Nissan's new models and concepts
At the 2005 Tokyo motor show

Motion Trends,
15th October 2005.

Nissan's Pivo concept car explores further potential for future electric vehicles, starting from its cabin that revolves 360 degrees. No need to reverse!

An easy-to-maneuver compact body, excellent visibility in Nissan’s Around View technology and navigation and audio systems that are simple to operate while driving. These features are supported by Nissan’s environment-friendly technologies such as the Compact Lithium-ion Battery.

Obviously, Pivo is an urban car par excellence. It can pass oncoming traffic even on the narrowest streets as it can find its parking space in the tightest of spots. It seats three passengers despite an overall length of just 2,700 mm - roughly the wheelbase of an upper medium, D-segment passenger car.

The driver sits front and center with two passengers side-by-side in the rear. Tall, electrically-powered sliding doors make it easy to get in and out. With Pivo, there’s no going back for parking; the entire cabin pivots – as the concept’s name suggests.

This ability to park while always looking forward is enabled by Nissan's advanced drive-by-wire technologies that preclude the need for mechanical connections between cabin and chassis.

Easy to operate with no hidden dangers or distractions, Pivo manages the flow with a host of telematics features that deliver the right information at the right time. The driver can control the information flow without taking the eyes off the road. What’s more, visibility is enhanced by see-through pillars, Nissan's Around View Monitor and other innovations that reduce blind spots.

Front and rear lamps feature a clear, clean-looking design. The exterior even features oval recesses both front and rear that are covered with soft materials – comfy places to sit outside when Pivo is parked. You find the same thoughtfulness in a soft, organic interior that extends from the center of the revolving egg-shaped cabin, which is the Pivo's most unique feature.

Because the platform has a longitudinally symmetrical design, the driver's perception of the car's corners does not change even when the cabin is rotated 180 degrees. 

Technologies - Pivo is powered by a Nissan-developed high-performance Compact Lithium-ion Battery and Nissan’s unique Super Motor. The result is zero emissions.

The electric powertrain enables a highly compact body. Nissan’s Compact Lithium-ion Battery – which, being flat, requires much less space than conventional cylindrical cells – to achieve remarkable packaging efficiency.

Even more space and weight savings are achieved with Nissan’s Super Motor. One Super Motor on each axle delivers power to two shafts, each of which can be controlled independently. This allows efficient distribution of torque to all four wheels with two (not four) electric motors.

Pivo's unique revolving cabin is just one of the myriad possibilities enabled by Nissan’s multiple drive-by-wire technologies. These include steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire and shift-by-wire systems that replace mechanical linkages with electronic signals.

By eliminating the need for mechanical links between cabin and chassis, designers were able to create the unique pivoting passenger compartment.

Drive-by-wire technologies afford even more flexibility inside the cabin as the layout of steering, braking and other functions is no longer governed by mechanical linkages. Even better, drive-by-wire systems mean less weight and fewer mechanical parts.

See-through pillars and Nissan’s Around View Monitor helps to reduce dangerous blind spots. Cameras mounted on the outside of each A-pillar feed an accurate image of the surroundings to screens mounted on the inside of the pillar.

The net effect is pillars that become virtual windows. The Around View Monitor meanwhile generates a 360-degree view of the car’s surroundings on a dashboard monitor. Cameras positioned front and rear on both sides of the car capture images of the surroundings. An innovative image processing technique synthesizes these images into a single bird’s-eye view.

A dash-mounted infrared (IR) commander allows drivers to operate the navigation system and audio system without taking an eye off the road or fumbling around for controls. It’s a new type of human-machine interface (HMI) that uses an infrared camera and Nissan’s "Magic 4" concept. You simply point fingers at the infared commander to choose from any of four items on a menu. If you want item number three, hold up three fingers. Or, for example, if you want the music louder, just motion upwards with your hand.

Thanks to Nissan's Horizontal Display there is even less need to take an eye off the road – because information is displayed along the bottom of the windshield. This system, first featured in the Serenity concept shown at the Tokyo Motor Show two years ago, displays information in the manner of movie subtitles. This innovative display system supports Nissan's future telematics interface concept.

For example, in “City Browsing mode,” the system can display information transmitted live from nearby locations.

What’s that building up ahead? City Browsing labels it.

What does the future have in store? Pivo points the way.