Nissan Reveals Fuel-Cell Concept SUV at Paris Show

PARIS – Nissan moves beyond battery-electric cars with the TeRRA, a concept hydrogen-fuel-cell SUV with fully electric 4-wheel traction.

A motor borrowed from the Nissan Leaf’s electric-propulsion system drives the front wheels, while the rear wheels are driven by in-wheel electric motors.

The TeRRA’s interior features beechwood highlights and offset rear seats that give all passengers a view through the windshield.

“Zero-emission can be exciting,” Shiro Nakamura, senior vice-president and head of Nissan design, says here.

Tatsuya Shiosaki, product planner for both the TeRRA and the little Pivo 3 city-car concept, says he wanted the SUV to offer a home-like, modern atmosphere, and the interior wood paneling was created by a Japanese furniture maker.

The SUV is the kind of vehicle that could be made once the powertrain is viable, but the Pivo’s future is less sure.

“Executives have many ideas,” Shiosaki says, alluding to the many questions about the potential business case of a city car with four steerable wheels, allowing maneuvers like 180-degree turns in its own length.

Shiosaki is the father of the Pivo series, having planned all three versions so far. He says the 1+3 layout, with the driver in front and passengers behind, is a concept that needs another four or five years of development before production becomes more of a possibility.

Nissan also shows two matte-black Juke cross/utility vehicles with powerful sound systems in the rear trunk space to animate the display stand and emphasize the vehicle’s youthful image.