FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7 June 1999
NISSAN TAKES BOLD STANCE WITH NEW PRIMERA
Over half of the £65 million design budget for Nissan’s striking new Primera has been spent on exterior looks, to create the most stylish interpretation of the model to date. Nissan designers felt anything less would fail to keep pace with European rivals.
UK-based Nissan designer David Godsell made sweeping changes to the Primera body shape to create an impressive contemporary design. This is the first time the Primera’s metal has been changed during its model life.
He explains: “We wanted to improve the stance of Primera, to further communicate the car’s sporting pedigree and also the image of assured quality which consumers perhaps associate more with some German models.
“The styling theme is ‘sporting elegance’. We have created a design which communicates confidence and power; wings bite down purposefully into the bumper section, distinctive clear lenses and xenon gas discharge lamps intensify a powerful expression and a seamless transition between bumper and wing gives Primera a tauter, leaner look.
“The leading edge of the chromed grille is notably upright. It flows through a confident, Nissan logo into a sculpted bonnet. The more aggressive grille design is carried through into the bumper and front wings. The tops of the headlamps now appear steeply raked away from the nose of the car.
“At the rear, the new Primera is now a more elegant car. The sportiness of the front is echoed with a new raised lip spoiler and similar, smooth-section bumpers which look as though they might have been carved from a solid block. The new look is emphasised by the three dimensional-style rear lamps, with red and black lenses hidden behind a smoked plastic cover.”
Underlining the high level of competition in the European car market, the new Primera will only be seen in Europe; the current model will continue to be sold in Japan with none of the European developed styling changes.
At Cranfield, Bedfordshire, the Nissan European Technology Centre (NETC) is a vital element of Nissan’s success in the UK and across Europe. The design and engineering staff develop vehicles to be built in the company’s manufacturing plants in Sunderland and Barcelona.
The first sketches of the new Primera emerged from NETC in November 1996, at about the same time as the current model was going on sale around Europe. A full size clay model was built in January 1997. The working prototype was finished by June. In total the project took 24 months to complete.
ends…
For more information please contact:
Stewart McKee Manager, Corporate Affairs 01923 899 934
e-mail stewart.mckee@nissan.co.uk
Andrew Roberts Manager, Product Affairs 01923 899 933
e-mail andrew.roberts@nissan.co.uk
Picture caption: UK-based designer David Godsell is responsible for the new Primera’s exterior looks.
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