Nissan URGE XBox concept car is ready

BY A CORRESPONDENT
30th December 2005

Nissan plans to unveil Nissan URGE, a concept car fitted with an XBox console at the Detroit Auto Show next month. The Nissan XBox car will have a built-in XBox 360, where you can play Project Gotham while the Nissan is in park mode.

The XBox Nissan will have a drop-down seven-inch LCD screen. The controls of the car, including the steering wheel, gas and brake pedals can be used to the drive the virtual cars of Project Gotham. The XBox system in Nissan URGE does not work until the car in parking mode. Playing Project Gotham, a Nissan URGE driver can drive the virtual Lamborghinis and Ferraris through New York, London, Tokyo and Las Vegas. The game's audio is played through the Nissan's audio system.

Nissan decided to develop the concept car after surveys indicated that youngsters are keen play computer games in cars. Nissan surveyed 2000 young men before tapping Microsoft to develop the XBox-fitted Nissan URGE. According to Bruce Campbell, vice president, design, Nissan Design, "most of the young, primarily male, respondents to our survey said that they want a small, fun-to-drive sports car that can incorporate the technology products that they use on a daily basis, such as cell phones, mp3 players and game consoles.”

However, the three-seater Nissan URGE will be a concept model. Most concept cars are not mass-produced and more experimental in nature.

The XBox Nissan URGE has turned some of the bad publicity away from Microsoft, which has been facing fire due to short supply of the gaming console XBox360 released in 2005.

The Nissan URGE will be under 2400 pounds in weight - underweight for a car of its features. It will have a front-engine, rear-wheel drive. Rather than having oodles of horsepower and top-end acceleration, the car is focuses more on being a quick-footer, agile machine.

Nissan URGE will have the same wheelbase as the popular Nissan 350Z, but the body is a full 16 inches shorter. It has a manual, sequential style gearbox like a motorcycle, and sport narrow Michelin tyres. The bare exterior of the Nissan URGE is designed to look more like a motorcycle.

Some of the controls in the XBox Nissan URGE can be operated by the driver's mobile phone. There is a third seat hidden between the driver and the passenger, which can be activated by a cellphone.

The XBox Nissan URGE is a maze of high-tech gadgetry. There is an F1 style steering column, a driver's information screen and docking points for the cellphone and an MP3 player. Other features in the Nissan URGE include racing style seats, aluminium consoles, durable rubber flooring and visible passenger side airbags.

BY A CORRESPONDENT