Sneaky look at New Nissan Maxima

Company PR types did something bordering on unprecedented for Nissan’s mammoth "360" test drive event in California late last month. 

During a press briefing at an abandoned air force base, several half-lit teaser images of a previously unseen concept car were flashed across the screen before the gathered press knew what they were looking at. Those scribes with camera lenses trained on the screen and trigger fingers ready were able to snap half blurry pictures of a silhouette with free-flowing curves and a GT-R like roof-line.

But other details, like the grille and wheels were draped in shadows and difficult to make out. What could this be?

Now, through the magic of investigative journalism and some educated guessing, our artist has been able to fill in the blanks to bring you this ‘almost-perfect’ image of a car that will debut at next January’s Detroit Auto Show.

Nissan said nothing about the concept’s name, powertrain or other specs. Real cloak and dagger stuff. All their bosses would say is that we can expect to see it next January. For Japan’s second biggest carmaker to reveal details of a concept car five months before its debut is very unusual. Perhaps it’s one way of elevating anticipation levels in the marketplace while allowing the public to "get more familiar" with the company’s future design language.

Okay let’s just get it out. This concept will become the next generation Maxima.

It just so happens that our sources had actually come across juicy details of a new stylish sedan a few weeks before Nissan’s unprecedented ‘preview’ in California. So it did not take much to put two and two together and work out we were looking at the new Maxima. 

Penned with a highly stylised 4-door coupe look, a slanting roof-line that resembles the GT-R R35, a Nissan Z-influenced headlight design, a C-pillar that borrows inspiration from Renault’s design studio and a new V-signature Nissan grille, this concept appears to be a generous amalgamation of the very best design that the Nissan-Renault-Infiniti alliance has to offer. Apart from that chunky grille, which appears a little clumsy with its multitude of angles going every which way, we feel that Nissan’s new flagship doesn’t look half bad.

This sedan fits neatly into the E segment, boasting dimensions similar to the Infiniti Q70. Set to be Nissan’s next generation flagship model, the new Maxima is based on Nissan’s new Common Model Family (CMF) platform and incorporates a front-drive powertrain. 

It will be powered by a choice of powerplants that includes a 3.7 litre V6, a 2.5 litre supercharged hybrid and our source tells us that a diesel is also on the table. Slated for a 2015 launch in the US, we expect to see the sedan in Australian showrooms soon after that.

Now while this concept will morph into the next Maxima within two years, we should remind our readers of Nissan’s current policy of phasing out certain models and merging into others with different names to streamline the brand’s lineup. For example, the Altima sold in the US is named Teana in China, while the Tiida in China is referred to as the Pulsar in Australia and ASEAN countries.

In Nissan’s "Power 88" mid-term plan announced in 2011, CEO Carlos Ghosn said that the company would unveil an average of one new car every six weeks until 2016, which means that by the time the plan expires, Nissan would have launched 66 new cars globally. And if a large percentage of them employ similar design traits to this new Maxima, then we may have something to look forward to from Nissan’s expanding global lineup.

Picture courtesy Holiday Auto

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