New Nissan Micra previewed as a wicked little EV racer

While the name isn’t emblazoned anywhere on the car, you’re surely looking at the pumped-up preview of Nissan’s next miniature hatchback.

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👆 This is the Nissan 20-23 concept, developed ostensibly to celebrate 20 years of Nissan’s European design office in the heart of London – just with a sneaky ulterior motive of signposting us towards a future electric production car, too.

Nissan also used the event to lay down its EV intent – all new models introduced in Europe will be fully electric from this point forward.

"There’s no going back," affirmed Nissan boss Makoto Uchida. "The world needs to move on from internal combustion engines."

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Click any photo in this story to see our full Nissan 20-23 gallery

Could this really end up as a Micra?

The new Renault 5 will sit upon the same ‘CMF-BEV’ platform – as will its Alpine A290 relative – and the styling cues of both this concept and a production version already previewed by Nissan clearly riff off Micras of yore, those cutesy round front lamps in particular. Nissan’s design chief Alfonso Albaisa also cites JDM specials such as the Pao, Figaro and S-Cargo as influences.

But he’s adamant there’s aggression, too, and who are we to argue when the wheel arches are so muscular? They’re even functional, with airflow directed through from the front skirts to cool the brakes, while a small roof scoop sets an almost-convincing motorsport ambience.

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Is the 20-23 concept as racy as it looks?

Sadly, actual mechanical details are conspicuous in their absence. For now it’s all about the aesthetic, with the younger folk of Nissan Design Europe let loose to sketch their dream car for tackling London streets in.

The result is a car with a strong gaming influence, while the scissor doors are a pure concept car flight of fancy. Much like the interior, whose deep bucket seats and button-festooned rectangular wheel help provide a link to Nissan’s Formula E programme.

All told, the 20-23 is another bold design that proves Nissan doesn’t really believe in a homogeneously styled range.

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"There are so many different characters in the world, so why should our cars all look alike?" Albaisa told us. "I’d rather not have the same headlight running through my entire range."

He also reckons AI is a big helper when it comes to sketching new cars – not a hindrance with an eye for his job.

"It allows me to pick up a pencil again and be more creative. It amplifies each of us in the team. It can give you ten different versions of your own idea which you can then curate, spitting out something you can rebel against or run with."

What might the production version look like?

Nissan has already teased the styling (linked above), while projected specs for the related Renault 5 suggest a 100kW motor will sit at the front wheels, paired with 40 or 52kWh batteries for up to 400km of range. And all for a 20-25,000 euro price in its homeland ($33-41k) to make the 5 one of the cheapest new EVs on sale.

Nissan ought to have a lead on many of its rivals, having sold mainstream EVs for well over a decade – its electric car sales have now topped one million – and the company is bullish on its targets for significantly cutting the cost of lithium-ion batteries in the lead-up to producing a solid-state alternative by 2028.

It’s introducing 19 new EVs by the end of this decade, too. If any of them look as rambunctious as this little concept, we’ll be delighted.