These bizarre Nissan concepts will amaze you

Developing a car is difficult. It takes years of hard work and dedication to create a product for a certain market. Even worse, if it’s tailored to a specific niche, there’s no guarantee it will be a hit.

So to be a design student at the Nissan Automobile Technical College is a blessing. It gives you the freedom to explore ideas and bring to life your own concoction of a vehicle that likely won’t ever be produced. Case in point, what the hell could a Z sports car look like as a wagon? They hold the answer.

Z Lealia is actually a Nissan Stagea

The Z wagon, dubbed “Lealia,” is certain to draw the most attention at Tokyo Salon. It was created by fourth-year students at Nissan’s Kyoto campus, who described it as a "sports station wagon for family journeys."

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Lealia is based on a later-gen Nissan Stagea, with a mix of sculpted bodywork to bring it all together. The front bumper, headlights, and horizontal rear taillamps are from the current Nissan Z, while the rear overhang of the wagon is borrowed from a Nissan Leaf, hence the odd derriere.

Likewise, the interior sees a mix of Z and Stagea parts with dedicated yellow-and-black seats and surround trims. A finishing splash of Ikazuchi Yellow paint from the Z Proto gives Lealia some pop.

NEO Skyline is a Cyberpunk fantasy

At first glance, the vibrant blue concoction you see here seems to be a Dodge Challenger that’s shrunken in the wash. A closer look reveals that it’s actually based on the Nissan V35 Skyline, a car we know in the U.S. as the Infiniti G35. Also created by fourth-year students, Nissan fanatics will be quick to point out that it resembles a Skyline GT from the early 1970s, while the rear fenders seem to give a nod to the Fiat Coupe.

The NEO Skyline intends to connect the past and present, delivering a dose of nostalgia and synchronous excitement to young and old audiences. The result is a creation that looks like it could belong in a video game franchise.

Laying it all out

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The Nissan Bluebird — known to us as the first-gen Maxima — hides no such tricks. It’s not secretly based on a compact Infiniti or sneakily a station wagon with parts from a Skyline GT-R. Instead, the Bluebird Kiwami looks like it belongs in B-roll footage of Tokyo Drift.

Leading this rather remarkable project are third-year students studying auto body repair at Nissan’s Aichi campus. This design project is arguably the most likely to make  it into production.

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The widebody kit does most of the heavy lifting to improve aesthetics. It looks like a coupe until you realize that the door handles are incorporated into the rear haunches. Suddenly, you realize that it doesn’t compromise the practicality of the car.

Add period-correct alloy wheels and the ridiculous exhaust, and the Bluebird Kiwami looks ready to hit the streets of Japan at 2 AM, rolling no more than 20 kilometers an hour.

Final thoughts

Glancing back and forth between these stunning projects, it’s tough to choose a favorite. My head says the Z Lealia, but my heart is screaming for the widebody Bluebird, which gives it a new lease on life. Add neon underglow, and it has my vote.

Locals will luck out because they get to see these three cars at the Tokyo Auto Salon from Jan. 10-12. Judging from the pictures, which one would you choose?

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