“She’s between 30 and 40 years old,” the designer revealed. “She’s always respected the sedan, but she might be one that has a crossover or something else. The sedan has a value, but she thinks the sedan has become boring.”Shiro Nakamura, Nissan senior vice president and chief creative officer (the main man in charge of all Nissan/Infiniti design), agrees. “Nissan crossovers are expressive. We’re trying to bring expression to the sedan.”

Under Nakamura-san’s guidance, everything also adheres to the “Spirit of Iki”. “Iki is the traditional Japanese way of expression,” he said. “(It is) fashionable, but not too showy. It has been used for over 500 years in Tokyo — mainly for common people.”With that entire mindset, the automaker’s design houses in Kanagawa, Japan and San Diego, California collaborated to create the Ellure concept you see here.

Although completely fresh, its modern physique remains distinctly Nissan with broad elements, strong shoulders, and well-hidden traits derived from Japanese culture. The tension, release, and interception of dynamic shapes plays a key role in the styling philosophy, too.Crystalline LED lights are one trait designers employed to express a new emotion. Kinked, boomerang-shaped headlights look futuristic in a Tron sort of way and are matched with equally chiseled and drastically kinked LED taillights.

In between both lamps sets resides a family of character lines. Long, curvaceous lateral forms emanate from the front grille (which is inspired by samurai wardrobe or kamishimo) and slice (no pun intended) right below the slim windows. A blacked-out b-pillar gives a sense of spaciousness and additional vehicle length, while the centralized door handles hint at the creative “suicide door” application.