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Jay Leno had the chance to take a look at the Nissan IDx NISMO Concept, which is a great Nissan concept car that pays homage to the Datsun three-box cars of the late 1960s and early 1970s. There to discuss the car with Leno was Nissan Creative Design Manager, Giovanni Arroba, who shed some light on the heritage of the car and Nissan’s approach to the design. Based on a classic front-engine, rear-wheel drive car in a three-box style, the Nissan IDx NISMO Concept reflects Nissan’s cars of the 1970s, like the 1971 Datsun 510 that is also seen in the segment.
Although the concept car isn’t production ready, the pair take the car out for a drive. Under the hood is a Nissan 1.6-liter direct-injected turbocharged engine, connected to a CVT which offers a 6-speed manual mode with rev synchronization. That is similar to the setup on the current Nissan Juke.
[95octane]