s emerged from the punk world, elements of the Hyper Punk concept can be both compelling and a bit disorienting – notably the triangular, LED-lighted covers over the show car’s 23-inch wheels.
“Next-generation crossover”
All creases and folds, down to the scissor-style doors, Hyper Punk looks like it was designed in an origami studio and destined to land in the latest Japanese anime series. The automaker even designed a manga character, dubbed Yuki, to help show it off.
With its scissor doors, triangular wheel covers and sharp creases, Hyper Car could have rolled out of an origami studio.
“Offering seamless connections between the virtual/physical and the inside/outside worlds, the Nissan Hyper Punk next-generation crossover inspires self-expression in all worlds,” Nissan said in a news release accompanying these images.
The crisp exterior edges of the Nissan show car make Tesla’s angular Cybertruck seem almost uninspired. The origami-inspired shapes carry over into Hyper Punk’s surprisingly roomy interior where, says Nissan art and the real world fuse together.
Targeting creators, influencers and artists
Hyper Punk is “tailored for content creators, influencers, artists, and those who embrace style and innovation,” Nissan explains, adding that it is envisioned to be a “mobile creative studio” capable of linking up with occupants’ “creative equipment.”
Inside-out. Nissan Hyper Car’s exterior cameras use AI to create interior scenes.
Cameras on the show car’s exterior can capture images which Hyper Car’s AI technology will “to convert to manga-style scenery or graphic patterns according to the owner’s preferences. The imagery can then be projected on a three-screen display arranged around the driver in the cockpit, creating a space where reality and the world of the metaverse are fused together.”
Like the Nissan Hyper Tourer concept, Hyper Punk features biosensors in its headrest to “detect the driver’s mood.” The data the system gathered then can be used to automatically adjust the cabin’s ambient lighting and music “boosting the driver’s energy and creativity.”
Ready for Fortnite
Like the three other Nissan concept cars, Hyper Car uses an all-electric drivetrain with V2X capabilities.
The automaker doesn’t say much about the drivetrain technology, other than noting the show car is an EV. But it does mention that Hyper Punk has V2X capabilities, meaning an owner can draw power from its battery pack, whether to power some of that “creative equipment,” power personal gear in the field, or even provide backup power at home in the event of a blackout.
Look for the Nissan Hyper Punk to debut October 25 at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo alongside three other EV concepts, Nissan Hyper Urban, Nissan Hyper Adventure, and Nissan Hyper Tourer. The automaker plans to tease that introduction with a 3D billboard at the main crosswalk in Tokyo’s edgy Shinjuku district, precisely the sort of place that conjures up the two Blade Runner movies.
After their introduction, meanwhile, all four Nissan concept vehicles will find their place in the online game, Fortnite.
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